Marketplaces, I've discovered, are actually fascinating places to visit. So many smells and so many sights greet your senses, they can sometimes overwhelm. Unlike their mall counterparts, the air-conditioned and "hygienic" grocery stores, the open-air types beckon you with a teeming and hectic atmosphere and the opportunity to experience a different slice of the city.
My first foray into marketing were during my childhood years, when after mass, my parents would haul the entire family to Bankerohan. They would then proceed with the morning's ritual. Buy some vegetables, check. Buy some meat, check. Then, eating puto maya and drinking tsikwate afterwards, check.
But that was long ago. With the advent of the malls, it was more convenient to avoid the market stalls in favor of the grocery lines.
Then, I had to visit again Bankerohan and Agdao. This was just last year. I had to do a bit of canvassing for some ingredients in my Pares-Pares recipe and I had to do it personally. Frankly, I was a little apprehensive since I didn't know the Bisaya terms of the stuff I needed to buy and I didn't know the manner by which people would carry out their transactions in the market. A little research finally helped me and I soon found myself, blending in, conversing with vendors in the local dialect, doing a bit of negotiation, hoping to get the best price.
I was exhilarated, not just because it was my first time to be buying sa palengke, but also because there was so much to learn about it all (Also, I bet no one I talked to suspected I was an Ateneo graduate. Hehe).
My first foray into marketing were during my childhood years, when after mass, my parents would haul the entire family to Bankerohan. They would then proceed with the morning's ritual. Buy some vegetables, check. Buy some meat, check. Then, eating puto maya and drinking tsikwate afterwards, check.
But that was long ago. With the advent of the malls, it was more convenient to avoid the market stalls in favor of the grocery lines.
Then, I had to visit again Bankerohan and Agdao. This was just last year. I had to do a bit of canvassing for some ingredients in my Pares-Pares recipe and I had to do it personally. Frankly, I was a little apprehensive since I didn't know the Bisaya terms of the stuff I needed to buy and I didn't know the manner by which people would carry out their transactions in the market. A little research finally helped me and I soon found myself, blending in, conversing with vendors in the local dialect, doing a bit of negotiation, hoping to get the best price.
I was exhilarated, not just because it was my first time to be buying sa palengke, but also because there was so much to learn about it all (Also, I bet no one I talked to suspected I was an Ateneo graduate. Hehe).
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