The Bazaar

One of my favorite things about spring here is walking everywhere, and one of my favorite things about walking is walking to the bazaar. It’s the only way to shop, in my opinion. I have certain vendors that I go to for each thing and they treat me well. When I ask for a kilo of apples, or half a kilo of strawberries, she goes through and picks each one. So if an apple has a bruise, or if a strawberry looks over-ripe, she passes it over. It’s awesome.

It’s also nice to be able to get exactly the right amount of whatever I need. If I need 2 eggs for a certain recipe, I just order 2 eggs. I go to my favorite grain vendor and get 300 grams of white beans for chili, or get 200 grams of gouda from the cheese lady, as I affectionately call her. Then across the street to the meat bazaar, which is fortunately inside (I don’t think I could ever bring myself to buy meat from an outside vendor!), to buy a chicken. I tell them about how big I need it and they go and find one just the right size. If you know how much I hate to waste things, particularly food, you’ll understand why I love this so much!

All in all, it’s just a great experience. I get to practice my somewhat limited Russian, they get to practice their even more limited English, and it’s just a good time all around. I tried to post some pictures but it's not working out. Cross your fingers and check back later.

By the way, here’s a fun little bit of our ESI Spring retreat two weekends ago. I hope you find these even half as amusing as we did.

Things You Would Never Hear at a Resort in America:

• Oh look, we have a trash can. That's exciting!
• They have a pool? What color is it?
• Do you think the guard will let us out?
• Did anyone notice if we have lights in our living room?
• Does the bathroom have toilet paper?
• Just so you guys know, the water is still on (said at 12:30 am).
• The water here is not brown, not black, but actually purple.

And some fun things from a game of Catchphrase:

• “It’s on the ground in the morning.” “Trash!” (actual answer: dew)
• “This is a common cheese” “Gouda” (actual answer: chedder, something that doesn’t exist in K-stan)