To market, to market

Is it lame that I titled this blog after the nursery rhyme that Isaiah and I read? ha.
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig. Home again, home again, jiggety jig. 
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog. Home again, home again, jiggety jog. 

As part of showing you the life and culture in provincial Philippines, I want to take you on a photo tour to our local palengke (market). I think I might have posted something similar to this in our early months here, but my understanding of the food culture has grown quite a bit since then. 

 

It is Asia, so of course there's rice. It's usually sold by the kilo out of sacks like this one. 

An average Filipino family can eat one entire sack in a MONTH. That's 110 lbs of rice people! 

 

At the palengke you can find fruit, eggs, dried fish, spices, and more. 

 

Garlic, onions, tomatoes, and other veggies

 

Aren't these onions pretty? 

 

We live near the coast so there's always plenty of fish. Sometimes even squid, octopus, or shark! 

 

Pork...killed fresh daily...near our home...I'll go no further. 

 

Beef is only available about once a week, if that. To prove it's really beef they put the head on display. 

Sadly, I don't have a picture of the chicken section, but it includes every inch of the chicken.... heads, intestines, feet, and all. 

 

Another main meat is sardines in tomato sauce. These are a staple in most homes. 

Instant coffee is drank from ages 3 to 93

 

Everything is sold in individual sachets like these. Pictured is an oatmeal drink but you can also find 3-in-1 coffee, mayonaise, shampoo, and more in these sachets. 

 

We usually come home with something like this :) 

Can you imagine that the transition might be weird for us coming back to America after shopping here for a couple of years? I'll miss the fresh, local fruits and veggies and the cheap seafood. I'll miss the familiar faces. I'll even miss the open-air setting. I won't miss the smell for a second :)