The Cost of the Good Life in El Salvdador

I happened upon a website today for an online Salvadorean chain supermarket where you can purchase your groceries online for store pickup or home delivery--very modern. Of course I looked around for prices of some favourites and random items. The American dollar is the currency used there, so no conversion was needed:

Cosmopolitan Magazine in Spanish $2.95 (even though I don't read it anymore)
12 pk of toilet paper $3.05
Large frozen pizza: $4.18
l LB of fresh cheese (queso fresco) $2.34
Dove stick deodorant $2.55
750 ml of olive oil $5.25
1 LB of granola $1.84
5 oz of Badia Complete Seasoning (a must in my cooking) $0.11
750ml of red wine $2
750ml Smirnoff vodka $5

This supermarket is, of course, where I won't be shopping as a Peace Corps volunteer, but it was interesting to check it out. The $2 may not be of high quality, but it'll do for sangria and tinto de verano--two of my favourite drinks from Spain.

One thing about having cooking as a hobby is being able to come up with ways to make do with the same (local) ingredients and end up eating something different each night. I know those 3 months living with a host family will not provide us with a varied diet. From what I know, most meals will consist of beans, rice, eggs, cheese and tortillas. I can think of a dozen ways to cook those ingredients. Definately more than a dozen if I include ingredients that are available to everyone nation-wide.

I think I might just come up with a mini cook book and call it Adventures in Salvadorian Cooking: The New Side of Vegetarian Cuisine.

Now that's something I can put on my resume :)