Pretty Woman

This Sunday afternoon Kelly and I ventured to the market in search of running shoes. I’m not quite sure what I was thinking when I packed and didn’t think that I might need a good pair of shoes in Africa, but I was so hell-bent on minimalist packing that I didn’t give it much thought. As a side note to that, everyone at CCA pre-departure training who was impressed by my packing job (*thank-you, I’m blushing*) should be aware that I really didn’t bring enough stuff. I have never said that in my life, but since the houseboy ruined some of my clothes in the wash, I have been wearing one skirt and alternating between blouses every three days at work... And I only have that much to wear because Tracy and I hit the mall in Ottawa! People definitely dress up more for work here than I imagined so all the t-shirts I brought don’t really cut it...there are a few shops here where I can pick up some more clothes, but the selection is fairly poor. But I digress...

Back to the market. There is a huge used clothing market in Lilongwe where the cast-offs of church bazaars and Value Village come to rest. Amazingly, some times you can actually find some good stuff, but you have to be willing to work hard. Everything is arranged so that you have a stall of skirts, a stall of jeans, a stall of bed sheets and even a stall of ties! There is also a whole area devoted to used shoes. Once I walked in there and it was obvious I was in the market for running shoes, I had the most dedicated 10 men at my service! Running this way and that way, bringing shoes and holding them for me to slip my feet into - I felt I like was in Pretty Woman in the scene where she goes shopping and has all the people waiting on her (not of course, the scene where she goes shopping and they think she’s a prostitute). It could have been quite hectic, if not for the fact that it was kind of funny because no shoe seemed to fit! I finally found a pair – not too used looking, not too ugly and not too big or small. Now it comes to the bargaining: The guy started at 7500 kwatcha ($55). My reaction? “but they are USED shoes!” I give him credit though – always start high in the hopes that some chump will pay it. I ended up paying 3500 kwa (“maximum price!”) and he was probably still laughing all the way to the bank...


"But they are USED shoes!"

As a side note, I should add that I should have factored the cost of super glue into the price of my new used shoes. After about an hour of Ultimate Frisbee, the sole started falling off... Is it true that you get what you pay for? I think I might have gotten less