Colmados. Those wonderful corner stores.

Colmados, in essence, are Dominican supermarkets that have adapted to the small supply-and-demand systems found in rural locations. All colmados stock the basics; canned food, household cleaning supplies, alcohol and snacks. Colmados can be attached to people’s houses or be their own entity. Everything at colmados keep for a long time, and are rarely in need of refrigeration. Good colmados will get fresh produce daily, including bread, vegetables and occasionally, fruit.

Colmados are very useful because they are on every corner and readily accessible for any last-minute need. However, my favorite part about the colmados is the pricing. Because many Dominicans live day-to-day with money and do not have access to grocery stores, many things are bought in small quantities on a day-to-day basis. So, rather than buying a whole can of tomato sauce, you only buy a bit of tomato sauce for lunch (maybe 15 pesos worth). Also, this means that storing food in the house, away from insects and mold, isn’t a problem.

Thus, you buy things by the “peso” rather than the package. You tell the colmado man how many pesos you want to spend, and they will give you that much.

My favorite examples (keep in mind 35 pesos to the dollar):

3 pesos ripe banana (great afternoon snack)
5 pesos ground pepper (enough to season the chicken for lunch)
10 pesos of soap (1/2 a bar)
25 pesos of butter (yes, they have a huge tub of butter and will slop out 25 pesos worth into a plastic bag for you. Now, try spooning out the butter from the plastic bag…)

Some things you can’t buy by the peso, such as alcohol, candy bars, vegetables or powdered milk. Dry cooking good are bought by the pound.


Other Updates:
• Fed green leaves (found in the backyard) to my family today via the kidney bean seasoning—success! No bad taste and no death—only vitamins and minerals!
• I’ve found out that my future host family in La Lima is composed of 1 older woman and her 3 grown sons… none of whom are married. I’m told that I should frequently remind the men that “I’m their sister!” and not someone to hit on…haha
• I’m so surprised that my computer has not died yet! In fact, it’s working great! I think the battery life has actually increased. Maybe it just needed a vacation..
• You can tell your appearance has fallen by the wayside when:
o You shower, put on a tshirt and jeans (still wearing your chacos), and are asked by your family “wow leigh, you look good. Where are you going?”.