One of the biggest adjustments to living in Costa Rica is the food. I underestimated how limited the grocery store selections would be and how unfamiliar I would find so many items. In my US life, I had evolved into a super picky consumer. We were eating a diet around 80% organic, gluten-free and almost no canned, boxed or processed food. I am not used to using any kind of regular soaps, detergents, shampoos or lotions as well. I was purchasing many items from food co-ops, online sources and specialty markets. So I wasn't just strolling down the aisles of regular US grocery stores. It was a shock to realize just how limited my selection of everything. Even though there are several different chains of grocery stores, they isn't much variety in what they carry. I will need to cook more traditional Costa Rican recipes just because that's all the ingredients I can get my hands on. I had to buy some laundry detergent with fragrance, which I haven't used for over 10 years. My precious supply of Dr. Bronner's, which I can use for almost everything, only lasted about a week. I would have brought a suitcase full of it if I had realized that I couldn't buy it, or any other kind of clean soap, here. So my delimited, hyphenated lifestyle will pretty much have to go out the window.
So far we have been starting our day with fruit, which one of the best things about Costa Rica for sure. Eggs are also plentiful and obviously familiar. My landlady has her own chickens in her yard and will bring me fresh eggs whenever I need them (by the kilo, not the dozen, brought loose in a tied up plastic bag and never refrigerated). Black beans and rice, called Gallo Pinto, is the staple, along with Arroz con Pollo, which is basically a refried rice with chicken. Strangely, I have not been able to find pinto beans or red lentils here, which are the favorites in the family. There is no brown rice to be found either. So far I have been able to make chili con carne and soup in the crockpot, which is my best friend in the world. Last week we went to the big farmer's market in Grecia, called the Feria, and it was pretty amazing and a bit overwhelming. My plan to is to try and get most everything I need for the week there: fruit and vegetables but also beans, dairy and some prepared foods like bakery items, tortillas, tacos and ceviche. I like to have a few things in the freezer as back up meal insurance! It is also common for vendors to come door to door selling various items. I have been able to purchase fruits and vegetables this way, which saves me lugging groceries home.
In traditional Tico homes, there is no hot water heater. So dishes are washed by hand in tepid water. For some reason, I was in the habit of more or less washing dishes with hot water and soap and then putting them in the dishwasher. I guess I just really like really clean dishes. I try to rinse everything right after I use it to minimize the scrubbing but I do have the feeling that things just aren't as clean as I'd like them. Same deal with the laundry. I did get a new automatic washing machine, which I am grateful for, but with the cold water, things don't seem to get a whole lot cleaner. So far I can tell if my clothing has been washed because it's horribly wrinkly from drying on the clothes line. I have the vague impression that everything is slowly getting more grimy and frumpy with every washing. ha ha. Also, there is a certain learning curve to drying laundry on the line. I have gone out to check it and decided to leave it out a little bit longer to finish drying completely, only to find that the humidity had risen and the clothes had started absorbing moisture from the air and were getting wetter again.
If you've read anything about Costa Rica, you may be familiar with the infamous "suicide showers". It's some kind of set-up where electrical wirea heat the water as it comes through the shower. The trick is to adjust the water flow to a level that will allow you to actually get hot water. If you turn the flow of water up too quickly, it turns ice cold. So have to choose: strong water pressure or heat. You can not have both! In our shower, the floor is only marginally sloped towards the drain, which is just an unfinished hole cut into the tile. I don't mind the water pooling up a bit since my feet are always really dirty from running around barefoot all day. Since there are no bathtubs in Tico homes, this is as close as I'm gong to get. After I'm done with my shower, I use a squeegee to try and get all the water down the drain.
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