the mecca for immigrants

A few weeks ago, I heard a racially insensitive joke about Asians. It was something along the lines of, the first thing Asians get when the come to America is a drivers license (umm, rude). However, I do think there is something immigrants from all countries get when they arrive to the United States...a membership to Costco.

Everyone loves Costco, but for people recently off the boat, it is like the holy grail of America, anything you could ever want, Costco almost always has it, from plasma tvs and portioned salmon flanks, designer purses and Dom Perignon.  Every Saturday and Sunday, Costco is filled with people of every race, nationality, and religion. They fill their carts up with giant packs of paper towels and giant bottles of olive oil. They diligently inspect the  green mangoes and ripe plums, mixing and matching from different containers to get the perfect dozen. They push and shove to get the first of the hot frozen pizza samples. They buy bulk items in bulk and don't hesitate to drop loads of cash on loads of mayonnaise.

I write from experience. While he isn't the most aggressive shopper, nothing brings out the FOB in my dad like Costco. He is constantly looking for excuses to go there, looking for things to buy. My dad in Costco is like a kid in a candy shop but worse, because he has a shopping cart. When he gets there, he looses track of time, he looses his ability to speak English clearly, and he looses his sense of reality in what we need and what we don't need.  If my dad goes alone, which he does more than he should, he will come home with non-essentials like Kimchi or a Power Washer, all in the name of a good deal. The only thing worse than my dad going to Costco alone is my yia-yah going there. I remember spending an agonizing four hours with her there as she stocked up on toliet paper, olive oil, and rubbing alcohol.

Why do immigrants love Costco more than anyone else? Is it the savings of buying in bulk? Selections they aren't used to having? The opportunity to experience the American way of living in excess?  It's all that and more. It's the space to roam freely and speak in one's native tongue with less eye rolls than the local supermarket. It's the opportunity to find almost anything you could imagine and things you couldn't even imagine. The freedom to buy whatever and however much you want. The ability to provide for your family in ways you didn't think existed.  A place where everything comes full circle, buy things for your newborn, your teenager, your newlywed, your retirement, and your funeral. Costco is like America, land of opportunity, upholding freedom of choice.