I just spent like ten minutes trying desperately to figure out how to spell that word in Malawian Chichewa. They spell it differently in Zambia, and they pronounce it differently too. And sleepiness kicked in like 20 minutes ago, I couldn't seem to figure out what order the vowels were in, and I was very confused.
Anyway, this is a post about the Chitenje market. Pronounced (here) Sha-tin-jee.
Today, a wonderfully sweet lady named Scharlie Carlisle that lives a few houses down from us took us shopping. She kindly drove us to and escorted us through the Chitenje market so we could buy some wonderful fabric. See, we find the curtains in our house to be very bland, and we want to cover some cabinets without doors, as well as our closets that don't have doors. And Aly wants a quilt.
So here's the process: Drive a long way, down a road known as coffin row, and then on further. Pay for parking and convince the nice men helping people park to not make you sqeeeeeeeze into a tiny parking space in reverse. Walk back into this incredibly sketchy looking place (through an area that smells like stables) down a few steps, around a few corners, through a tiny alley, and into a big, covered area where dozens of women are lined up with fabric. Walk through and ask to see pretty things. Bargain, converse, and enjoy the time with the ladies trying to guess what colors you like and show you certain fabrics accordingly. Pay for 2, 4, or 6 meters of the fabric you like, and kindly decline those you decide to opt out of. Decline the tailors offering to make you clothing on the way out. Try and fail to get into the vehicle the way you got out, due to the car now parked less than a foot away from your door. Leave!
This was a wonderful experience that I thoroughly enjoyed, and in the end, we left with 2 or 4 meters of 10 different fabrics. It was a pricey day for us, but we have some really beautiful things now to use for ourselves, our house, and on others.
We also went to another market next to the post office where we got ripped off a little, but made friends with a guy named "Chicken Leg" whom I'm sure I will remember and find again next time I'm there. We came away with some wood carvings of Africa, and a gorgeous painting of elephants.
Finally we went to this really nice indoor store where we bought 2 large, matching wall hangings, one with elephants and one with giraffes. They're probably like 6 feet long. Can't wait to put them up in our house!
Overall it's been a really fun day. Aly and I cleaned the house a bit this afternoon and gathered some flowers for a lovely arrangement now sitting on our coffee table. Breakfast for dinner tonight, and now I'm just trying to stay awake! It's been a fantastic, productive day, but I am thoroughly exhausted! This week was long and tiresome as well, but also a good week. We made it through week 2 of school, and I gave my first tests yesterday. But more on school another day.
Thanks again for your prayers! Yesterday marked our 4 week anniversary here in Lilongwe, and we've really learned a ton in the past month. I even ventured off campus to drive to crossroads earlier this week! It's been an exciting journey, and one that has only barely begun. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what is in store for the next month! We'll post pictures of our beautiful curtains soon!
Anyway, this is a post about the Chitenje market. Pronounced (here) Sha-tin-jee.
Today, a wonderfully sweet lady named Scharlie Carlisle that lives a few houses down from us took us shopping. She kindly drove us to and escorted us through the Chitenje market so we could buy some wonderful fabric. See, we find the curtains in our house to be very bland, and we want to cover some cabinets without doors, as well as our closets that don't have doors. And Aly wants a quilt.
So here's the process: Drive a long way, down a road known as coffin row, and then on further. Pay for parking and convince the nice men helping people park to not make you sqeeeeeeeze into a tiny parking space in reverse. Walk back into this incredibly sketchy looking place (through an area that smells like stables) down a few steps, around a few corners, through a tiny alley, and into a big, covered area where dozens of women are lined up with fabric. Walk through and ask to see pretty things. Bargain, converse, and enjoy the time with the ladies trying to guess what colors you like and show you certain fabrics accordingly. Pay for 2, 4, or 6 meters of the fabric you like, and kindly decline those you decide to opt out of. Decline the tailors offering to make you clothing on the way out. Try and fail to get into the vehicle the way you got out, due to the car now parked less than a foot away from your door. Leave!
This was a wonderful experience that I thoroughly enjoyed, and in the end, we left with 2 or 4 meters of 10 different fabrics. It was a pricey day for us, but we have some really beautiful things now to use for ourselves, our house, and on others.
We also went to another market next to the post office where we got ripped off a little, but made friends with a guy named "Chicken Leg" whom I'm sure I will remember and find again next time I'm there. We came away with some wood carvings of Africa, and a gorgeous painting of elephants.
Finally we went to this really nice indoor store where we bought 2 large, matching wall hangings, one with elephants and one with giraffes. They're probably like 6 feet long. Can't wait to put them up in our house!
Overall it's been a really fun day. Aly and I cleaned the house a bit this afternoon and gathered some flowers for a lovely arrangement now sitting on our coffee table. Breakfast for dinner tonight, and now I'm just trying to stay awake! It's been a fantastic, productive day, but I am thoroughly exhausted! This week was long and tiresome as well, but also a good week. We made it through week 2 of school, and I gave my first tests yesterday. But more on school another day.
Thanks again for your prayers! Yesterday marked our 4 week anniversary here in Lilongwe, and we've really learned a ton in the past month. I even ventured off campus to drive to crossroads earlier this week! It's been an exciting journey, and one that has only barely begun. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what is in store for the next month! We'll post pictures of our beautiful curtains soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment