The Local Market and a New Appreciation for Canada Day.

This morning, a co-worker and I went to a local market.  My co-worker has a huge amount of experience on this continent and believes in shopping locally as much as possible rather than supporting the “western style” grocery stores that are owned by out of country interests.  The market that I had previously found during my walks, was only the face of this massive open air shopping mall.  We toured deep into the narrow maze of shops and stands.  There were shops that sold shoes, clothes , electronics, tacky novelties, and food of all types.  The floor was dirt and the roof was a laberant of tarps put together to cover the merchandise from the rain or sun.  

The clothing stores sold “western style” clothing that appeared and felt to be good quality.  A person could also purchase traditional tribal and islamic garb.  If nothing on the racks suited or fit you, tailors were sewing together outfits.

The shoe section would drive my wife nuts!  Every style of shoes imaginable, from athletic to hiking boots to formal ladies shoes to fashionable dress shoes.  Prices were about 1/4 of what we would pay in Canada for the same.  Again, you could even get shoes custom made for less than we would pay for the comparable.

What fascinated me the most was the food section.  Talking about a overload on the scenes!  The smells were anywhere from lovely to putrid!  My co-worker (who frequently buys his food here) showed me what I could eat and what to stay away from.  I must admit, there where very few fruits I had ever seen before or for that matter heard of.  Since I am staying in a hotel room and can’t cook for another week, I refrained from buying much, besides bananas.  Surprisingly, the shop owners didn’t raise their prices just because we were weren’t locals.

As each day passes, I feel a little more comfortable being the minority.  I have learned a little bit of Arabic and can sense when I should continue to walk!


One last thing, HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!  Canada is 144 years old!!   I am presently in a country that is going to celebrate it's day of birth in 9 days and Canada day this year has a lot more meaning.  Even though we are over taxed, live in a cold climate, have perpetual problems with our government, we are truly very lucky to live in such a healthy, clean and prosperous place.