Ilya Safonov Adjusts to Vancouver Grocery Prices
Vancouver Canucks forward Ilya Safonov shared his culture shock over Canadian grocery costs, later finding relief at a Russian market called Alyonka.
Ilya Safonov has arrived in Vancouver and, by his own account, opened his wallet before he opened his skate bag. The 25-year-old Forward, who moved from Ak Bars on a one-year, two-way deal worth 950,000 US dollars a season (including a 100,000 dollar signing bonus), described his first grocery run in a blog post for Sports.
"Prices are a separate story. I bought groceries for a couple of days, shampoo, soap and laundry powder, and it cost 200 dollars. Maybe it was some super-expensive market, like our Azbuka Vkusa. I'll need to check other places. In the first few days I went into a Chinese shop for food. I looked at the shelves and there was not a single brand I recognised. Lobsters and fish are great, but I am definitely not going to cook that myself at home. At first I thought I would have to get used to completely new food, but then I found a shop with familiar products. It's liveable — I can cook from that. And then I found out about the Russian market Alyonka, and bought dumplings there," Safonov said.
Safonov's early culture shock echoes an earlier comparison from Nashville Predators Forward Fyodor Svechkov, who said life in the United States runs far more expensive than at home.
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