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Cindy's World Trip Blog

August 19, Month 3

Poop! And Other Helpful Information

We forgot to pick up our laundry from the laundry place before it closed, so since all of us sent our pajamas to be cleaned, that leaves whatever we have left that is comfy to wear to bed. Oops! The reasonably priced, full-service laundromat on the corner of our block is the same one we used last week (We haven't seen a self-serve laundromat anywhere, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.).

Small mom and pop stores abound here. We have been using a small grocery store that takes visa (to avoid ATM fees to get cash) a 5 minute walk from here and to get to that store, we pass 3 other small grocery stores - minimally and 3 or 4 small produce stores.

On a given block there will almost always be a snack/cigarette store, a produce stand, a grocery store, a clothing store and then a few variable stores. I guess it is like a small big box store only it's spread out down a block. You don't really have to walk any further than you would in one big store.

Our meals have come from both eating out and from assembling things from the grocery store. Both have provided cultural learning. We buy our milk and our runny yoghurt by the liter in a bag which we pour into a pitcher to consume. In general most things come in smaller portions. We have had fun trying to assemble what we have purchased into a meal - especially when what we bought wasn't what we thought we bought. One of our favorite breakfasts has been pastries from the bread store on the corner (opposite the laundromat).

I have mentioned that it's cold outside here. During the day, a lot of the stores don't have doors on the front of them. They are wide open with the workers wearing their coats the whole time. No one thinks anything of it.

In fact, they don't seem to mind the cold much at all. All heating that is done is very minimal, if at all. It might take the edge off, but it is still cold inside. We have sat at many public indoor gatherings with everyone bundled up. It seems so strange to me, but maybe it would seem strange to them to spend lots of money heating a place up when the problem could easily be solved with coats and you need to spend money on them anyway.

Another thing that they don't seem to mind is the homeless population. Maybe because they just seem like normal people. Most don't seem to be drug/alcohol abusers or crazy. It is not uncommon to see a couple (or a small family) sleeping on a mattress placed in front of a store that is closed for the evening or even occasionally during the day. No one seems scared or bothered by them at all. It is true of the "garbage pickers" too. People put out their trash on the street in bags every night. Other people, "garbage pickers" come along and pick through their trash (families sometimes too) and no disdain seems to be directed to them at all. They are simply living... just like everyone else. In some ways I admire this because people are people regardless of their station in life, but in other ways it makes me aware that their public aid must lacking.

Another live and let live attitude they have is with their dog's waste. It doesn't seem to matter how fancy the neighborhood, you need to mind your step. The girls warn each other in alarm, "poop!" We have made good use of scrub brushes for our shoes. Sophia was the last survivor for awhile. Elizabeth said, "Mom, I want Sophia to step in poop too so she doesn't feel left out." She is a tease, so I know it was not genuine, but it was still funny.

They do have one really great public benefit though, we learned their colleges are free for residents. We met a young couple that moved here from Brazil. They don't know Spanish, but they have become residents. He aspires to be a doctor and she aspires to be a nurse and they couldn't afford the tuition in Brazil (Brazil also lets a select few students go to school free if they make top scores on a test, but he wasn't one of these students.). I can't imagine trying to study medicine in a language I don't know though... even if it was free.

I have enjoyed seeing how the old mixes with the new in the city. For example, we have a high-speed internet connection at our apartment, but the keys to get into the place are old skeleton keys.

Well, tomorrow we will get our freshly washed, perfumed clothes back (the soap they use makes Richard smell a little girly) and we'll be ready for another week.