There are Differences

 

The sidewalks have all these barriers sticking up, I guess to keep the traffic on the road.  But they can be dangerous when you are trying to look at all the new things around you.  Will caught me on the first day, as I was about to fall after having run into one.

Another thing about the sidewalks are sometimes they just run out as you can see in this picture and they have ramps cut out of them down to the street for the cars.  That makes the sidewalk half as wide in front of all those garages!  So that is another reason you really have to watch your step.

The US dollar is used here, but no one will take anything more than a $20.  Most places even freak out when you give them a twenty.  No way could you give someone a "big" bill for a small purchase.  So, you have to think about how you spend your money and spend it wisely.  You need to be sure to have the $2 to pay the cab and the 15 cents for the bread. Some of the bigger stores can deal with the twenties so you use them there.  There are times when the shopkeeper has to leave the store and ask around for change and they don't really like to do that.  There is one big change machine that Will discovered so that is an option too.  The only problem with that is it is a little far from everything.

You hear fireworks all the time, at all times of the day.  They set off car alarms and make dogs bark, so sometimes it gets crazy.

You hear music everywhere.  As you walk past stores, they got it going loud, so as you walk along you hear a lot of different music as you pass the shops.  Cars go by with the radios on and you can hear it in the distance from who knows where.  I've often heard music in town, and when I do, I follow it because it means there is a parade somewhere.  

I love it every time.

You have to really be careful on the streets because the cars and buses go really fast.  It makes crossing the streets a challenge.  Luckily, Lindsay and Will showed me the way to do it without getting nailed. 

You don't use liquid dishwashing soap here.  You just rub the sponge in this container and wash each dish without filling the sink with water and soap.  At least that is how Conchita does it and this is all you see in the SuperMaxi.  They used this same stuff in Mexico.

Even putting the garbage out is different.  Homes have these hinged shelves for their garbage and the other people just put it out in the streets.  The recyclables go in the blue bags.  Garbage is collected twice a week where Lindsay lives.  I even remember them picking the garbage up on Christmas!