Mexico City provides the same services and businesses as most any American city. They say you can get anything in Mexico City…if you know where to look. Since many businesses don’t use internet or other directories, many times great stores are stumbled upon by pure blind luck.

While there are many poorer and crowed parts of the city, I have also been to some of the richer parts of town which if a person drove through, could honestly be confused with upper-class Los Angeles. In a city of 25 million, if there is something you want bad enough, you can find it.

Except for Rice Chex.

I am craving puppy chow and for the life of me I cannot find a box of Rice Chex.

But I digress. What I really wanted to blog about today was all of the stores and services here that are distinctly different from their counterparts in the US.

Let’s start with my bank. The first time I walked in to withdraw money I laughed out loud. Banco Azteca has a partnership with Electra, which is like Mexico’s Best Buy. The bank is located at the back, which means you need to pass through isles of electronics and household appliances to withdraw money. Many a poor Mexican has gone to deposit money and left with a new oven and hefty bit of debt. Clever but oh so low.

Gas stations are state owned. What does that mean? Every gas station is a Pemex, and the price is fixed all across Mexico. Every pump is manned by a person in green overalls. You tell him how many pesos worth of gas you want (the price isn’t even listed anywhere) and he washes your windows or sells you lubricants, antifreeze etc. depending on how much you want to spend. Afterwards you tip the Mr/Mrs green overalls and go on your way. You never leave your car.

Laundromats are fun as well. Every week I take my clothes to a place two blocks from my house. They weigh my clothes, ask me when I want to pick them up and then I go home with my ticket. The next day I go back, pay, and pick them up. They are clean and neatly folded in a bundle. It is wonderful.

Convenient stores. You find them on every corner. Since they are family owned, selection can really vary, but the biggest difference is that everything is behind bars. If I want something I need to ask for it so the cashier can go get it and hand it to me through a tiny window. This virtually eliminates shoplifting, but it is also aggravating for an American that doesn’t always know the name for what he wants. I’ve played many a game of “hot and cold” with puzzled cashiers.

Doctor and Dentist offices. They’re everywhere. Generally one room apartments either above or below where the doctor or dentist lives. For people without insurance, these are great options. Most are open 24/7 and a full physical checkup generally costs $2.50. That sounds a lot more reasonable than what we pay in the US to sit waiting in our underwear for two hours on that weird piece of wax paper in the doctor’s office. However, who knows how much the doctor knows.

As you probably know, the pharmacy scene here is completely different from the US, where a stern looking man in a white coat fills your doctor ordered prescription on a ridiculously high counter. Here the meds are dirt cheap. All of them. And you don’t need a prescription. In fact, the pharmacies compete for your business, often with loudspeakers or huge giant clown doctors that dance outside the pharmacy to Latin music. And really, who wouldn’t want to buy prescription drugs from a doctor doing the cha-cha?

Some things you buy here are quite a bit more expensive than in the US. Electronics are almost all across the board. However, black market and pirating are huge here. Every Sunday there is a video game booth that sets up, selling any video game you want for fifty cents.

If food is more your thing, brace yourself for the price of peanut butter. On the other hand, if you like fruit that is in season, the prices can’t be beat. About a month ago a man with a truck full of oranges came down the street. 100 oranges for $1. Can’t go wrong for a penny an orange…