A neighbor stopped by during dinner the other night and apologized for interrupting our evening repast. What she did not know was that since we've been here we seem to always be involved in some food related endeavor. If we're not eating, we are cleaning up. If we're not cleaning up, we're cooking. And of course if we're not cooking we are either planning to cook, on the way to the market or learning to cook something new and wonderful. And what's up with the appetites? James seems to have a hollow leg that can only be filled with gallo pinto and huevos fritos. Grace loves all the rice and beans and Mags continues to scarf mangoes like they grow on trees or something.
We still haven't quite figured out why we are constantly in food mode. I'm sure part of it is we are all burning more calories due to the stress of navigating a new culture and part of it is access to all of the wonderful new foods and flavors. We routinely go to the store once a day. This is different from being in the US where we go once a week. This is due partially to a culture of fairly casual food storage practices. Nothing dangerous just casual. For instance, eggs are not refrigerated - ever! So perhaps purchasing things and using them on the same day is far more normal than we expected.
In addition to numerous little corner stores, there are about five large grocery stores similar to the ones we would find in the US. Some may say that there isn't the same variety of foods here but I would argue that being able to buy fifteen different types of rice is plenty of variety for anyone. But keep in mind that something labeled "Cafe Economico" is really just "cheap coffee". Even the large stores may not have everything you need. It often require several stops to get everything on your list. Given that you are on foot and the weather is nice, this becomes a very pleasant part of the adventure. You just need to remember to check your bags at the door. Because certain items can only be found at certain stores, people keep a mental inventory of where you can find the items on your shopping list. Need black olives? Go to Diboyco. Need extra gentle laundry soap? Gotta go to Turibasico. Peanut butter? The best deal is at La Gloria. And on it goes. Shop, cook, eat, clean. I don't see this pattern changing anytime soon, but it is all good.
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