We journeyed into Gondar on a Friday night, and the next morning, we caught the weekly market in town. I love market days! It’s the time of the week when the town comes alive. Anything you could possibly need, you can find on Market Day. The key word here is need, not want. I love the sensory overload – the smell, the color, the noise, the people. Naturally, being an Asian, I stand out in the crowd, and for the most part, the added attention is positive. But then, it depends on how one interpret the attention.
Through our wandering, I discovered an amusing Apple patterned curtain. The seller insisted that this was top quality and wouldn’t budge on price. I gave up, and then the kids wanted to sell chewing gum to me. We made our way through the market. There were donkeys, in case you need one for the household to carry your goods. Fresh produce of all kinds are in piles on the ground. Somehow, the tomatoes and the like seem more luscious when they are in piles on the ground, with some mud still left on the surface.
Raw cotton? Why not. Then as we turned the corner, there is a pile of jugs, presumably to recycle, but likely in their own local way. Those bright yellow jugs represent that two years of life without running water for me. I was brought back to the days when I’d ask neighborhood kids to fill them up with water from the local pump. They represent the rainy days when I’d place the yellow jug strategically under the tin roof to catch rain water. So many memories from these yellow jugs.
Market Day, the time of the week when the community comes together. What wonderful tradition! What incredible energy! These are elements that the ultra-convenient supermarkets of our days could never replicate. And ’tis yet another tradeoffs of modern life.
