May 22nd Saturday

This morning we went to the market and bought “capalanas”. They are basically just a piece of fabric, worn by the women here, 100 different ways!!! We went with the team of nursing students and bought like 95 of them. I think that the sale’s guy must have been quite happy!!!! Later we went to lady to make skirts, dresses, ... out of the fabric so I got her make me a skirt. It was interesting to me that she charges $350 mets (the local currency) to sow a skirt (which is about $10), and the workers here @ the farm (who get paid minimum wage) get $60 mets a day. I’m not saying we’re over paying her, please don’t understand me wrong, as by our North American standard this is really cheap!!! I just find the difference in wages between people here more frustrating than at home because here it’s the difference between starving or not starving. At $60 mets a day, it’s hardly enough to have food for your family, never mind nutritious food. At $60 mets a day, you can not have savings or hope for a better life some day... Yet if they were to raise the salary of the workers here at the farm, the local price of the maize (and other foods) would also go up since they would now being “able to afford” more expensive food. In the end it doesn’t help. I find the whole situation so frustrating and I don’t understand why anyone should be hungry in this world of plenty. Life is so unfair.

This afternoon we went grocery shopping and I find the cashiers hummm, let’s say “interesting". No one is in a rush here you see. Everything is so slow. At home we try to hurry. Here, no big deal. And they sit at the till. So different... It can take 30 minutes just to get your few groceries scanned and pay for them. It’s ridiculous (to me), but it’s the norm here. Weird.

We went out for lunch at a local restaurant and had delicious chicken!! Good way to end the day, since by the time we got our food and ate (our lunch) it was 4:00 p.m. See what I’m saying about how no one is in a rush? he he.