Then Some Days Surprise Me

There was no "Crying Over Tomatos" in today's visit to the market. Infact, this was one of the most encouraging trips with regards to language and cultural learning.

Christine had just gotten a DVD player and needed the all-important SKART cable to be able to connect to her ancient TV. The electronics store didn't sell them (strange eh?) so I suggested trying our local outdoor market as that is where I was able to find one 5 years ago. (You'd be surprise what treasures await the interested shopper at the local pazaar here.)

We entered the market and headed towards the "mans section" of the market (where the electronics and gadgets are). As we passed booths displaying the vibrant winter citrus fruits, multiple varieties of nuts, olives and root vegetables the sellers would call out to us, 'Povelete?" or "May I help you?" and them lauch into their shpile as to why we should buy their product.

When I first moved here I felt obligated to acknowlege each and every one of them saying, "no, thank you.... no, thank you..." Today? I just peruse their wares with my eyes and keep walking, without saying a word or even catching eye contact. Cultural victory! :)

As we made our way down the aisles, I noted how certain vendors have become my regular stops. Yes, I have a "Fruit-Guy", a "Cheese-Guy," and even an "Egg-Man." One of them was away from his stall, but we greeted each other later when we passed by each other in the aisle.

Upon ariving on the outskirts of the gadget section, I paused and right away (what luck!) found the SKART cable. Then there was some questions and discussion on what exact cable she needed. Yes, my vocabulary is still limited, but what words I had came easily. I even found energy-saver light-bulbs in the smaller size and negotiated obtaining a cable to connect my camera to my TV so I can change the settings (the LCD screen was broken in the summer... and somehow the settings had gotten changed to B&W... so I'd like to fix that...)

After this, we made our way to a fruit/veggie-seller so that Christine could get some mushrooms to stuff for her dish for the team Christmas party tomorrow. Some more negotiating prices and how many were needed and we were done. I noticed that the guy was tending to switch to English for her but would speak to me in Macedonian. That was such an encouraging moment for me, because his English was so good he didn't have to switch.

I so remember being in Christines shoes when I was just four months here (she just recently celebrated her four-month anniversary... yeah). I would get so frustrated as I tried to stretch my language legs only to find them wobbly and people simply ignoring my attempts and answering in English. They're trying to be helpful, but to the language learner, this can be frustrating (ask me how about the trick I sometimes use to handle this... snicker). Anyways, knowing that's how it used to be for me, I was so excited to realize that this vendor didn't switch with me but just spoke Macedonian and even corrected his co-worker when he tried to speak English with me saying, "She understands." Anyways, it was one of those moments when I realized a small language vicgtory. I'll take it!

After this, Christine headed home and I continued shopping. I bought almonds from the "Nut Guy" to make chocolate covered almonds for tomorrows team party. Then I headed to fruit seller (not my normal fruit-guy, pictured above) to buy some mandarines or tangerines. I couldn't decide. One of the sellers peeled one of the mandarines for me to try because he wanted to convince me that they were much better quality than the others, and they didn't have seeds either.

After the flavor explosion on the first slice, I was persuaded and purchased a kilo. As I started to walk off his partner tried to convince me to buy other things. Well, he figured out I was a foreigner and so asked me where I was from. Then proceeded to ask if was was from England, France or Italy... I responded that I was American. He asked if I was visiting here or if I lived here... then without giving a moment for me to answer he continued, "Are you married? I'm not married. You can hook up with me...." Well, I politely said, "Thank you for the oranges," and "Have a nice day," and walked away! I made a mental note to not stray away from my regular "Fruit-Guy" again and then congratulated myself on handling the situation with ease and not getting flustered (and even that I'd understood what he said... implied). Langauge/Culture victory. :)

After this encounter I made another small purchase of onions at the stall of an older woman. She spotted that I was a foreigner, but again, the conversation went smoothly and she was suitably impressed with my speaking. We shared a few minutes of pleasant conversation and then I wished her happy New Year and started home. Cultural high point (chatting with older people about anything is always a totally highlight for me.)

My favorite moment from tonight, though not at the market, was walking out of the DVD store with Christine. We were talking as we passed by a father and son. The son asked his father, "What language are they speaking, Daddy?" He asked this in Macedonian, of course. Well, I don't know why, but I answered for him saying, "English." The father started chuckling and I looked back. Oh, I wish I could describe to you the look of shocked surprise on the little boys face. Even now, the memory makes me laugh. What a fun moment that was.

While I'm encouraged by the times that locals mistake me for also being Macedonian, days like today can be more encouraging to me. While the people on the most part knew I was a foreigner, they treated me like a local, rather than a visitor or tourist. Now that is a culture/language victory for me to write about. :)

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If you're interested in reading about the day I "cried over tomatos," here's the link to my old blog: http://balkanupdate.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!660C45E1AF918E49!548.entry