I’m not much of a negotiator, I would rather walk into a store, see the price, decide if I want it then either leave or purchase it. This whole negotiating thing is really testing my people skills and some of you already know I would rather be on the computer blogging, working on the website or behind the camera. Living in Tala, or any other place in Kenya, you negotiate especially at the market. My first experience was with limes…yes I wanted to start out small! I use limes in my Coke Light and had run out so I went to the market to purchase a few. I walked up to the stand, picked up a lime and asked (in Swahili) “how much?” I was psyching myself up for the bartering to begin, after all I have white skin so of course I’m figuring the price would be at least double! To my surprise she said 4 limes for 20/ksh which I thought was a pretty good price and I was happy not needing to negotiate. I was told later if it had been a market day – kind of like a farmers market day – I could have gotten them 4 for 10/ksh but the price I got was reasonable for a non-market day, so I’ll remember that next time.
That got me feeing pretty good about trying it again…with a basket this time.
I wanted a very small basket, if you cup your hands that was about the size I wanted, to be used to hold decorative stones (weird I know but that’s what I was looking for). Using my rudimentary Kiswahili I asked the lady (not the one pictured here) how much for a very small basket. She replied “300/ksh” (shilling) and I picked up a basket like the one pictured above and asked “how much?” and she told me 350/ksh. I said why would I want to pay roughly the same for a large basket as a very small basket? She said “ok 250/ksh” to which I said “100/ksh” and pointed to about the second line up and cupped my hands to show her how small I wanted it. She said a few things in Swahili or Kamba not really sure which but she never said ok so I told her to forget it and walked away. Maybe I’ll check with the ladies in the photo and see if they can help me and I’ll go on a market day when lots of people are around and sales are being made so I can hopefully get a deal.
It’s a new way of shopping, especially for items like fruits and veggies. I’m slowly getting used to the prices and what things should go for and a few of the ladies at the market are seeing I’m not a tourist but someone who lives here and wants to be treated like a local. Maybe if my skin were a bit darker I’d be more of a local!