First we went clothing shopping. It took forever. I bought nothing because everything is of poor quality, trashy, and expensive. My clothing is dowdy by Costa Rican standards- shirts too loose, skirts too long, neckline too high. And also the people here don't really express themselves with style the same way people back home would. You can learn a lot about the person sitting next to you on the subway based on the style of coat and shoes he or she wears. I could probably offer a pretty accurate guess as to what kind of music that person listens to. Here, there seems to be a lot less individuation and a lot less counterculture. And also I live in the most unimaginably small provincial town, and I'm an outsider who isn't privy to the clues that people give about themselves. And I think people here don't read the clues that I give about myself. For example, when I walk around without shoes, they assume I do not know how to dress myself and behave in good company, whereas I believe that I am relaxing and silently protesting for a spirit of anarcho-primitivism. Surprise: I don't know that word in Spanish. So generally while I think I'm being down-to-earth, living simply and non-materialistically, my coworkers think I am slovenly and drabby. These are the cultural differences that are not immediately apparent, but only come out after a while.
After the clothing "boutiques", we went to the Mercado Central, which has lots of little stalls. We bought some presents for the men, for Jill's family back in the states. I bough a pair of earrings and some thread. Also some cajeta, which is a dulce de leche sugar fudge that is out of this world. We bough some big corn and cheese tortillas and fried chicken for lunch, and I even had a coffee! As some of you may know, coffee produces a mild hysteria for me that can last up to 12 hours. The first 15 minutes of this experience are ecstatic. The following 765 minutes are uncomfortably fidgety and talkative.
Next I went off to do my secret santa purchases. My secret santa was for Yolanda, head of housekeeping and probably the person at Amatierra with who I work the absolute least. At least women are culturally easy to generalize about in a materialistic way! So I buy her some matching body lotion, perfume, and exfoliating scrub, all lavender scented. Meanwhile, I also got some personal shopping done: bright yellow, blue, and green nailpolish so that I can do a mani-pedi on myself, which always turns out looking like a three year old tried to do it.
Next we go to... wait for it... Chinatown! Yes, there is a Chinatown in San Jose that consists of a cluster of stores and a dim sum restaurant, and it was the highlight of my trip. And- the Chinese people who work there hablan espanol. That was a total trip for me, like, holy shit we're not in Kansas anymore. I bought some Ramen noodles, a little glazed bowl for Yolanda, and some peach candies to put inside it. Then I spent the rest of the time in the store the exact same way I spend my time in Chinatown in the USA: looking at all the cool stuff and wanting to buy it all, except that I don't know what it is, but it probably tastes like fish. Honestly, SuperSony was probably the most at home I've felt since I've gotten to this country, if that makes any sense. Because it's equally and identically foreign in both places, in the exact same way. And I was brought up going to Chinatown.
And then it was time for Pricemart, which is the Costa Rican equivalent of BJ's or CostCo. It had enormous quantities of American crap for sale, just like in the US, but here everything cost *more* than it does at a normal American grocery store, instead of less, because it had to be brought here. I helped Jill pick out presents for the family gift baskets, goldfish and candies and raisins. For myself, I bought a 5-pack of Kraft mac and cheese, and a $9, 36 oz. bag of Giradelli chocolate chips so that I can make my famous banana bread.
We went to Pequeno Mundo as our last stop. It is a warehouse of cheap crap that you do not want. There is clothing, kitchen ware, hardware, toys, decorations, frames, fake flowers, etc. Sort of like a mixture between Home Depot and Target and A.C. Moore but without any of the good stuff. I bough a rose scented candle and a rose oil diffuser. Diffusers are those little glass jars of essential oils that have the skewer sticks sticking out of them, and they scent your room. I've secretly always wanted one, but at home they're like $30 and you can't even smell them ahead of time to see if you like them. Mine cost $4 and it's sitting on my desk perfuming the ants and my books.
We rode home, into the sunset, with our purchases obscuring the rear-view window, our car was so full.
1 comment:
Lovely, I like.
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