Shopping - Part 1

If you know me well, you'll know that shopping is one of my least favourite activities so the only kind of shopping I do in Chad is for food. Unfortunately it is not possible to just go to one shop and get everything you need. A shopping trip for just a few basic food items usually means going to at least three different shops in order to get everything you need.

Almost as soon as you park outside one of the shops you will be approached by at least one, and sometimes more, of the street-sellers who hang around outside the shops that they know are used by the international community in the hope of making a sale. They hold their wares up to your car window and once you get out of the car, despite repeatedly saying 'non merci', they will continue to follow you until you reach the shop and will be waiting for you again when you come out.

Here is a list of some of the things I have been offered by these street sellers:

• Phone credit
• Phone chargers that plug into the cigarette lighter in the car
• USB memory sticks
• Sunglasses
• Belts (allegedly made of leather)
• DVDs (pirated)
• Screwdrivers
• Peanuts
• Towels
• Mosquito nets
• Apples
• Trays (embossed with a map of Chad)

Here is a list of all the things I have bought from these street sellers:

• Phone credit

A trip to Tesco is going to seem quite dull by comparison...