A Date

Tonight we are going on our first date in Central America. I was jumping up and down as we learned that one of the missionary's daughters would be available to babysit. She is 16 and was born here. I think I’m going to tell her to only speak Spanish to the kids. They’ll love that – not! Does anyone even use that expression – not – anymore? Guess I'm out of touch with pop-culture. I do know "that's hot!" So the babysitter will speak Spanish and that's hot! That doesn't quite make sense, does it?

Anyway, we are super, duper excited. We are going to see the movie Transformers and then eat Chinese from across the street. The only bad thing about living across the street from a Chinese restaurant is that the aroma constantly makes its way into our house. Just this morning Jaxson said, “Mom, I smell something so good. What is it?” To bad my cooking doesn’t taste half as good as the Chinese smells.

So, we are going to a movie for $4 per person. That is half of the price of an American movie. Although groceries, and I’m not kidding about this, are 3-5 times HIGHER than American prices. A lot of services, restaurants and activities are much cheaper. Just last night we ate at a food court in the Hiper Mas (like Super Wal-Mart) and we all ate an awesome Tico (Costa Rican) meal for $10. Our entire family was well fed, with drinks and salads for a mere $10. We were very happy about that. When John asked the babysitter how much she charges per hour she said 1,000 colones per hour – around $2. Another wowie!! Hopefully we can save in cheap activities what we are spending in groceries.

Tonight we will take a taxi. Did I mention it is quite an experience for our family of 6 to fit in a compact taxi? John sits in the front while the other 5 of us squeeze into the back. Normally only 4 people are allowed in a taxi here. I don't think it is like that in Lima. The seatbelts don't work in most cars anyway. So we have to ask a special favor each time we take a taxi ride. Some drivers say yes and some say no. How do the car seats fit in you might ask? They don't! Just as car seats are a must in America, they are a don't in Central America. The baby sits on my lap whether it be in the front seat or the back seat. To answer the question I know you have in your mind....yes, this is scary. Yes, I am constantly praying. The driving is LOCO!!

We have decided we can’t eat like Americans here b/c the cost is outrageous. For example, Ramon noodles are $5 a box (like $1.25 a box in America), cheese is $6 and a Costco size box of M&M’s was about $28. No, I didn’t get them. But beans and rice are cheap, cheap, cheap so we bought a pressure cooker and are determined to eat like the nationals. Plus, we can get a fresh loaf of bread for .50 at the bakery. Yummy!

This has nothing to do with our date, but speaking of money…the only time I have had culture shock is when I go grocery shopping. My pulse goes up, my chest gets tight and I get very quiet (I know, I know…a rarity for me). I mentioned to John that shopping gave me culture shock and he said, “No, I don’t think it’s culture shock, I think it’s sticker shock."

The good news is that we get a field parity supplement from the IMB to help off-set the higher cost of food here. We have budgeted $800 a month for food. I know, that is ridiculous. In the states we spent about $140 every 2 weeks for the 6 of us. So we are looking at a huge jump. I’ll let you know how that goes.

I digress. We are going on a date tonight and I’m happy. It will be fun and cheap and I’m sure an interesting cultural experience. I’ll let you know how it goes.