Today, I visited a local market in the area where I recently moved to buy some foodstuffs and ingredients for cooking. Since I am still new to the neighbourhood, I am not yet familiar with all the market activities and traditions. However, I discovered that the market operates on specific market days, and unfortunately, today was not one of them. As a result, the market was unusually quiet, with very few traders and customers around. The place looked almost deserted compared to what I imagined a busy market day would look like.
I went to the market with my children, Tosa, Ebuka and Favour, hoping to get the things we needed for cooking. One interesting thing I am gradually learning about this market is its rotating market-day system. The market days follow a sequence: if the market day falls on a Monday one week, it moves to Tuesday the following week, then Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in turn. Saturday comes twice before the cycle starts all over again on Monday. The market is usually closed on Sundays. Unfortunately, because today was not the designated market day, the place was unusually quiet, and there was hardly any trading activity.
My main purpose for visiting the market was to buy half a bag of flour, half a bag of garri, and some ingredients for preparing soup at home. I had planned to get everything I needed in one trip because I was quite pressed for time. I needed to finish my shopping quickly so I could head to church and, afterwards, return to the market with a fellow church member to make enquiries and survey the place in preparation for the children's meeting scheduled for Saturday. It was going to be a busy day, so I hoped to get everything done without wasting too much time.
My first stop was the flour shop, a place I had visited a couple of times before and where I had gradually become a regular customer. While I was busy bargaining with the seller, I noticed an akara woman selling across from the shop. It was a cold morning, and the hot, freshly prepared akara was simply too tempting to ignore.
Favour couldn't resist, so she got herself some hot akara to enjoy
while we continued with our shopping. Sometimes, it's the little unexpected moments that make an ordinary market trip memorable!
After paying for the flour, I left it at the shop for Tosa and Ebuka to pick up and take home when they returned.
We then proceeded deeper into the market in search of garri. I went straight to the trader I had in mind, negotiated the price, and we finally agreed on an amount.
Unfortunately, my network was misbehaving, making it difficult to complete the bank transfer. I eventually handed my ATM card to Tosa and left them to sort out the payment and take the garri home.
Meanwhile, Favour and I continued our shopping adventure. We went in search of snails, egusi and some pepper for the soup. Along the way, I came across some biscuit bones
, but they didn't look appealing enough, so I decided to pass.
My daughter probably thought I had come to
the market without a shopping bag,
but little did she know that I am always prepared!
I had brought along a bag I had packed beforehand, so I brought it out and carefully put our purchases inside.
With our shopping mission almost accomplished, Favour and I headed straight to church.
And just like that, one adventure came to an end, while another was about to begin. When I eventually returned home, I found that Tosa and Ebuka had already returned from the market, and the items we had purchased were safely at home too. At least, that part of the day's mission had been successfully accomplished!
Thank you guys for tuning in I'll share the church adventure soon I love y'all