Tienda Run

On Tuesday I decided I wanted to make oatmeal raisin cookies. Unfortunately we didn't have any flour or oats in the house, and I didn't feel like walking all the way across town and back just for those 2 items. So I ran up the hill to the tienda (corner store). As I waited for the customer ahead of me, I could see, amongst the random assortment of items behind the glass counter, wheat flour and oats used for mosh, which is like porridge but a beverage. The lady working there was not the regular lady, but she must have been related because she had the same eyes.

I greeted her in Spanish, and asked for flour. She said they didn't have any. I pointed to it and asked what it was (being name brand Gold Medal, in a flour-looking package, I knew very well what it was). She rifled through and brought up a bag. Then I asked for oats. She said they didn't have any. I pointed at what I thought was oats and asked, "Isn't this oats?" She came around to the front to see what I was pointing at and said, "No, that's not oats. That's mosh." So I replied, "It says Mosh Oats on the package." So after digging around she came up with 2 different kinds of oats, rolled and ground. So I went with the rolled oats. I also asked for another small item, which must have been common because she had no problem finding that, though it helped that I was pointing right at it because she didn't understand me the first time I asked.

I told her that's all I was going to get. Either because she doesn't work there regularly or because I was buying items they didn't sell, she did not know how much they cost. So she had to run to the back twice to ask for prices: once for the flour and once for the oats. With the 3 items on the counter she said it's Q12.50, Q9.50, and Q1.50. Then she gave me a blank stare, as if she was expecting me to do the math for her. Last I checked, that was her job. But oh well, I can add, and that's probably the safe thing to do with her anyways, even if just to double check. I said Q23.50. She thought for a second, then agreed with me. I handed her a Q50 bill. She walked over to wherever they have their change (somehow I doubt I can actually call it a cash register, though I can't see it from where I stand). A second later she turns and walks back into the house. Obviously she only has petty cash and does not have access to the larger bills. A minute or 2 later, the lady who normally runs the shop came out from the back, holding my Q50. She repeated the amount and in a moment I had my correct change and was walking out the door with my purchases. As I walked through the pouring rain and rivers in the street, I was glad I didn't have to walk all the way across town to get my cookie ingredients. I was also really hoping that the cookies would turn out after all that work.