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Page 6 of 8
So, as you can see, you can have very
nice meals for very little money. Here is a sample of my very first
shopping trip and what I paid: 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) corn on the cob, 2
kilos of tomatoes, 2 kilos of Italian squash, 6 large sweet potatoes,
8 large, seedless oranges, 8 large bananas, 3 large pineapples, 1
kilo of multi (whole multi-grains that are cooked like rice), 2 kilos
of butter, 1 liter of olive oil, huge bunches of cilantro,
spearmint, and peppermint, 1 kilo of fava beans, 1 kilo of green
beans, 1 kilo of pinto beans, 2 kilos of flour, 1 kilo of gouda
cheese, 30 fresh mussels, 8 large fish (cleaned and filleted), one
flounder (cleaned and filleted), 12 large pork chops, 3 whole chicken
breasts, 1 whole chicken. Total price: $21.50, give or take a few
cents.
The meat, fish, seafood, and produce
are of excellent quality and superior in many ways to what we get in
the States because nothing is fooled around with. It is all organic;
nothing is genetically modified, or injected with hormones or
antibiotics. Of course, you can still get your favorite junk food.
Just be prepared to pay more for it than you will for fresh.
Costs of items are determined by two
categories: Necessities and luxuries. Things that are necessities are
inexpensive and things that are luxuries are expensive. That said,
you should buy the best laptop, notebook, or personal computer that
you can afford before you come. If you require a printer, get that
and plenty of ink refills as well. DVD players and VCR players are
also on the expensive side here. If you buy them to bring along, make
sure they are able to handle all formats unless you plan on only
having your movies purchased in the States. Also, if you really have
to have a television, your current TV may not be compatible. You
should buy one that is good internationally before coming and have it
shipped with your household goods. Televisions are very expensive
here.
Conversely, items such as
refrigerators, stoves, washing machines (not clothes dryers, though),
and various other kitchen appliances are very inexpensive. Be
forewarned, though, they are smaller than what you find in the States
because most of the kitchens are smaller. Of course, if you are
buying fresh, you don't really need a large refrigerator as you
will be buying every few days and consuming things more quickly than
you would canned and other processed foods.
Internet access is widely available and
most of it is broadband. I have yet to encounter any dial up service.
The price of this ranges anywhere from $15.00 per month to $40.00 per
month, depending on whether you are using DSL, cable, or have a
combination telephone service/DSL. Electricity, water, and gas will
also be your responsibility. These are rarely included in the rents,
and the cost is about $80.00 monthly, depending on how wasteful or
conservative you are.
There are no screens in the windows.
This is not usually a problem as there are very few flying insects.
If, however, you have pets that you are bringing--especially a house
cat, you can have a local day laborer build and install screens for
you for just a few dollars plus the cost of materials. Or, you can
build your own. The building supplies here are very cheap and readily
available.
Ahhh... pets. We brought our Siamese
cat with us. Please, do not make the same mistakes we made. I will
tell you what we did, and then I will tell you what we should have
done.
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Arica 
