a simple shopping trip

If there is one thing I love (as many women do), it’s shopping! I could spend hours looking in and out of stores for things to buy… whether they are needed or not. However, now that we have moved to Gulu, shopping has become something else entirely. For example, if you needed to buy chicken, rice, avocados, a broom, a notebook, fabric, a hammer and packing tape… you could just drive on down to the nearest Walmart. After reading the signs above each aisle, you could make your way through the store (possibly stopping for a mocha frappe at McDonald’s?) and pick up your few items. Can I just say… that would be delightful! All those options in one convenient place? Or perhaps to spend the afternoon at a mall… eating Subway while checking out Chapters?

Well, in Northern Uganda… we have no Walmart and we definitely have no Chapters. We do have a Main Market where we stop in to purchase our meat (if it hasn’t been hanging there too long), eggs, fruits, vegetables, rice, dried beans, fresh fish, etc (most from items are bought from individual vendors). We pass by many stalls and chat with those along the way. On the second floor of the open-air market, you can purchase fabric and find a tailor to sew you a skirt, along with new and used clothing to be sorted through. All other items, can be found at the stores around town… if it’s in stock or even carried at that store. If not, a 5-hour drive to Kampala may (or may not) prove to be beneficial.

This week, we attempted to do a weeks-worth of grocery shopping & thought we’d put together a little look into our shopping experience:

Stop #1: Main Market (muzungu “rare imported foods” stall) – cucumbers, cilantro, red pepper & zucchini

Stop #2: Main Market (odii Stall) – a container of Odii (sesame seed paste (tahini) for making boo)

Stop #3: Main Market (banana stall) – bananas

Stop #4: Main Market – (fresh produce stall) – tomatoes, green pepper & leafy greens (Nightie, pastor of a small local church)

Stop #5: Main Market – (fresh produce stall) – Irish potatoes, onions & carrots

Stop #6: Main Market (fresh produce stall) – avocado, a cup of peas, and passion fruit

Stop #7: Main Market (dried goods) – dried beans

Stop #8: Main Market (tailoring stall) – to pick out some fabric to make Silas a Ugandan outfit (I did a Bible Study with these tailors back in 2010)

Stop #9: Main Market (egg stall) – eggs

Stop #10: Almasa – mustard

Stop #11: Mega Shoppers – bag of milk, flour & curry powder

Stop #12: Country Bakery – a loaf of bread & t-bits (dried chipati & the closest we get to tortilla chips)

Stop #13: Fresh Cuts – chicken

Stop #14: Households Store – 2 plastic chairs & plastic containers

Stop #15: Jayshree Hardware – a small can of varnish (our neighbor is the manager)

After 15 stops, 27 items, a mere 3 hours of grocery shopping, spending a total of 177 000 shillings ($38 for groceries & $15 for the chairs) & a relatively happy baby, we succeeded in finding the majority of the item on our list J. Most days we only pick up an item or two, but we will see if a bigger shopping trip saves us time throughout the rest of the week.