Shopping and cooking in Guatemala

Now that I am back in Guatemala, I can cook the way I like to... with fresh fruits and vegetables! It was hard while we were in the U.S. because these things aren't cheap, but here, it is one of the cheapest way to eat. Here are some average prices of foods we get (the exchange rate is about 7.50  quetzals for every U.S. dollar):

Sweet Bread

Potatoes - Q3/lb

Onions - Q4/lb

Carrots - Q1 for each carrot

Avocados - Q5 for 2

Bananas - Q5 for 6

Strawberries - Q5/lb

Pineapple - Q10 for a large one

Peppers - Q1.50 each

Tomatoes - Q3/lb

Zucchini - Q1 each

Sweet bread - Q1 for 3 pieces 

Tortillas - Q1 for 4

There is a tienda (these are small stores right on the street that are usually the front room of a house) right at the end of our street where we can go to get rice, beans, flour, sugar, ketchup, mustard, snacks (they even have real chocolate candy bars), drinks, fly traps (very much needed), and many other things. There are also at least 5 other tiendas on this one block so if one doesn't have something we need, we go to the next one to check. We can get fresh tortillas three times a day if we want (again, right at the end of our street). There are also small fruit and veggie tiendas everywhere. There are some things that we can't buy in these small tiendas so we have to walk two whole blocks  to the Bodegona (our grocery store). This is a new addition to our town in the past year. It used to be that we had to go a couple towns over for a real grocery store so this is a huge blessing. 

I could leave the house at 12:00, spend Q10 ($1.30), and be back at 12:05 with an avocado, a couple tomatoes, an onion, and 8 tortillas. A few minutes later, I am eating fresh tortillas with guacamole... Mmmmmm!

Here are some of the delicious meals we have made:

Baked oatmeal with fruit

     

Flautas

Grilled cheese and salad

             

Pollo/Piña stir fry

Black Beans and Rice

Chicken Tacos

Eggs, Strawberries, Toast and Coffee

  

Nachos

About three weeks ago, we were talking to some of our neighbor kids and invited them into our house. They played in the courtyard for a little bit, climbed our orange tree, and then asked for some oranges. We shared some with them and now, they ask for more every few days. We don't give it to them every time, but we decided to invite a bunch of kids over one afternoon. So this past Thursday afternoon, 7 kids showed up at our door. We taught them how to play Uno and we gave them juice and oranges. Some of the older ones are helping us with our Spanish and they are having fun practicing the English words they know. We have decided that we want to make it a weekly gathering. 

Andi and I also learned how to drive a motorcycle! We are still practicing, but it's going well.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Chicago Cubs fan. Anyone who knows the Cubs knows that they haven't won a World Series since 1908. And anyone who follows baseball knows that the Cubs not only made it to the playoffs, but they won their Division Series and they are in the National League Championship Series this week. This is extremely exciting news!! So that means we are spending a lot of time over at my parents' house watching the games. Go Cubs Go!!!

We love our town!