Entrepreneurs – Thursday, June 12, 2014

Between our written Scuba test (barely passed…but I think the cheating hurt us more than helped us…the blind leading the blind really) and our first Scuba pool session, we headed to the market. On our way, we were waved down by one of the many entrepreneurial children who has learned that there’s more immediate money to be made in learning enough English to talk to tourists than to attend school during the days…”You! You promised yesterday that you would buy my coconut bread today!”

Cory and I exchanged looks…umm…did we?

Neither of us remembers this, so we keep walking, but he doesn’t give up. We start to feel bad…maybe in an effort yesterday to get some of these entrepreneurs to give us a break for a bit we said “tomorrow” and now he’s holding us up to it? Plus…he did say “coconut bread” and that sounds pretty good.

We stop and joke around with the kid for a little bit. It soon becomes very apparent that hungry Cory doesn’t care much if we promised to buy this yesterday or not, he wants the coconut bread NOW. But luckily, in our hesitation, the price dropped from 150 mets to 50. We take it. [And, in retrospect, are still ridiculously overpaying.] He tries to get 70 out of us at the last second, but we’re smarter than that. He said a price, we agreed to it. He may be adorable, but no.

AND THEN…he upsells us! After successfully selling the bread, he starts talking about “fish” and “meat” and “veggies” and draws a triangle in the sand.

“WAIT…SAMOSAS!?!? In addition to this lovely coconut bread that is now in my mouth, your mother also makes samosas!?!?”

We are too excited to contain ourselves. We want fried food so bad. Also, this kid has already proven himself to be pretty reliable and punctual, so we make a deal on the spot…

”Kid…if you meet us here at 2pm every day for the rest of the week, we will buy samosas from you”,  we honestly report.

We are not so honest when we say similarly optimistic things to the kids selling bracelets. Or the ones asking Cory for his shorts.

[Relevant pictures are on my disposable camera...still need to develop it...]