Spar, save me!

Columnist Giselle tried in vain to quit Spar. But perhaps the campus supermarket is just fine for the Giselle who has to write a thesis.

A friend tried to wean me off Spar, for the sake of my body and my wallet. She saw the supermarket as a symbol of hypercapitalism: an excessive system that made me pay too much for bad food. She brought her own lunch from home: wholemeal bread with hummus, and apples she cut into pieces with her own knife. With her help I quit, and managed to stay sober for two weeks. I felt self-sufficient and grown-up, but I couldn’t keep it up. There wasn’t enough room in my handbag to carry lunch.

I dragged her back into the Spar maze. She covered her ears against the techno music and I set my sights on a hot dog. Eagerly, I breathed in the fumes from the kiddie pool of sausage water. At the self-checkout I was accused of theft by a man with a micro fringe on his forehead. I could barely hear him over the music and started sweating in the crowd. With trembling fingers and a hot dog, I was outside moments later. Why did I keep going back to this supermarket?

Now that the end of the year is approaching, I’m forced to be on campus more often and have less and less energy to think about lunch. Another friend, who feels the same pressure, shows me the beauty of Spar absurdism. There is so much creativity hidden in this mini shop. Who would have thought you could add so many flavours to quark? And why are we increasingly buying food we don’t have to chew? As a Spar fan, my friend dances along to the techno music and buys american cookies that are never fully baked and don’t taste of chocolate.

The Spar is geared towards last-minute purchases by stressed students and is therefore a kind of mirror. When I look into it, I see someone who does not want to think too far ahead, someone who likes bright colours and does not unwind during her breaks. Not the optimal Giselle, but fine for the Giselle who has to write a thesis. That Giselle will be around for a while, so I’m thinking of taking out a coffee subscription again.