To market, to market

We have a small market on Wednesdays and a big market on Sundays in my town of about 3,000 people. There isn't a fresh fruit or vegetable to be found around town unless it's market day, so to eat for the week one needs to plan their trip to the market accordingly. I had been waiting for Sunday to come for a few days, I was looking forward to stocking up on fresh veggies that I could be excited about eating for the week. I had gone to the market the week before with my neighbor so I kind of knew where things were located. Going to the market is not especially enjoyable - there's a lot of people making their way around a small space and I attract a lot of attention as a Ferenji (sometimes it's ok when it's just people smiling and showing an interest in me, other times it's exhausting when I'm being yelled at repeatedly to get my attention or a crowd gathers around me - I understand their curiosity about this newcomer to their village but it wears me out none the less). A major rainstorm had come through in the morning (we're currently in the little rainy season, the real rainy season is coming in the summer months) so the roads were all muddy. I decided to put on my rain boots and head to the market by myself, wondering if I would regret the decision to go alone. My home is on one end of town and the market is on the other, it takes only about 10 minutes to walk from end to end. As I get close to the market I notice that a man struggling with his mental health is clearing the way for me - he is walking ahead of me, silently but with exaggerated gestures, pointing out anything hazardous in the road ahead of us, like bigger rocks, horse carts or animals walking in the road, looking back to be sure I'm following behind without difficulty. His body language was so animated. It seemed like in his mind I was some kind of royalty. It was a very unique and unexpected experience. (Side note: there are no services for mental illness or chemical dependency here as far as I am aware, there is a need but as a developing country it's not yet a priority). Anyway, I make it to the market just fine except that the road is muddy and slick. Well that was nothing compared to the state of the market itself. The entire market is mud and puddles. If I hadn't been wearing my rain boots I would have had mud up to my ankles. Everyone is slipping and sliding and sloshing around. For a moment I thought about turning around and going back home, but then I would have nothing to eat and a person needs to eat. I carefully made my way to the part of the market where the produce is and start looking around for what looks good. It's really fun to ask for the price in the local language and see a smile come over the seller's face, you can tell they are slightly stunned and thereby delayed in responded. I got a bit of attention but nothing too overwhelming. I was surprised that many of the women who were startled to see a Ferenji would look at my feet to see my footwear and then give me an approving 'gobez' (smart/clever). I feel like I gained some serious street cred! I bought tomatoes, onions, carrots, potatoes and a mango. I didn't see any avocados so I asked a man if there were any at the market that day and he said no. A little boy who was nearby overheard and said he knew where the avocados were and he could show me. (One little boy turns into five little boys, all of his friends needed to help too). He was very eager to help me out, it was really sweet. When I got home I was anxious to show my neighbor what I bought to make sure I got a fair price. Sometimes there is Habesha price - the price for Ethiopians, and Ferenji price - the price for foreigners. If I were here as a tourist it wouldn't be a big deal to be charged Ferenji price, but since I am here as a volunteer and I consider this my home for the next two years it would feel different. My community didn't let me down! I bought from four different sellers and no one overcharged me. It made me feel very proud to be placed in this community. Even though I was hesitant to go by myself, I feel like the experience accelerated my integration into the community because more people saw me out doing a common activity in the local language. And because it was a good experience overall, it helped me feel more at home here.