Shopping! Shopping! Shopping!

Every Sunday the parking lot of one of the strip malls in town become an authentic African handicrafts market. For anyone traveling to Zambia in the future, this is the Arcades Sunday Market. It wouldn’t have been proper for me to take pictures of the market and it would have out-ed me as a sucker in future bargaining deals. So…let me do my best to paint a picture of the scene.

In the parking lot there are three straight rows of vendors who come early in the morning to set up their “shops.” I say shops loosely, as it really means just laying out what you have on a tarp or maybe just the ground. Some people have canopies to shield them from the sun. Others, mainly the jewelry vendors have card tables. But the vast majority are poorer artisans displaying carvings of wood and stone. Many of the women have hand made quilts. There is everything at this market. Items include: oil paintings, copper carving wall hangings, semi-precious stone jewelry, wooden and stone sculptures of animals, wooded salad bowls, drums, masks, clothing, and some people even have plants. It’s definitely a market geared toward visiting tourists or ex-pats with an expendable income.

Just FYI – Zambia’s biggest exports are copper and semi-precious stones. They have uncut stones that are really cheap. They also have several things made out of what’s called monkey fruit. It’s similar to an orange in shape and size, but I have no idea what it tastes like.

I took a taxi to the market to check it out. Michelle is going to meet me here later. Turns out she didn’t feel well after the Tuku concert either and then she went to the kitchen party. I guess, down time for her too. I took a stroll around the shops to get a feel for what is available. There are young guys asking me to take a look at there things and trying to get my attention. I repeat over and over: “No. No. I’m just looking.” Some reply with a wide smile: “That’s ok. Looking is free.” I love Zambians. They are so funny.

I spotted a necklace that’s made of what I think at the time is jade, but since have found out is malachite. It looks like a green strand of pearls and I immediately think of Crystal. While she’s one of my best friends, Crystal is a tried and true southern girl who loves wearing her pearls. I, being raised by Yankee parents and a bit of a tomboy, do not understand the pearl concept. This is an ongoing joke between the two of us and I said to her before I left that I was going to get her the African equivalent to pearls. Jackpot. I negotiated with the guy selling them, but I don’t think I got the best deal I could have. Realizing that I’m in no rush, I went to go have a cup of coffee to collect me thoughts and do some currency conversions so I know how much things cost.

Michelle met up with me and we continued the shopping endeavor. My negotiating skills were much better after I focused a little bit. I ended up with a framed oil painting for $26, a solid wood ebony coaster set for $11 and two batik canvases for $22 each. I also got a few other things that I can’t tell you about yet because they are gifts. All in all it was a fantastic shopping day. I look forward to going back in the next few weeks to check more items off of my list.