Why I love the market!

The street markets in Latin America is an aspect and similarity of the culture that I’ve appreciated in all three Latin American countries that I’ve lived in this far. I could go to a market here for hours without even buying anything and be completely satisfied just observing all that is going on around me. There is a street market about ten minutes down the road (by bus) from me in a town called Chosica. Last week, we took a trip to the market and I was reminded why I love the street markets down in Latin America: the colors of the different food, fruits and vegetables and the colors of the brightly colored fabrics of the different clothing being sold, the life and vibrancy that you feel just being there and walking through, the interesting aspect of any and every type of animal body part hanging out in the open, the mothers and children walking through to buy their weekly groceries, the families ranging from young children to older grandparents who are working there selling their products, trying to make a living, the social aspect of people hanging out and just getting a bite to eat while catching up on the latest news of the town, and the lovely chaos  and unorganized matter of it all. Going to the market here makes me feel so alive and happy and thankful to be where I am.

The only aspect of going to the market that I don’t appreciate is constantly having the prices jacked up so high for me because they see that I am white. Sometimes they even jack up the prices for locals that I am with. When I went to the market with my mom and sister last week, I wasn’t even buying anything but just because people saw that my family was with a gringa, they raised the prices even for them assuming that they had money because they had an American with them.  So if I start posting photos of me looking drastically different and very Peruvian, don’t be surprised because some days I truly do feel like dying my hair black, using dark brown colored contacts, and using fake tanner just so I don’t stand out so much and have people make assumptions about me…okay so that might be exaggerating a little bit but sometimes I really do feel like dying my hair black at least! In the states, people of color are discriminated against simply for the color of there skin so for me it is just a small taste of what it feels like to be judged for the way you were born. 

Here are some photos from the local market:

Different spices!

One row of the market

I love the colors!

If you look closely you can see all parts of the pig including the face, hoof, skin, lungs, kidneys, intestines, and just about any other part imaginable. 

There is even a set of teeth in there!

My sister and I at the plaza outside of the market.