Perm's central market on a warm summer dayEd and I grew up in the Silicon Valley metropolitan area in Northern California. Shopping for clothes at a mall there is a far different experience from shopping for clothing in Perm - especially if you choose to shop at the central market! I found this out almost immediately upon moving to Perm.
It was May 2002, and unseasonably warm considering how far north of the equator Perm is. Knowing summer is short this far north, I decided to purchase my winter coat. I was told the central market would have the best price, especially since everyone was clearing out last winter's collection. It would be quite a steal! That is, unless they detected my accent or heard me speak English.
So, a translator friend of mine went with me to the market. It was a zoo! People were pressing me from not just every side, but every angle! We finally made it to the coat section. There were many to choose from, but mostly of three designs: a long fur coat (down to the ankle); a short fur coat (to the knees); a dublyoka (wool on the inside, leather on the outside, heavy as a ton of bricks). With the knowledge that winters get cold here (-20 to -25F on average, not including wind chill), I decided on the knee-length fur. My boots and tights would keep me warm enough and my coat won't drag when I sit on the bus (one of the dirtiest floors I've ever...), plus it would be as warm as the dublyonka, but not as heavy to wear!
My first obstacle: what size am I? American measurements far differ from European! That was lesson number one. Centimeters were mere fractions of inches in my world...but in Perm, everything is measured by this tiny definition of size. The American system makes me feel smaller, and that is all I will say about that!
Next obstacle: haggle? No matter how many coats I tried on, there was never a price tag to be found. Upon finding "the one", a beautiful fox, my translator asked the vendor, "How much?" My friend already knew how much I wanted to spend, so she did most of the bargaining for me, which was a God-send, in my eyes!!! It took them roughly five to seven minutes to haggle the price. Thank goodness it was summer and a whole new winter lineup was on its way...the coat cost me just around US$200. Talk about a steal!
I have since decided that market haggling is not my forte', even though my Russian language skills have improved over the years. I also can't quite get over the "sardine" feeling upon entering the bazaar. This was one cultural shock I have not mastered in our five years of living in Perm. I do it on occasion, but it ranks bottom of my list of favorite things to do in Perm.
At the time, there was one "mall" in the city. It had to accommodate a population of approximately one million people. It was extremely outdated, especially compared to the five new "Temples of Mammon" that have since popped up in the city beginning in March 2003! I would have had the comfort of trying on my coat in private (as opposed to: in front of anybody and everybody at the market); there would have been a non-negotiable price tag; I might have received a 3% (max) discount on the last-season coat; and that would have been that.
Speaking of the new malls in town, it would have been hilarious to set up a "candid camera" on the first one to open with an escalator and sliding glass doors! The doors caught people by surprise. Many didn't know how to step onto the escalators. One mall even boasted that they had fourteen lifts (elevators) and escalators, to which many responded, "What is an escalator?" It is apparent that many of my fellow Permites have not traveled the metro (subway) in Moscow!
I will follow up this story with one about shopping in the local grocery store, prior to the arrival of two competing giants. My teaser is this: it was the ultimate "Soviet" experience!
It was May 2002, and unseasonably warm considering how far north of the equator Perm is. Knowing summer is short this far north, I decided to purchase my winter coat. I was told the central market would have the best price, especially since everyone was clearing out last winter's collection. It would be quite a steal! That is, unless they detected my accent or heard me speak English.
So, a translator friend of mine went with me to the market. It was a zoo! People were pressing me from not just every side, but every angle! We finally made it to the coat section. There were many to choose from, but mostly of three designs: a long fur coat (down to the ankle); a short fur coat (to the knees); a dublyoka (wool on the inside, leather on the outside, heavy as a ton of bricks). With the knowledge that winters get cold here (-20 to -25F on average, not including wind chill), I decided on the knee-length fur. My boots and tights would keep me warm enough and my coat won't drag when I sit on the bus (one of the dirtiest floors I've ever...), plus it would be as warm as the dublyonka, but not as heavy to wear!
My first obstacle: what size am I? American measurements far differ from European! That was lesson number one. Centimeters were mere fractions of inches in my world...but in Perm, everything is measured by this tiny definition of size. The American system makes me feel smaller, and that is all I will say about that!
Next obstacle: haggle? No matter how many coats I tried on, there was never a price tag to be found. Upon finding "the one", a beautiful fox, my translator asked the vendor, "How much?" My friend already knew how much I wanted to spend, so she did most of the bargaining for me, which was a God-send, in my eyes!!! It took them roughly five to seven minutes to haggle the price. Thank goodness it was summer and a whole new winter lineup was on its way...the coat cost me just around US$200. Talk about a steal!
I have since decided that market haggling is not my forte', even though my Russian language skills have improved over the years. I also can't quite get over the "sardine" feeling upon entering the bazaar. This was one cultural shock I have not mastered in our five years of living in Perm. I do it on occasion, but it ranks bottom of my list of favorite things to do in Perm.
At the time, there was one "mall" in the city. It had to accommodate a population of approximately one million people. It was extremely outdated, especially compared to the five new "Temples of Mammon" that have since popped up in the city beginning in March 2003! I would have had the comfort of trying on my coat in private (as opposed to: in front of anybody and everybody at the market); there would have been a non-negotiable price tag; I might have received a 3% (max) discount on the last-season coat; and that would have been that.
Speaking of the new malls in town, it would have been hilarious to set up a "candid camera" on the first one to open with an escalator and sliding glass doors! The doors caught people by surprise. Many didn't know how to step onto the escalators. One mall even boasted that they had fourteen lifts (elevators) and escalators, to which many responded, "What is an escalator?" It is apparent that many of my fellow Permites have not traveled the metro (subway) in Moscow!
I will follow up this story with one about shopping in the local grocery store, prior to the arrival of two competing giants. My teaser is this: it was the ultimate "Soviet" experience!
No comments:
Post a Comment