Going to the Market
I don’t go to the market every time we need to, but since being in Banso, I have had the chance to go once already and enjoyed it thoroughly. Whereas in Yaounde the experience is more on the overwhelming side, Banso is much more laid back.
I think the most enjoyable part was negotiating for some onions with the woman who was selling them. Now if you have never ‘beat the price’ (as they say in Pidgin) it is actually quite fun if you don’t take anything personally and realize that they won’t take any price where they lose money.
The whole ordeal involved much going back and forth and several bursts (on both sides) of shock at what the other was offering. So when the woman said to me, ‘You are stealing from me!’, I smiled and knew that things were going well. After settling on a price, which she made clear that I was robbing her blind, I smiled and said,’Thank you, mami.’ I received, in return, a beaming smile and an equally appreciative ‘Thank you’. We had both gotten what we wanted and had some fun while doing it.
