Friday, October 24, 2008

Walking to the market at dusk

Two posts in one day, aren't you lucky. Once again, we are taking advantage of a better connection at the office. We ARE hooked up to Internet at our flat, but it is sooooo slow it might be worse than having no connection at all! Thanks for your long and agonized comments, Becky and Taz - maybe we should stay over here!

Very often we walk over to the market in the evening, and evening here lasts about two minutes, so we end up walking in the dark. Those of you who have been here know that “rush hour” is from 7 to 10 as people walk home from work, grabbing a meal from streetside vendors: Women squatting on the 3-legged stools and selling pancakes cooked in oil in a kind of wok, or roasting maize that smells just like popcorn (but is very tough and coarse); men roasting muchomo (skewers of goat or chicken meat), or chicken pieces at tall bbqs. Shoe vendors are especially prevalent right now, for some reason. They spread out scrubbed and sparkling black shoes on tarps or elaborate wooden shoe stands – the shoes are all used, but look amazingly new. And while they await customers, the vendors work in little sudsy basins cleaning yet more shoes.

It’s like magic – as soon as dusk falls, the vendors appear. And little tables pop up in the parking lots so people can have a Krest or Fanta (sodas) in comfort. Suddenly every nook and cranny comes alive. It’s our favorite time to go out to see what’s going on.

1 comment:

Spydah said...

Hi Bill & Teresa- Sarah called me a little while ago. Glad to hear where you are and about Liam's coming wedding. I thought you still lived on Bainbridge Island. Surprised to hear that you're in Queen Anne- that's where Jamie and Kristen are- on W. Florentia. I've walked all around the area (great hills!) and may have been past your house on my wanderings! I may be in Seattle in Dec. Will call to see if you're around. Ruthie