Me too.
I grew up in Washington, DC, in a neighborhood close to the Russian embassy. This story is from the 70s.
The ladies connected with the embassy were not allowed to venture outside the compound except in vans, and they were “minded” when they were out. A friend of ours told us her Russian friend described the first time a new “Embassy wife” was allowed to go to the grocery store in the group van. When she saw the range of choices available to her at the Safeway, she burst into tears in the grocery store.
The funny thing is that the Safeway near the Russian compound, in Georgetown, was crowded for space, and the DC residents called it the “Socialist Safeway” for the lack of multiple brands that larger grocers could carry.