sam vs. the collective sackers of publix

most of you that know me already know that i've been trying to get better and better about recycling and being environmentally friendly. in the past few years, i've started recycling bins in my house and more recently switched to using cloth bags for all my shopping. besides, i never liked all those plastic bags anyway. even when i save some in one of those bag-saver-devices, i still get about all the bags i need for a year in one grocery trip.

(preface to the story: i love the spanish language and love the cultural diversity of this city... really, i do!)
so.... we move to miami and i start shopping at publix, where the sackers don't typically speak english. so far, i've had mixed receptions to the cloth bags and on occasion have had to take over and pack it myself. but today was by far the best sacking experience i've had to date.

i forgot the cloth sacks, so i asked for paper. the sacker looked at me with a mix of curiosity and disgust as he dug to the recesses of his bag area for a paper sack. he then proceeded to put all my groceries in PLASTIC bags and then put the plastic bags in the paper bag. not being able to speak spanish, i couldn't explain to him how much this horrified me... and i guess he wasn't reading the concern on my face or perhaps he felt that i might not understand the art of sacking and therefore not know about the plastic in the paper routine, in which case, he would be spot on because i still can't figure it out.

needless to say, i am still a little bewildered as i am unpacking my groceries at home... and feeling a little environmentally unfriendly for having now BOTH plastic and paper bags. oh well. :)