Meet Manuel

I wanted to introduce to my favorite person at the market. This is Manuel, he sells me almost all of my igitenge (fabric) at the market. His wife is named Angelic and they have 2 daughters; 1 and 3 years old. Manuel has quickly become my friend at the market. I visit him a few times a week and almost always buy more igitenge (I will always blame my mom for this addiction).

I will never cease to be shocked by the kindness of this man. Manuel always lets me look behind his counter to see his newest igitenge he hasn’t put out on the shelves yet and will find more fabric of any pattern I am looking at. I also never have to bargain with Manuel and he never charges me Umuzungu (foreigner) prices.

Yesterday, I went to the market, not even looking for igitenge, but of course, I had to stop to see my friend Manuel. I found this amazing blue fabric and told Manuel I did not have any money on my, but I will be back tomorrow to buy it. Manuel refused to hear that and handed me the fabric telling me to pay on Monday. He also told me to come back in the afternoon because he is buying more fabric in Kigali Monday morning and will give me first dibs on any igitenge he brings back. I will miss him and his kindness when I move in 2 weeks.