Veggie Market

Second trip to the Veggie Market was more exciting.  It seemed as if the veggies were fresher than the previous excursion to the market, we went to the other veggie market I had been to on my tour of Riyadh when I first arrived in Saudi.  One thing I like about the market it you can buy large quantities, at the commissary it comes in almost single serving size packages that it bothers me. 

We headed out the day after Spencer got back from his trip to the US.  There wasn’t much in the fridge or otherwise for us to eat. 

Spencer had one of the boys with a cart follow us around as we stocked up on veggies.  We tried to be friendly with him but he wasn’t having any of it. Either he was too shy or proud.  I gave him 10 SAR which I felt was double the amount I should have given him.  I don’t want them to get too greedy and start demanding more.  We may think we are helping them by giving them a bit extra but it doesn’t work like that.

When we headed over to the fruits this is when it started to get exciting.  We were wandering through discussing what and where we wanted to buy certain fruits.  Spencer left me to put some stuff in the car.  I wanted to buy some mangoes; at man at the same vendor told me those mangoes I was looking at were too soft.  Then a minute later he came back and said the mangoes over here are better. Then he asked me where I was from.  He said he loved America and studied there.  He mentioned his daughter studying English translation and never speaking to an American before.  In the mean time a group of boys had surrounded Spencer and he was joking around with them.  The guy asked me if I would talk with his daughter, as I said yes, he calls her right there. As this is happening our groups combine and I am surrounded by all the fruit selling young men and Spencer is snapping pictures while I am chatting with the man’s daughter on the phone.  It is all a bit chaotic but fun!  The guy who spoke English had said that most people don’t talk with these boys so they loved it and especially getting close to a white lady.