Bananas and Bride Prices

On Saturday the 18th Charlotte and I went to the market with Elizabeth, Irene’s niece. We walked from the house down the super duper bumpy road to the main road and hopped into a matatu. The door manager pretty much sat on me because my seat was the closest to the door. Charlotte and Elizabeth were sharing a seat directly behind me. My personal bubble was definitely popped. Fortunately, we didn’t have far to go, so the ride was not totally unbearable. At the market, we purchased sweet potatoes. The produce sellers kept telling Charlotte and me to buy their fruits or vegetables, despite the fact that we flat out told them we had absolutely no money with us and that it was Elizabeth who was buying things. They continued to direct their sales pitches to us, fairly ignoring Elizabeth. Talk about cheating yourself out of a sale. After we left the potato sellers, we searched for some good bananas. The men we bought the bananas from begged Elizabeth "For the love of God, tell them we are single!" It was pretty ridiculous. Chris was very optimistic about our prospects when we told him this. He thinks we could go back and bargain 24 cows apiece for our bride prices. I talked to my dad about it, and he thinks we should hold out for 25 cows and a chicken. It’s nice to be highly valued.

~Bethany