Is an Arroba Much?

The next point worth mentioning is about the weights and measures system here. I once went to buy some potatoes to cook in my flat in order to maintain my wildly hedonistic lifestyle. I only really needed a couple but I decided I would take a kilo or a pound or a hundredweight or whatever they use here. The lady very kindly asked me if I wanted an arroba and it didn’t really sound like much so I kind of nonchalantly nodded and gave her a look that told her that I am an arroba kind of guy. When she got out the biggest plastic bag in the world and starting pouring in dozens of potatoes I started to worry that I would be eating chips for the rest of my life.

A rather delicate point here is around the price. All I can say is that fruits and vegetables are absurdly cheap here. I travelled for a while with an English guy who was obsessed with the idea that everyone was trying to rip him off and would try to haggle down the price of apples and stuff. In my experience since I came here to learn Spanish and make the occasional fool of myself, the ladies who sell fruit and vegetables in the markets are entirely scrupulous with their prices and don’t try to rip off gringos. Even if they did, the difference would mean a lot more to them than to you.