Yes, but no. Let's start with clothing.... A "stylish" shirt (I say "stylish" regarding anything a step up from a t-shirt) would easily run you what it would in the states: $10-20. I haven't purchased a single item of clothing yet on this island but at some point I might need to because the laundry detergent (which I use when I handwash my clothes out of my trashcan that I clean and use as a wash bucket---yes, it is as glamorous as it sounds) depletes everything of color. While some of the dank, dirty color is due to the massive amount of sweat and grit your clothes accumulate from tromping around an island and sweating profusely in EVERYTHING you wear....the blue tint definitely does not come as a result of sloshing out the grime using your Color Safe Tide. (HA...who am I kidding...Tide is WAY out of my price range! Although, I'm currently asking myself why I've spent $14 on two bowls of ceviche over the last week, but won't spend that for the rico detergent---again the incongruous "I'll spend $7 on a sandwich, $14 on a cocktail, but $5 for a packet of lunchmeat---well, that is just unreasonable!!!!" mentality).
Notebooks and supplies. Same as the states.....I paid fifty cents for a highlighter, $1.50 for a notebook, fifty cents for a folder, twenty five cents for a crappy pen, and, of course, I dropped $2 on two small containers of glitter, because, well---just necessities, right....?
Personal Hygiene. I've not actually had to buy shampoo or conditioner yet but I will need to buy hairspray soon (gotta schlack this humid mop back somehow, yo!) However, from what I can see at the store, a bottle of Loreal Shampoo and Conditioner will easily run me $8 each which isn't that far off from the prices in the USA. But, then again....$2.10 per hour. Luckily, I live in a climate where it's kind of pointless to splurge on the fancy stuff anyway because it's not as though you are doing anything with your hair more than pulling it back and hoping it won't be drenched with sweat before at least 10:00am. (Prettiest girl in the world here, everyone!)
Medicine. I had to buy some antibiotics salve (the equivalent of neosporin) for my mosquito bites which became infected (again, sweat, grit, and salt water.....not so great for healing wounds) which was $3.50 for a small tube and a tiny bottle of alcohol was about 75 cents. I was mistakenly "prescribed" antifungal cream when I was trying to ask the first "pharmacist" I spoke with (some random lady who knew nothing about medicine) for a neosporin-like substance. That unfortunately ran me $10 for a small tube. However, if I ever get a fungal rash and need it----I'm covered (but only for 7 days straight, under doctor surveillance, if I am NOT pregnant or nursing. Oh drat!)
Staple foods. Those must be pretty cheap, right? Well, yeah, if I wanted to live off rice and pasta---I would be set and ready to gluttonize (real word). But, it turns out, I'm kind of snobby and like to have luxury foods such as canned tuna, sweet corn, garbanzo beans, sliced ham, soda, etc---and those are basically the same price as they are the USA or at times more expensive because they ARE in fact luxury items which are imported from the mainland. Tuna runs $1.29 a can, sweet corn---$2, garbanzos---$1.60, sliced ham containing about 12 small slices---$2.60, 2 liter of coke---$2.60. So, as I promised myself post-Costa Rica where I was spoiled fresh, quality food and post-college as I finally had the means to afford it, I refuse to eat total crap. So, to avoid going insane, I buy things such as those to keep my culinary palette satisfied. I mean, nothing says "culinary decadence" like canned tuna, no?
Market foods. Now, HERE is where the dollar goes far. Produce is CHEAP, FRESH, LOCALLY GROWN and READILY available. In my opinion, you'd be insane not to go crazy at the market buying bunches of fresh basil, buttery avocados, vibrant and juicy tomatoes, etc..... To put things in perspective, I bought four pounds of tomatoes, four pounds of carrots, six onions, a head of cabbage, three mini papayas, four pounds of pumpkin, an avocado, a bunch of fresh cilantro, eight apples, a pound of fresh haba beans, a large beet, three cucumbers, three pears, eight green peppers, and four limes for a whopping $23. This will feed me for a week (in addition to my staple foods)....and probably with leftovers. The funny thing is that compared to the mainland, this is a bit of a "price gouge." So, yeah.....although I'm not serving up steak and potatoes on a regular basis...or at all, I'm DEFINITELY pampered in my own, veggie-loving way! Rock on affordable awesomeness!
So, all-in-all, I eat pretty well, I can afford soap to clean off this layer of funk which constantly pervades my body, I have detergent to wash my clothes, and I enjoy the occasional treat like a soda with friends like Emily whose company I enjoyed earlier, but I definitely have a keep an eye on my dollar. Because, while it looks the same as the dollar back home, when the money is gone....the money is gone. And quite frankly, there's only so much you can smuggle off the breakfast line without feeling completely ashamed regarding the fact you blew your money on ceviche and glitter. Besides, fresh roll or banana contraband is NOT conducive for washing clothes in the magical "washing machine" trashcan. It's just, well, it's just not.
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