Tangeru Market

What a day, last Wednesday! I got my library card and check out the Kiswahili book. Now I have no excuses! So each AM three things to do: worship, check on work, and Kiswahili lessons.

I also went by myself to the Tangeru Market, that's the bigger market and on Saturdays and Wednesday. What an adventure! It is very big. I first went to the clothing 'department'. It was like a giant flea market! Clothing everywhere. Each category was present, men's, women's, children and even sub categories; fleece sweaters, pants, skirts, ties, hats, there were even blankets, towels, rugs, curtains, material and heaps of household things, just a lot of everything. It wasn't the people who overwhelmed me; just the thought of everything I need to be getting for work.

We are working on getting together a catalog of prices and pictures of things we need for the home/kids. I thought about getting prices from things at the market because that is where most things come from for local households, but I then doubted people would want to buy second hand things for our main purchases for our nyumbani, home. We could buy things from the market for extras or if I found something great, like the nice rug I got for my room and the small mirror for my bathroom. Other than that I'm going to go in to Arusha to 'real' stores to get prices on everything like clothes, pots, and school supplies. I hope to do that this week with the help of Mary.

            After looking around/getting lost in the giant 'department' of clothing I worked my way towards the food section. It proved harder to do than originally I had thought. I had to ask for directions, but I wasn't doing a good job. I was asking, "Wapi embe?" which is "Where Mango". Not the best method I've used at communicating before. I was being sent basically in a big circle, and that was frustrating. I didn't want to keep passing the same people, I was getting hungry and you wouldn't believe the heat that I was finding under the Tanzanian sun! At the last place I went to I purposely looked for younger people and asked the same thing, then I tried a new word, Napenda. I like. Then they were beginning to understand, it also helped they spoke more English than the others before. They taught me a new word, nataka, I want. Ahh, the word of the day! "Nataka ndizi", I want bananas. Phew, help was on its way and one of the nice ladies walked me over to the food section.

            The food section was just as big as the clothing and it was wonderful. I just love markets, farmers markets, clothing markets, flea markets, and this one was what I would call a great market or perhaps a super market.  They had the food I wanted, avocados, bananas, garlic, onions, rice, oranges, and lemons. They had it all and more. I made my purchases, worked my way out and found my daladala, bus, for Usa River, bought a roasted corn for a snack and made my way nyumbani. What a great adventure the Tangeru market is to be sure.