09.08.08 9:29 pm
The bus ran its usual Saturday morning shopping circuit. My 31,000 FC groceries had run out and so I decided to brave the stores with Mohamed and Nabih. We went to typical grocery store type markets and they were actually pretty well behaved (one melt down at the third and final store. It is more difficult traveling in a group like this because you must wait for everyone to finish their shopping and frequently complete an obscene number of errands. I suppose it will settle as the school year gets under way.)
The first store was stocked with such reasonably priced juices and canned goods, I began to think I could actually live and eat in Congo. The fruit and vegetable selections inside the stores, however, was dismal. The items floating by the bus windows on vendors’ heads looked amazingly appetizing. I am eager to shop at some outdoor stands for yellow bananas (as opposed to the furry gray ones being offered at City Market today) and oranges under $12.
Of course, we boarded the bus first, as I was quick to find my supplies and get the kids out. We enjoyed watching the street vendors come up and offer us things. Mohamed got very good at playing the role of middleman. He would point out interesting items to those of us on the bus and if we declined he would shake his head at the vendor and shrug his shoulders, saying “Nope, she said no.” As if he had really tried to make the sale.
So a man selling green beans walked by and tried valiantly to sell his ware. Someone on the bus was interested and so was Mohamed. So I made the sale. But I pushed for a lower price, figuring this is what I was supposed to do. We did get 2 bags, 500 FC less than he suggested. But here it is 9:30 at night and I am still thinking about it. I didn’t really know what was a good price and after paying $10 for 5 oranges, could I really argue about $2.50 for a large bag of good looking green beans? I don’t feel good about this.
Because I hate to be taken advantage of (should I mention the babysitter who asked for, and got- I suppose that’s the point-[at the school’s expense] $20 for one night’s worth of child care!!?? Ps- the going rate is $5 per day, maybe $10 if they stay the night…) and because I want to do what is right I try to haggle. I’m not great at it which gives me a rude, insistent style. And in the end I feel worse than if I had just paid what they were asking (although I put my foot down at $20. I would not have paid that.)
It is hard to feel we are all getting a fair deal when things start out so inherently unfair. It is hard not to give some money or even a T-shirt to the really cute kid wearing an oversize suit jacket and swinging down the length of the bars on the gate outside the store. But he was not alone, there were at least two other children with sad smiles and band-aids, a crying baby and two elderly handicapped sitting in a tricycle-wheelchair contraption found so frequently on these streets. And that was just one small cluster. There is no way to even up all the odds but I could have easily paid the 500 FC.
