The Little Salesman

Today I went to Agra which is 3 hours from Delhi. The tour guide revealed that there are no public schools there. Most of the children don't attend school but rather they sell souvenirs to the tourists to supplement the family income.

I bought this snow globe key chain from a very patient little boy. He tried to sell it to me before I went into the Taj Mahal but I refused because I was so excited to get into the monument. "Maybe later?" he said in perfectly good English. I told myself that if he was still there when I returned, I would definitely buy it from him. Sure enough, 2 hours later, there he was waiting on the side of the street for me. He ran up to me and exclaimed, "Do you remember me?" Oh course I did. We bargained for a price and settled on 20 Indian rupees, which is equivalent to $0.50 in US dollars. The tour guide laughed as he told me that he would have sold it to a local for 5 rupees. I don't think I got ripped off though because I know I helped his family out.