Living in mainstream society in the US, it is not hard to decide how much of anything to buy at once. Everything comes prepackaged or in set amounts. If you like something typically you buy more of it at once because you get a bulk discount. Even produce is priced in groups. 5 limes for $1.00; 2 pounds for $1.89.
Living in Mexico that all goes out the window. You don't get bulk discounts here. Everything isn't nicely grouped or prepackaged for you either. You have to decide how much you want - all by yourself - with no help.
For example, lets start with produce. When we first got here, everyone probably thought we were insane. We kept buying way too much of everything. We'd walk out with several heavy bags of produce while everyone else bought just what they needed and left with one little bag. Everything is priced by the kilogram. You decide how much of each item you want. That doesn't sound to hard. Let's start with a few tomatoes, a couple of cucumbers, maybe a couple of mangoes, and 10 or 15 limes. No problem. Now what about that pineapple over there? It looks really good, but you probably won't eat a whole pineapple by yourself before it gets overipe. No problem, just ask for half the pineapple, or a quarter. What about some celery? That would be good in a salad later, but you probably won't use up the whole bunch. No worries - just ask for 2 ribs of celery. You can even buy 1 clove of garlic. Think you are starting to get the picture?
Okay, lets move on to some dairy products. Eggs should be easy - we've all bought them before, they come 12 together in a nice little carton. Not here. Eggs are sold by the kilo. You can ask for 1/2 kilo or just ask for the number of eggs you want - let's say 4 eggs. They'll count them out, weigh them real quick and package them up for you. If you are really on top of things you brought a container to safely transport them home in. If not they will put them all in a little bag and tie it up nice and tight for you - just be careful on your way home. How about some butter? Again just sold by the kilo. Ask for however much you need and they will weigh it out for you.
Let's mix it up a little. Time for some wonderful, fresh tortillas. Yep, you guessed right - again just ask for whatever fraction of a kilo you want and they'll weigh them up for you and then wrap them all up so they'll stay hot. Of course, you could also just ask for 3 pesos worth and they can deal with that as well. I haven't tried it yet, but I am certain you could also walk in and just ask for the number of tortillas you want.
Think you get the picture? How about some pastries or better yet, cake? If you want some rolls or pastries at most places, you pick up a metal tray and some tongs and then select whatever you want. When you are ready to check out they will weigh it up for you and wrap it all up. Many places you will even see cakes sitting there with a knife. Yep - just slice off what you want. It is sold by weight. Don't worry, I'll wait a moment for you to digest that.
Now let's stop and get some cigarettes. You can buy a carton, although you will get some funny looks, and it may be hard to get your point across. If you do manage to get a whole carton, most places will just take out a pack and ring it up 10 times. Same pricing as buying 1 pack or 3 packs. Or you just buy a couple of cigarettes. You can't do that everywhere, but many, many places will sell cigarettes by the each - at the same per unit price as buying the whole pack.
Well, this has been quite taxing. Let's stop on the way home and get some beer. That should be easy, right? I think most people at beer stores probably think Americans are either always drunk, or always throwing big parties. Beer is still sold in bottles or cans. I won't even trouble you with what size bottle you want because that leads to a choice as well. Just look around for a minute and you will spot some bottles you are familiar with. Don't expect to see 6 packs or 12-packs though. You can buy just one, and many, many people you see will be doing just that - one or two. Most of us don't bother with that - go ahead and get a case; it is just easier that way. Although, if you keep buying beer like that it won't take long before they know you by name.
All this choice is pretty cool, once you get used to it. Until then, it is all a little confusing and you buy much more than you need. Once you accept it and start figuring out how much you really need, it is really great to always have everything fresh. No more hurrying up to finish off the last of the produce before it starts getting gross. No worry about the bread or tortillas getting stale and mouldy before you can finish them.
Cloudy 63 oF • 17 oC
-Ron