My sister’s doctor advised her to eat lots and lots of fruits, so today I decided to surprise her with a little basket of fruits.
Now, my fruit basket isn’t the aesthetically pleasing type though. I didn’t make the efforts of buying ribbons or an aesthetic looking basket. Besides, I had no plans of going to the mall for them.
For one, the fruits in those fancy stores don’t always look particularly fresh to me. Like they’re being preserved heavily. I prefer fruits that look like they haven’t been preserved in any way that includes anything unnatural. Plus these days they don’t even let fruits ripen well on the tree before harvesting and doing whatever they have to do to make them ripe even if it means dipping in chemicals.
Secondly, we’ve been staying at my parents’ house since my sister’s health issues began, and my parents live on the outskirts of town. It’s quite remote, so getting to the mall would mean spending a ridiculous amount on transportation. I wasn’t about to spend more money transporting myself to buy fruits that I could find somewhere closer.
So thankfully, today was market day.
My mum told me I’d find fresh fruits at the local market, and I was actually excited to go. It’s been years since I properly visited a local market, so going there felt less like running an errand and more like embarking on a tiny adventure. Unfortunately, when I got there, the market wasn’t nearly as busy as I’d expected.
Apparently, market day means something entirely different when you arrive late. My mum had warned me that the market is usually busiest very early in the morning, so I guess I missed the real action. Still, there were enough sellers around for me to wander about. And wander I did.
The ground was muddy because it has been raining almost every day lately, but thankfully, I had my Crocs on.
My first stop wasn’t even for my sister. My god-grandma had given me a little shopping list before I left. She makes bean cakes, so she asked me to get some groundnut oil, onions and scotch bonnet peppers for her.
The little bottle of groundnut oil cost ₦4,000 (about $3), the onions were ₦500 (about $0.40) and the peppers were another ₦500 (about $0.40).
Then I began my actual mission. To get fruits.
I didn’t want to buy everything from one seller because, apparently, I had suddenly become a very serious fruit connoisseur. I wanted to walk around and see what everyone had.
My first stop had a beautiful bunch of bananas. They looked so good that I immediately wanted them. Then the seller told me the price. ₦1,500 (about $1).
I thought that was a little too expensive, so I walked away. I wandered around the market for a while, looking for a cheaper bunch. And guess what? I couldn’t find one that looked nearly as good.
So I eventually swallowed my pride, returned to the same seller and started bargaining. After some negotiation, I got the bananas for ₦1,000 (about $0.80). I also got two apples and a pineapple from the same seller before moving on.
At another stand, I found monkey kola, which, by the way, is what we call it here. I’m not sure whether that’s its universal English name, so if you know it by another name, please tell me because I am genuinely curious.
I also bought cucumbers and oranges. The oranges around here are different from those bright red-orange ones you often see elsewhere. Ours have green backs, and when they become very ripe, they gradually turn yellow.
I was genuinely excited about everything I bought. Maybe it was because I’d gone to the market after such a long time or because I was buying everything with my sister in mind. Or maybe I simply enjoy the feeling of returning home with a bag full of things I’ve carefully picked out. Whatever it was, I couldn’t wait to show her.
street food
In total, I spent roughly ₦10,000 (about $8) on the fruits.Honestly, I think I got a pretty good deal.
It may not be the prettiest fruit basket in the world, but it has bananas I went back for, apples, pineapple, monkey kola, cucumbers, papaya and oranges. And most importantly, it has a little sisterly love tucked between all those fruits. Now I’m just hoping she eats them before I start stealing the bananas.
How much would these fruits cost in your region?
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