Shopping experience with Kenyan taste

I thought I like shopping….but not so much here where it is somewhat laborious with tens of pushing and persistent sellers and where haggling is a form of art. You need to know how to play the game. Well, then again you can find treasures for really good price if you just can play with the rules. It is just so against my Finnish nature not to have my own space and control when shopping (yes, I did come after good cultural experiences so what am I complaining!!!) and even a month was not long enough to make me used to it. I just enjoy my privacy and having my own pace. Well, like they say: live in each country according to its own way; in Finnish “maassa maan tavalla”.

In front of our “countryside” hotel Merica in Nakuru, we had a “Masai” street market every day and I am sure there were 30-40 sellers at least from very early in the morning until the dusk and you could not go by without getting at least 5 sellers after you. Well, there is a trick to this one as well: our local assignment coordinator Alex offered to check the “local” prices at first before taking us there! Of course the prices are different to a local guy than to muzungus (tourists). Well, as he had agreed the prices for us we also got these cheap local prices to the disappointment of the sales guys. Well, a bit dirty trick but so is “cheating” of tourists who are not that used to the local prices. I got quite a bit with 1900 Kenyan shillings (approx. 16 euros). A big black soup stone statue with a 4 member family like mine, some Masai pictures, a bowl and an elephant. I was happy! (yes, shopping can be fun here too…)

Street view from the market

As if I needed anything or that my luggage would allow any extra (let alone the airline limits), this morning I ended up in the market again with Inna and Sugandha. I saw a nice (heavy!) African mask…and my constant comments to the sales guys about not fitting anything more to my suitcase ended up me going to get my running shoes (the ones I had had already a while and which I was going to leave behind anyway) and some other cheap stuff from my room and trading them to the mask I wanted. Funny! And quite a deal! It seems that good Western shoes and clothes have value here where you probably would not be able to get them otherwise. They need shoes more than I do and I need the mask more than they do. Win win…I am sure the sales man was happy and felt that he won but I think so too.

This is just one example of the major differences between my home country and this beautiful Kenya. I could go on and on about the differences but what would that do…Just enjoying cultural exposure!