batting .500

When I go shopping I expect to return with about half of what I set out to buy. Our first week here I thought this was great. All part of the adventure! Then it started to get annoying. Now after a month of living here, I've embraced as normal.

My friend Carmen buying a chicken. No chicken for me this week.

On Tuesday I went to the market with my friend Carmen. Carmen's housekeeper has a friend named Luz who sells eggs and cheese at the market. I can buy eggs and cheese at the grocery store, but they're cheaper and fresher (so I'm told) at the market. When we first visited Luz's stall a couple weeks ago, Carmen admonished her to give me fair prices, and she instructed me that I should only buy eggs and cheese from Luz, not from any of the other two dozen cheese and egg stalls at the market. I did not ask why.

Anyway, this Tuesday we arrived at the market around 9:30 a.m. to find Luz's stall all boarded up. I was disappointed, especially because I also wanted to buy fresh raw milk, which we were going to ask Luz where to get. But my friend Carmen didn't seem too surprised and said Luz probably would open around 10:00. So we went to another stall for vegetables (for me) and to another for ground garlic (for Carmen) before swinging by again. Still no Luz. The possibility of purchasing from one of the two dozen other cheese and egg stalls at the market was not mentioned. Again, I didn't ask.

So I went home with vegetables but no eggs, cheese or milk. Slightly less than .500, but I got a ton of veggies for just a few bucks, so I was happy.

Truthfully, the market still intimidates me a little, and I wasn't feeling up for the challenge of going there solo the next day. But by Thursday afternoon I was all geared up to visit Luz again. My shopping list this time included:
- eggs
- cheese
- milk
- a calendar

I'll digress for a moment to explain the calendar, since clearly that doesn't fit the dairy theme. A couple years ago I worked hard to transition myself away from using a paper calendar in exchange for the calendar on my smart phone that synced with my google calendar. Now I find myself in need of a transition back to good old fashioned paper. So on my way to see Luz, the egg and cheese lady, I stopped into approximately 14 stores to look for a calendar. I went into every store that had books, school supplies, maps and such, thinking that would be the kind of place that might carry calendars. No luck. Most of the store employees looked at me with furrowed eyebrows and said "no" when I asked, "Tiene usted calendarios?" A few were helpful and suggested other places I could check. One lady even made a phone call to another store. (They didn't carry calendars either.)

So by the time I arrived at the market, I had developed a few theories:
1. My Spanish is so awful they didn't understand what I was asking.
2. Calendars are not sold at that type of store. (Although this doesn't explain why no one was able to advise me where I could get one.)
3. It's too late in the year to be selling calendars. Stupid gringa.
4. No body in the entire city of Arequipa uses a calendar.

I'll let you know if I discover an actual explanation. But back to the market. After the failed calendar endeavor, I was delighted to experience a series of successes:

First, I found the market.
Second, I found my way to Luz's stall.
Third, she was there.
Fourth, she remembered me (or at least faked it really well).
Fifth, I managed to communicate what I wanted and got 8 fresh eggs and two types of cheese.

Then I asked Luz where I could get fresh milk. She kindly walked with me around the market and inquired at a few stalls without success. The general consensus was that I needed to come earlier in the morning to get milk. I decided not to ask Luz if there was a time in the morning that would be early enough to get milk and late enough that her stall would be open.

So I came home yesterday with eggs and cheese. But no milk and no calendar. Once again, batting .500.