My Timeless Multi-City Money Saving Tradition: Hitting the Grocery Store

No matter what country's soil I find myself standing on, there has always been one tradition that spans every border crossing and not only saves me a ton of money but helps me get to know the culture a little bit. The moment I get settled into my accomodation there is always one 5 word question that never fails to pop out.....

"Where is the grocery store?"

This seemingly insignificant question is in fact one of the most important money saving questions any traveller can have. The first benefit of visiting the local grocery store is that you start to learn what other people are eating, drinking and the ingredients they are using. It serves as a great cultural lesson.

Another benefit of hitting the grocery store when you land is that it gives you the chance to stock up on goodies. Having things you can stuff in your mouth prevents you from spending money going out to eat when in reality all you wanted in that moment was something to grab. That way you end up spending money when you are truly in the mood to go out.

One of the most interesting places to stroll around the grocery store is in the country of Peru.  Due to it's geographical location and diverse climate, Peru has an endless amount of unique local produce. The country alone produces more than 3000 types of potatoes. In reality when entering into a Peruvian supermarket, you never know when the gigantic catch of the day might catch your eye.

p.s your curiousity must be burning by now so I'll answer question. This monstrous sea creature staring back at you is called "Congrio", a species of eel *GULP*

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Vitamin E & Me......

Olive! (Photo credit: Bibi)

There have never been any fantasies in my mind about the challenges of living abroad can bring. But one advantage to life in Argentina is that the amount of natural resources this country has. Being one of the greatest wine exporters in the world results in the fact that I can walk into a grocery store and buy an exceptional quality bottle of wine for $8 USD.

As it turns out, I find myself needing to make every possible resource available to me to keep my health in tip top shape. In my hunt for ways to stay on top of things, I found out that not only is Argentina one of the largest wine producers in the world it is also one of the largest producers of olives in the world as well. Olives are important because it is a great source of vitamin E.


As frustrating and scarce it may be feeling like one is scrambling for good ingredients, more and more I began to realize that there are little things I can do and incorporate into my daily routine that will make all the difference. I decided to take advantage of the fact that olives are one of this country's natural resources and began using Extra Virgin Olive Oil in even the little things like cooking chopped onions. Every little chance I got I used it to squeeze Vitamin E rich olives or olive oil into my diet.

When you are living abroad in a country where health products can be scarce, if you wish to survive you have to make every moment count.  It can be challenging especially in BA where around every corner there are snack shops and empanada stands.  It is all too tempting to make it daily habit to fuel up at those places because they are quick, convenient, and plentiful.

Often you here when you travel to try and experience the local culture and do what the locals do. This is the one time I definitely recommend that you DO NOT do as the locals do if you want to live long in another culture with a different language. Instead, raise the bar and find creative ways to eat cheap and healthy. And once you do, you can teach your Argentine friends to do the same. They will love you for it ;)


Today's episode has been brought to you by the letter "E" as in Expat or as in Eat. Or "E" as in  vitamin E.  Expats Eating vitamin E......

Canning Candida

English: A basket of garlic (allium sativum) offered for sale at the farmers' market in Rochester, Minnesota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are expecting a baby girl and you are considering "Candida" to be lovely name, I advise you to think again and perhaps come up with some variation instead unless you want your child to go through life getting made fun of for having the name of a fungus.

Unfortunately for me, I became quite familiar with Candida during a brief brush with Oral Thrush. I'll try to explain things to you in a way that will cause you not to lose your lunch. On your tongue there is a whole ecosystem of microorganisms. One of these is Candida at it is harmless in itself because its population is regulated by the other organisms living in the ecosystem. However, every so often a situation arises where the population of Candida somehow does not get regulated properly and the growth gets out of control.

Eventually what happens is the fungi spreads to sides of your mouth, throat making painful to swallow or eat or drink anything.  What I believe happened with me is that I was coming to a time where i had confront some deeply painful events that happened to me in Canada. To make a long story short my stress went up, my immunity went down and all of a sudden Oral Thrush appeared out of nowhere like the Joker in Gotham City.