Grocery shopping isn't quite the same.

In America, I could happily buy boneless, skinless, frozen chicken breasts. I could cook them up without ever thinking too much about it being a living thing at one time. Such is not the case here.

I finally found the chickens at the market yesterday afternoon, plucked bare, lying on their backs, feet stuck straight into the air. Next to them were the ducks, identifiable not by their feet, which had been chopped off already, but by the head still attached. I realized the chickens still had heads, too, and nearly chocked. Stuart mimed chopping his own head off and the lady seller quickly did the deed taking the feet off for me, as well.

I know, I know. I left the best parts behind, according to some.

So, now I've got a whole chicken in my fridge and I really don't know what to do with it. I'm guessing I can just boil the thing for a long time, then kind of pick it apart? Whatever, I'm making that meat last us for as long as possible so I don't have to do it again soon.

If only we loved fish, though! Since we are right by the beach, there's fresh seafood every day with probably 30 varieties of fish, plus crabs, squid, small rays, and loads of shrimp. But I'm clueless how to cook any of it. They do have big fillets of some fish or another that's already been grilled, so we're tempted to buy that and see what I can manage.

It's all a bit challenging, but I must say... we're getting better. Yesterday I managed to find flour, vinegar, cinnamon sticks (no effective means of pantomiming "ground cinnamon"), and a dustpan, in addition to our regular list of fruits and vegetables to buy. Give me another month and I'll be a pro.

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Still looking for a jump rope, 3-ring binders, blank paper, a frisbee, ground cinnamon, cumin and a rolling pin. Where's the One-Stop Shopping when I need it? :)