going to market

This is one of thousands of small plots along the side of the road that are being worked by hand to be ready to plant with maize. They work so hard. It is beginning to rain more often now and it will be time to get the seed in the ground. They have to time it just right.

Okay...here we are at the fruit and vegetable market. Amy is bargaining for a better price for tomatoes. She prefers for Bob to do the bargaining because it is very exhausting to go back and forth about every item you purchase. The sellers are very pushy. When they would get to pushy or suggest a price that was way too high...Amy would just laugh. She handled it so well...I was a proud Mama. Don't these tomatoes look wonderful!!!

Rows and rows of fruits and vegetables all stacked and made beautiful so that some will buy. Lots of competition and pushy sellers.

We kept a tight hand on Nya and Analise due to the crowds and unfamiliar people. They seemed to be quite comfortable with the whole scene. Not like Gary and I who were nervous, because we are "Mzungus" (white people) and don't speak the language. Amy has many words in the language plus some speak a smattering of English. Most the time Gary and I have no idea what is being said. We would be lost without Bob and Amy.

This at a "suburban" home of a Malawian that is where a "tailor" lives. The white stuff on the mat is the end product of the corn they grow and it has been milled to flour but is wet so it needs to be dried. Lots of flies were helping it dry. Notice the little charcoal cooker on the cement that is used to cook the family's food.

This is the "tailor" that will make some clothes for Amy. Amy brought three ladies from the college to help explain to the tailor what it is that she wanted. Notice all the pictures on the walls of the possible styles of dress. He made them all without patterns. He took a few measurements and smiled alot. Amy felt satisfied with the end results.

Here we are all in the small space where the tailor works. He was in his mid to late 20's and earned a good wage for his family.

This is the market where we bought the cloth for Amy's projects. It was very dark in the area and the women were very pushy about their goods. Most of the sellers had the same patterns of fabric and it changes every day. All the fabric there was of the same quality.