This afternoon I went to purchase a new mattress for our bed. My husband refused to come along, since last week, I was indecisive as to whether we should get a new bed or just a new mattress. Well, after seeing the beds offered at Media Strom and the costs for them, I decided on just a mattress.

The bed we have is about fifteen years old and is made the old fashion European way. The frame is made of wood and on the bottom, there are 2 x 4’s that lay across to complete the bed frame. You then lay your mattress on top of the boards and that completes the bed. It doesn’t feel very comfortable but that’s where a good mattress comes in.

Once I arrived, I was greeted by the sales person who walked me through the store showing me the most expensive items in the place. Funny how some things are International. When I told her I was only looking for a mattress, she walked me over to the best mattresses they had. There were two samples side by side and she told me to lay on them to test them out. I examined the mattresses carefully and even unzipped them only to find that they were filled with a foam-like material. They were very comfortable but they were not very durable. At that point, I quickly moved away and proceeded to the “real” mattresses that were not only less costly but more durable. They had about 15 samples and I tested about five of them while the sales lady watched giving me her opinion on what she thought was best for me. After testing the first three, they all starting feeling the same. So I picked the one I wanted and an order was written out.

The sales lady did not speak any English and with my minimal Greek and some sign language, we understood each other quite well. But like with every Greek person I encounter, the question of “why don’t you speak Greek fluently” always comes up. When it did, I told her it was a very long story and I just left it at that.