Shopping

Another milestone was passed yesterday.  Not only had we been in Nigeria for a whole week but we negotiated a shopping trip into the centre of Jos by ourselves.  I must admit that it was a bit like a teenager’s shopping trip.  We asked for a lift from Luka, the MA driver, who took us into town then came to pick us up but we managed the in between bit all by ourselves.

Unlike British shopping areas, the roads seemed quieter yesterday than they did when we went in on Wednesday.  Usually I avoid Saturday shopping but I might have to change my habits here.  There’s a great mixture of small supermarkets and street stalls selling everything from white guavas to windscreen wipers, and we didn’t even go to the market.  I even located a jar of Hartleys strawberry jam which at 340 naira was only slightly more expensive than the £1.15 printed on the jar.  Sunday breakfast has been toast with strawberry jam as the electricity is on for a change and we can use the toaster.  It’s taking a while to get used to thinking in hundreds and thousands of naira and you certainly have to have a decent sized purse to carry the huge wad of notes required for any shopping trip.  Fraser was fairly satisfied with his negotiations for a belt for James although the speed at which the seller accepted his lower offer made him think it wasn’t low enough.  It’s difficult to get the balance right: you don’t want to be taken advantage of but at the same time you’re very conscious that they have so little and we have so much.  Having prices that are roughly comparable to those in the UK does help get a feel for what is reasonable for goods but it’s going to take some practice.

Still on the subject of firsts and purchasing, I was very pleased yesterday to complete my first successful download of a book onto my kindle in Nigeria.  It’s quite amazing what 3G can do.