Young and Old

It always amazes me to see how different the "cultures" are even within the country of Peru. Enjoy seeing the faces of Apurimac, both young and old!

What Are You Hungry For?

When visiting the markets, I am always amazed by the quantity of items offered. I still have yet to understand how people actually make money. Each product is offered by a multitude of people. So my question becomes, if you sell the same thing as someone else, how do you get business? Usually it depends on your service to the customer and the relationships you build. Interesting way of doing business I think. I love the change to explore, ask questions and smile at the curious onlookers.

Here is a variety of the things offered in the Apurimac markets...

How Many Mangoes Equal a Dozen Oranges?

Peruvian markets are full of rich colors, flavorful smells, interesting people and delicious food! In Uripa, the market was full of people speaking Quechua. Jacky wanted to speak with one of the ladies selling fruit and Elias had to translate for him. He said he felt like "a visitor in his own country" since he needed a translator to communicate.

He also commented that in history classes, he had learned that at one time in Peru's history, those in the market did not use money to buy the wares of others, but instead paid with the products they had. He was rather surprised to see his new friend fill up a woman's skirt with oranges only to have her bring back mangoes in exchange. He commented that although this practice was said to still exist in parts of Peru, it was the first time he was actually seeing it with his own eyes.

Innocence of Children

A normal method of shopping here would take a person to the mercado. Shopping in a market can be fun and yet confusing. When you walk into a market, you see stand after stand with the same products. Todos tienen platanos, todos tienen mandarinas, y todos tienen bolsas negras para llevar tus cosas. So what makes you buy from one and not the other? Relationships. You buy one week, you buy the next week and then you are a regular customer - you get the better deals, the suggestions, and the extra treats. As you go from stand to stand, you select products and pay for them on the spot. Each stand has it's own marketing technique (compratelo!), each has it's own scale and it's own money box.

What happens when a person who has shopped all their lives in a mercado goes into a supermarket? Often they are overwhelmed by all the products, are confused by the aisles, have never used a shopping cart in their lives, and usually do not have any idea where to begin. I have had someone ask how to open the display refrigerators to take out a bottle of coke. I have had people hesitate to select and bag the produce. I have watched people fearfully take a cart because they have never pushed one before.

What happens when a child enters a supermarket for the first time when all he knows is the mercado? He tells his mother to "take some of everything in the store - we don't have to pay for it; it's free!" Later, he learned that they collect money for everything at the checkout stand.

How cute! Que lindo!