Market Day! – June 25, 2011
We used the second half of our Saturday to take a little break and do some shopping at the nearby town/trading center of Msundwe. Wednesdays and Saturdays are market days in Msundwe and Sabha and I were really excited to get a feel for the local market. Jeff and Karen arranged to have Lester, the sight supervisor, meet us in Msundwe and show us around a bit. The market was bustling with people buying anything from chips (aka Malawian French fries) to bananas to used clothing and chitenje (cloth warn by the local women). We spent the majority of our time going back and forth between vendors looking for the perfect cloth to make into shoulder bags. After searching and searching we took our chitenje to a tailor and he pumped out bag after bag for just 150 kwacha (about $1) each.
Other than the chitenje, the other thing that caught my eye (as it always does) was the street food. I’ve been warned against anything made in questionable oil, but I couldn’t help but look. Of course, there were tons of stands with men making chips, fried chicken, a cabbage mixture but there were also women selling different types of donuts, fish tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, ground nuts (peanuts), fresh breads, and of course nsima. Whenever I travel, I am always interested in eating the ‘local cuisine.’ While there are definitely local staples, I’ve come to realize that here in Malawi the people really just eat whatever they can. I see people of all ages chewing on sugar cane and making nsima because that’s what is available. I did try some of what Lester called ‘African cake.’ It tasted a bit like cornbread, but it was much more dense (and filling) and not quite as sweet.
When we were finally ready to head back to the site, we bought Lester a few gifts as a token of our appreciation – including a pair of new white shoes! He was so grateful and we knew that he would look very smart preaching in those at church the next day. Lester also showed us his house on the way back. It consisted of a courtyard area, a kitchen, and the house itself (a sitting room with a tv and radio and a bedroom). It was really great to get to see a part of Lester’s life other than what we see on the site. We met his wife and daughter, Faith, but were sadly unable to meet his son, Wonder. We made the full walk back to CLI for the first time and it took about an hour and ten minutes. A large portion of the CLI employees make that walk twice a day, in addition to their 10-hour workday. Despite this, they still manage to greet me everyday with a smile on their face. Their spirit never ceases to amaze me!