Market Friday in Jamaica

So I have participated in Market Friday occasionally in the past, and I've been meaning to come on back for the longest time. I absolutely love that @dswigle runs this every week and encourages people to share what it is like to go to markets in their areas, all over the world.

(In case you are not aware of how awesome @dswigle is or how much she does for the community, you can see my tribute post here.)

These days, I don't go to very many markets! And I can't wait until this pandemic is over so I can!

Market in Jamaica

I was thinking today about a beautiful outdoor market I visited in Jamaica a few years ago, when I was there with my daughter and some of our friends doing a service project. We were helping some members of a Catholic church to build homes, and we brought supplies for a small medical center run by the nuns. The church is doing amazing work there to support the community!

At any rate, one of the nuns chaperoned us to a local market one day. She was very clear about the "do's and don'ts" as tourists so we understood how to stay out of trouble. I tried very hard to take pictures without being an obtrusive tourist, but this man missed nothing, and decided to be my subject.

Here was the sister, our guide, haggling over prices with one of the sellers.

I loved the market, and was so amazed by the towering piles of vegetables. It was a beautiful but hot day in March and we kept gravitating toward the stalls that had tarps overhead, put there to shade the vendors and shelter them from the rain.

However, my best pictures were of the vegetable displays out in the bright sun.

Jamaicans know how to make amazing food, and often have little to work with.

One day, we were finishing the home we were building for a family that had been living in makeshift quarters built with corrugated plastic and other temporary materials. The mother of the family made us all a big traditional Jamaican meal on her tiny stove in her tiny makeshift home. She made a gigantic pot of rice, and a long-simmered spicy chicken and vegetable stew. (I'm pretty sure the chicken was strutting around in the yard earlier that day.) It was one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life, and my mouth waters when I think of it.

_{That is me on the right, making myself somewhat useful.}

I think of her now, with her gaggle of adorable kids, living in the sturdy little home we built, finally able to have real shelter from the elements, and it warms my heart.

_{My daughter and her friend fell in love with the children and would have brought them home, if allowed.}

Thank you for visiting my MarketFriday post!

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