Nowadays

Living in another country means getting used to new things and forming new habits. No one would consider that strange. But when you come back home after having been away for a while and find you have forgotten how things are here, fewer are sympathetic. 
  
One thing that is particularly annoying is the issue with grocery bags. In the States, grocery bags are free, and placed at the end of the cashier counter. You also often get help packing your groceries, in which case you end up with many more bags than you need. The packers are for some reason not very environmental. Bottom line: you never have to think about grocery bags.
 
In Sweden, grocery bags cost and are placed before the cashier counter. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since it makes people use fewer bags. But it requires you to know how many you need. Many bring their own fabric bags and disregard the plastic ones completely. I am all in favor of that.
 
Now, my problem is that I usually forget to bring my own bags when buying groceries. On top of that, I also forget the plastic bags. I pay, and then go down the counter to pack, only to discover I have nothing to pack in. Here I have two options. Either I try to get the cashier's attention and quickly buy a plastic bag, even if it means getting in the way of the costumer after me; or I pack as much as I can in my purse and carry the rest in my hands. Usually, I do the latter. And as people wonder about the twenty items I balance in my arms, I tell myself it's better to be considered cheap than stupid...