Haggling Trial

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I've just been fired from blogging. -Alex

Anyways, on Sunday we went to the Artist Village in Kigali. It was an outdoor mall of shops the size of large, walk-in closets and no indoor lighting. We were immediately taken as suckers and ushered into the nearest shop. Nothing has price tags, and we are VERY obviously mozungas (foreigners). Quickly, we learned that if you pause to look at something and especially if you stop to pick it up, it means you really really want to buy it. The next step is to ask the price, and due to our mozunga-ness, everything is priced at least double what it could actually be sold for. Luckily, the first item we picked up was not something we had to have, and upon hearing the price we put it back and turned to leave. At this point, the price was cut in half. When we still said, "No thank you," we were then asked what we would be willing to pay. Thus, we came to learn that you should never accept the first asking price.

As to the wares, there were tons and tons of (scary) masks from the Congo. Some looked like real voodoo dolls with nails sticking out and wild hair made from shredded burlap sacks. From Rwanda, there were lots of painted soapstone bowls, coasters, and plates. The Rwandan masks seemed less scary and were carved from ebony wood. There were lots of baskets, some shaped like platters and some like Russian domes. Of the 30 shops we went to, they all had almost the same selection of items. We bought a carved wood gorilla mask, some mini-baskets, a soapstone bowl, and a small tapestry.

Side note: We have discovered that we're living next to a Catholic convent. There are nuns in white and blue habits, and they are (unfortunately) constantly burning stuff in their backyard. Our house smells like a campsite.

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Comments

[Rhonda Orth]

Pics
Just realized your last post gave directions to pics on facebook - NICE HOUSE! Glad to get a view of where you guys are. And glad to see updates too! Looks like your shopping expedition was a learning experience. You are sure to find some treasures there along the way. Any word on when you will get your stuff will arrive? And will you ever have internet at your home? Feeling settled in yet? Dorothy stopped by a few days ago and we got to visit with her. They were also at the our Ball on Saturday - which went incredibly well! :) Everybody had a super great time, and it went off with no hitches! Keep the updates coming and know you are missed!

[lisa kent]

Good stuff!
Hey, Jenn and Alex! I asked Riley why there wasn't a journal or something-obviously, I didn't look in the right place. It certainly sounds like an adventure. My favorite thing so far is about how easy it is to get lost, since you can't ask for directions to a house with no address- I could hear you saying it- funny. Maybe the nuns are burning something good-like books- you should go see- maybe they're burning all their copies of Moby Dick!