again, pictures will come later.... but you can use your imagination a little.
the market is an amazing phenomenon in most of the world's cultures, unfortunately not the American one. for example, in the Hausa language, they have words for each day of the week, but more commonly refer to "wednesday" as "galmi" ... because on wednesdays, The Market is in Galmi. "friday" would be "konni" - because The Market is in Konni on fridays. so when i ask what day the fever started, my interpreter says "friday" knowing that I don't know that's when The Market is at Konni, but she and the patient and everyone else knows that friday is market day in Konni, and the patient's answer was ' "konni" is the day the fever started'. Hope you followed that. ... all to say that the life of this culture (and many others i've seen) revolve around The Market.
And today i was reminded of why. it's a lively, colorful scene... teeming with life of all kinds - plant, insect, animal and human. you can literally find almost anything at The Market. here's a small list:
live animals - goats, sheep, cattle
fruits
dried spices
oil - for your car, motorcycle, and cooking, in vodka bottles
carts pulled by donkeys
mattresses
clothes - from all over the world, many used
watches
pharmacy items
undergarments
dead animals (accompanied by insect life)
gourds carved into bowls
woven mats
hides of goats, sheep, cattle
cloth
perfume
DVD player
bikes
notebooks
lawn chairs
sugar in big heaps on the ground
roots that are of the potato family
and... possibly everyone in Galmi and beyond for miles.
Deb and i (Deb is a nurse from the US, here with her husband Alan and 2 kids) were the only white faces in the masses of people there. this earned us 'special' prices and a lot of offers to buy any number of items. she did a great job of navigating the scene (no orderly stalls or straight aisles) and bargainning and we came home with a few of the above items. and a vivid taste/experience of real life here in Niger. i really do love The Market.
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