Day 6 (30 days of June)

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays were considered market days in my lilttle town. On these days, the public market is full of vendors. On these days the people go to the market and buy supplies.

We had refrigeration in those days – many had them – but still we only buy enough produce for 2 days. We never let fresh vegetables sit in the refrigerator.

So we go to the market on market days.

I have lovely memories of going to the market with my mother. I consider them lovely now, but then it was a chore. I was with my mother so I can carry the basket of goodies. It was also some sort of training for when I become an adult and have a family of my own.

She would take her time choosing the best vegetables, the freshest fish, the best looking meat. It would take us 2 hours to round the whole market, especially on Saturdays when outsiders come to our market to sell their goods.

Mother would take time for a little snack at the many food stalls. Or on days when we were definitely short on time she would take some home so the entire family could enjoy the rice cakes or pancit or the steamed corn on the cob. Boy the corn on the cob was delicious. You eat it as is, no butter, no salt, nothing added.

There were many snack items that I looked forward to, but my favorite was halo-halo. And when the budget allows for it, the halo-halo special – the one with a scoop of ice cream on top and a slice of leche flan – is one that I crave for.

My mother knew how to haggle. Sometimes I feel ashame that she would be very aggressive in getting the price she wants for a particular item. To this day, she still calls her price for any item you know. Until now she would quote a price for a particular item and when she gets inside the supermarket and finds the price is higher she would ask me to get someone that works in the store to make sure that the price she saw (months ago in an advertisement) is the right price. No change in attitude.

I also loved it when we go to the section of the market that sells only dry goods – fabrics, clothes, dishes and other household items, shoes, etc. We always bought wedding gifts here. I was so fascinated when they personalized the items right there and then. Oh how simple life was back in the day.