We didn’t do much during our five weeks in Tirana but we saw one person regularly. Every two or three days, we, or Kenric alone, would go buy fruit and vegetables from our wonderful Veggie Uncle. His shop is on a side street across from Pazari i Ri, a big tourist market. The first time we passed by Veggie Uncle’s shop, it was around 7:00 pm and he still had a lot of unsold produce. He was talking and smiling to a customer; I immediately felt his warmth. I told Kenric we should buy from him instead of from the vendors in the touristy market.

Shopping in the touristy market is very anxiety-inducing for us. The vendors usually write us off as curious tourists who are just window shopping, but once we actually buy something, all the nearby vendors will try to get our attention. For someone who grew up in a wet market in Malaysia that is just as competitive, I’m surprised by how uncomfortable that makes me feel now.

Walk away before he can dig out change

The first time we shopped with Veggie Uncle, he was just as warm and friendly as I imagined. We got a few tomatoes and a few peaches, and the total came to 150 Albanian Lek (roughly USD $1.50). That’s less than half of what they would have cost in the touristy market. When we were in Laos, we decided we should pay a minimum of USD $2.00 for anything that can feed the both of us for one meal. Otherwise, it really feels like we’re taking advantage of the locals. So, I reminded Kenric to give Uncle 200 Lek. As Uncle was digging for change, we waved and quickly walked away. He shouted, “Faleminderit!” You’re welcome Uncle.

Our subsequent visits go through pretty much the same cycle:
We picking out tomatoes, peppers, figs or peaches;
Uncle replacing them with better ones from the boxes in the back and weighing everything together regardless of individual prices;
Kenric handing him a rounded-up amount;
Uncle protesting “Jo! Jo!” and throwing in a few extra plums.

Sometimes, we shook hands congratulating one another for completely violating capitalism without a word of English, and with an occasional “Perfecto!”.

Precarious Times

As U.S. foreign policies become more and more erratic and absurd, I feel more and more precarious. We thought about what could happen if the country we happened to be in cuts off ties with the U.S. or vice-versa. Once our bank cards are declined, we would be penniless, Lekless in Albania. We were both sure that Uncle would let us buy his fruit and veggies on credit once we explain the situation. He would probably give them to us for free.

On our last visit, we brought him a bag of Hazelnut wafer cookies. He knew exactly what it meant when he saw it. He was a little sad to have to say “Goodbye”.

Earthquake

P.S. We just saw in the news that 569 buildings were damaged by the earthquake and aftershocks are still happening.

Map of Places Visited