I have two more silversmithing orders!!! HOOORAY!!!! This does mean however, that today I will endure drinking 90 gallons of teas and barter my sweet ass off, all to receive THE EXACT SAME PRICE, for THE EXACT SAME STONES, from THE EXACT SAME JEWELLER, who has ALWAYS GIVEN ME the SAME DAMN DEAL, (for well over three years now)!!!
.....Here is how he exchange always goes down, I sit down and am immediately handed a cup of "friendly" tea (keep in mind that it is currently Ramadan, so everyone in the gem market is a tad grumpy). I will ask for 4 stones, that WE BOTH KNOW HE WILL EVENTUALLY SELL TO ME FOR AN PREVIOUSLY AGREED UPON NUMBER. Ahmed will exhale a long sigh, and begin too look about, suddenly weary with both the Nepali government and his immediate surroundings (???) , "OOOO, dear sister, the tax on stones has increased just today!!!! The stones, they now cost 150 USD! WHAT CAN I DO!!!! IT is so bad, so horrible dear little sister! I think i am needing to move from this place with my family! It is so bad what they are doing to the people! I can not longer make a business! The price, i would never cheat you little sister, but what can I do??? " (at this point, it is totally normal and expected in the gem market, for the buyer to severely reprimand the jeweller). "Ahmed, YOU ARE LYING TO ME. I WILL NEVER PAY THAT PRICE. SAMA NEXT DOOR SAID HE WOULD SELL THEM TO ME FOR X, BUT, I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOUR QUALITY IS BETTER? YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD NEVER RAISE YOUR PRICES? WERE YOU LYING TO ME? SAMA HAS ALSO TOLD ME THAT HE WILL NOT RAISE HIS PRICES? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND? (insert: i have grabbed my purse and have started to walk toward the door) DO YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR SISTER? I DONT THINK YOU DO? YESTERDAY I PAID X USD, THAT IS THE PRICE I WILL PAY, OR IM WALKING OUT OF HERE! YOU CHOOSE!" (at this point, Ahmed will bobble his head- calmly smile, and fill up your tea cup. At this point, you both will awkwardly sip your glass and smile demurely at one another (as if you are on a date) , and talk about something off subject, while he decides how long he he wants to "keep up this charade". The "long term goal" for Ahmed, is to get you to pay 5$ above your original price. To him, all this "song and dance" is worth it, in the long run. So, as I stubbornly hold my ground/ (look at pictures of HIS BABY POSED WITH AN UNLIT CIGARETTE), the painful formality will literally last for at least an hour, before the price is agreed upon and you both leave the exchange genuinely happy! The first time Joe witnessed me partake in this process, (at the Afghani market in Jaipur), his head was spinning with all the local Afghani men shouting and cursing at each other one min, then hugging and shaking hands with each other the next. Deff an initial culture shock, that I can say, (over time) I have proudly adapted to!
.....Here is how he exchange always goes down, I sit down and am immediately handed a cup of "friendly" tea (keep in mind that it is currently Ramadan, so everyone in the gem market is a tad grumpy). I will ask for 4 stones, that WE BOTH KNOW HE WILL EVENTUALLY SELL TO ME FOR AN PREVIOUSLY AGREED UPON NUMBER. Ahmed will exhale a long sigh, and begin too look about, suddenly weary with both the Nepali government and his immediate surroundings (???) , "OOOO, dear sister, the tax on stones has increased just today!!!! The stones, they now cost 150 USD! WHAT CAN I DO!!!! IT is so bad, so horrible dear little sister! I think i am needing to move from this place with my family! It is so bad what they are doing to the people! I can not longer make a business! The price, i would never cheat you little sister, but what can I do??? " (at this point, it is totally normal and expected in the gem market, for the buyer to severely reprimand the jeweller). "Ahmed, YOU ARE LYING TO ME. I WILL NEVER PAY THAT PRICE. SAMA NEXT DOOR SAID HE WOULD SELL THEM TO ME FOR X, BUT, I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOUR QUALITY IS BETTER? YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD NEVER RAISE YOUR PRICES? WERE YOU LYING TO ME? SAMA HAS ALSO TOLD ME THAT HE WILL NOT RAISE HIS PRICES? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND? (insert: i have grabbed my purse and have started to walk toward the door) DO YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR SISTER? I DONT THINK YOU DO? YESTERDAY I PAID X USD, THAT IS THE PRICE I WILL PAY, OR IM WALKING OUT OF HERE! YOU CHOOSE!" (at this point, Ahmed will bobble his head- calmly smile, and fill up your tea cup. At this point, you both will awkwardly sip your glass and smile demurely at one another (as if you are on a date) , and talk about something off subject, while he decides how long he he wants to "keep up this charade". The "long term goal" for Ahmed, is to get you to pay 5$ above your original price. To him, all this "song and dance" is worth it, in the long run. So, as I stubbornly hold my ground/ (look at pictures of HIS BABY POSED WITH AN UNLIT CIGARETTE), the painful formality will literally last for at least an hour, before the price is agreed upon and you both leave the exchange genuinely happy! The first time Joe witnessed me partake in this process, (at the Afghani market in Jaipur), his head was spinning with all the local Afghani men shouting and cursing at each other one min, then hugging and shaking hands with each other the next. Deff an initial culture shock, that I can say, (over time) I have proudly adapted to!
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