Changes in the market

   One thing that always annoyed me in Canada was when the supermarket would redo a store and move things around so I couldnt find things again. Well out here similar things happen. Every once in a while the police will move through the market area and tell people to move which opens up the market area. Usually people will clear out for a few hours to a few days and then the return and the cycle repeats itself every few weeks or months. Last week however the police decided to clear a much larger area up than in the past which resulted in lots of changes. It was nice to be able to walk down the much wider roads and not have to fight the people and car traffic as had slowly become the norm since shortly before Christmas. It seems with Christmas coming more vendors would appear to set up shop and slowly the 2 lane road became one for both vehicles and people. The downfall this week however seemed to be a major backup of traffic on the main roads for some reason and a boda/truck accident near the market which resulted in tons of traffic driving through the previously widened market roads. Hopefully the matatu (bus) drivers don't see it as a permanent short cut in the future and then we can go back to nice open roads where we can all walk or drive without all the chaos... now if only the boda (motorcycle) drivers can stay on the road and out of the market itself I'd be happy (compare it to someone driving a bike through the local produce market).

Another bonus to having all the changes is that they have a nice section where all the fruits/veggies are and as a result I found some new things (yay for dill, green beans, and passion fruit). I couldn't find the lady that I normally got my potatoes from and haven't been able to find her back but I have found a new person for this which is great. In general I prefer to buy from the same person as then I know the price will be fair and the quality will be consistent. It happens often enough that the price goes up when they see white skin so finding someone who gives a fair price is a good thing, unlike when I paid 10 pounds for a soccer ball only to find out someone else got a similar one for 3 pounds elsewhere.