Saturday Afternoon

March 21 Saturday

A warm gentle rain falls lightly while the sun still shines from behind the clouds. A few minutes ago the rain came down hard but its fury quickly ended. It started just as I headed to Edwin’s apartment to see if perhaps he wanted to go for an afternoon swim. There is a place, not a beach, just an old pier of sorts from which one can swim. Edwin wasn’t home anyway so I went to the vegetable/fish market instead.

According to a Dept. of Health poster I have seen around town, there are 12 types of local bananas. The market usually just seems to have one or else many of the twelve are so similar looking that I am not distinguishing between them.

The bananas account for 80% of the space on the produce side. Besides bananas, there are a few small bins with onion, garlic, and a small variety of eggplant. A leafy green that may have been lettuce was also on display and some type of green beans were also available. There were also a handful of papayas, not quite ripe.

I walked out with a few of the small eggplants and one papaya. Tonight, for dinner it will be sautéed eggplant and onion with rice.

It was the widest selection of produce I had seen on display since arriving on the island. There were no yams, however. There never are. I don’t know why. Perhaps the yams are too respected to be treated like some common vegetable: put on display to be poked, prodded, and purchased by anybody with a dollar in his/her pocket?

I tried asking a co-worker once. He talked excitedly about the importance of the yam and its use at ceremonial feasts. He didn’t, however, explain why I can’t seem to purchase one at any of the produce stands or grocery stores I’ve visited.