Right now I am in the part of Kenya where President Obama's family comes from. He is part of a tribe of people called Luo, so I am meeting many, many people who are Luo. There are photos and posters of the President everywhere, and lots of people can be seen wearing shirts with his picture - everyone is so excited that Barack Obama is president of the USA!
Today I went to the center of the town where I am staying. It is called Ugunja, and in Ugunja there are market days on Tuesdays and Fridays, when people come from neighboring towns to buy and sell all the different things they might need. There are no supermarkets or malls nearby, so everything including clothes, food, tools, and cleaning supplies is bought and sold on market days. The market is all outdoors so the people put the items they are selling in wooden stalls or on blankets on the ground, and you just walk around through a maze of people to buy all the things on your list.
When we were in the part of the market for food, we saw big piles of dried corn that Kenyan people grind into tiny pieces to cook ugali. We also saw fish that has been dried out so it can last a long time (no electricity means no fridges!). I saw big piles of onions, garlic, tomatoes, and kale. You could buy an orange and have someone cut it up for you right there so you could eat it while you shopped. There were also chickens tied up to trees that you could buy for about $3. In Kenya, if you want chicken for supper, you buy it while it's still alive!
We also went through a part of the market where clothing is sold. You can buy new clothes, or used clothes if you want to save some money, but everything is laid out on blankets on the ground so you can't try anything on! I bought two shirts, and together they cost me less than $5 which I thought was a very good price.
I also saw all kinds of things being sold which are not food or clothes. I saw safety pins, matchboxes, cooking spoons, pots and pans, soap, plastic tubs for washing clothes, farming tools, rope, and brooms. And I didn't even see the whole market!
It was really fun to go shopping this way because everything is sold by an individual person so you can stop and talk with tons of people while you shop, and each one knows a lot about what they are selling. For example, the people selling corn can tell you exactly how to prepare it, and the people selling fabric can tell you how much you need to make a dress or pair of pants. It is not like going to Wal-Mart or CVS where there are many different items and the workers may not know anything about an item you are interested in. In fact, I like the Kenyan market a lot because I love to talk to all the different people! It was also fun to be outside, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine while I shopped. I had a great time!
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