Thursday, August 11, 2011

My Shopping Adventure

Today I went shopping with our guard and house helper. What an adventure. Okay, so we walked to a market where they sell secondhand clothes, toys, curtains, sheets, prom/brides maid dresses, and more. I wanted to buy Shelbyanne some dresses for her birthday, since she has grown too tall for the ones she has now.
Imagine if you can a flea market where the booths are side by side, made of 2 X 4s, tin roofs, are maybe 5x7 feet, and covered in hanging clothes. The people, young guys especially come out and beckon you into their stall, or want you to follow them to their stall to look at what they have.
I was able to buy 4 really cute dresses for Shelbyanne for about $3 each.
And then...
A guy had us follow him to his stall where he was going to show me some long skirts for me, which I need a few of. His stall was one with a lot of prom/bridesmaid dresses. He had us sit down on a small bench. Then he pulled out a very big bag of clothes. He started pulling out clothes from the bag (shirts, shorts, pants, skirts) and asking if I liked them. As he was going through the bag another lady came up and he asked us all to scoot over so she could sit down. He was showing us all his wares.
I found one skirt that I liked, and the negotiations began. He gave me a price and Upendo, my house helper, made a face. I knew what she was thinking, I just didn't know what to say to him. He spoke some English and tried to explain to me how they do business here. We ended negotiating a good price, $5, after things got a little heated. Upendo really stood up for me. It was awesome to watch her. It just reinforced my decision never to go to that market alone until I am fluent in Swahili.

Hope your day was just as interesting.
Blessings,
Amy

Just thought I would post some pictures from when the team from FBC Ft. Lauderdale came to visit.

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