Kigali stories: Kimirongo Market

So my bad, I just realized I had stories from Africa I forgot to integrate into the pictures...whoops. Well, y'all can read them now and I'll try to link to the post with photos where it's relevant.

May 5, 2012
On Saturday Sam, Nynne, and I made our way over to Kimirongo Market, one of the biggest markets in Kigali. While Nynne was looking for a new purse, we walked into one of the clothing stalls and this old man there with a cane took a liking to Sam. He kept offering her marriage, and was pinching her arm and slapping her when she tried to get away. Sam was laughing, but at the same time the guy was seriously pinching her and she was trying to get away before his marks turned too red. The actual stall owner kept assuring us that he was joking, and I couldn't help laughing at the comedic scene (albeit from a safe, pinch-free distance)...

After we got away from the old man and with Nynne's new purse, we headed over to the fruit stands. One of my favorite things about going to countries that aren't overly developed and filled with supermarkets is that you can still get fresh (and cheap) fruits and vegetables. After bargaining with the sellers, I made off with a bag full of bananas for 250 Rwf ($0.41) and 150 Rwf ($0.25) for an avocado, which I proceeded to eat later in my room while waiting out a huge downpour.

Later on my way home, I mistakenly had it in my head that we were on the western side of Kigali, when in reality we were on the Eastern side. As a result, I started haggling with a mototaxi driver, saying I wanted to go home for 500 Rwf. In reality, that trip probably should have cost about 1400 Rwf...After 10 mototaxi drivers all pulled up and joined the discussion and a woman working at the cell phone booth next door came over to mediate, we finally settled on 1000 Rwf. I was arguing so earnestly because I was completely convinced that they were trying to screw me over, only to discover 30 minutes later that it really was quite far from my house...whoops, haha. I can just imagine the other 9 mototaxi drivers talking later about the crazy mzungu woman.