To the Market

There is a market very close to our apartment where I go almost every day to buy veggies and things for that day’s meals. I have had some fun encounters there that I thought I would share. But today, I just wanted to introduce you to the people there and take you on a tour.

When you first walk in the market you see the friendly egg and flour man to the left. He has huge bags full of dry beans, flours, nuts, rice and all sorts of things that I don’t recognize. But we usually stop there on the way out so for now we will just say ‘Ni hao’ and keep walking.

We then come to the vegetable section. There are at least 5-6 different vendors selling pretty much the exact same thing. We have visited most but as you can tell from the loud, friendly ‘Ni hao’ as you walk by the first stall on the right, there is one that I frequent more than the others.

We are nearing the back of the market and here is the meat section. Large chunks of meat hang from the ceiling and fish lay in baskets (and sometimes there are eels, turtles, clams, and all sorts of fun, alive, and squirming things). We have not as yet bought meat here. In fact, we have not as yet bought any meat to cook ourselves. I just can’t bring myself to buy from these types of places and the grocery stores don’t make me feel much better. And somehow, though I know it comes from these same places, I don’t have many qualms about ordering meat in restaurants.

Right behind the meat is the tofu or ‘dofu’ lady. While we don’t ever visit the meat man, we come here at least a couple of times a week. Yes, we have virtually become vegetarians. And its not so bad, really. I have made almost anything you can think of using tofu. From ‘meatloaf’ to mock alfredo sauce. (mashed tofu makes for a super creamy sauce by the way!) Good thing we like tofu- though let me tell you, a good piece of grilled chicken would be heaven.

The tofu lady doesn’t say much and considering my limited vocabulary and thus limited conversation skills, there isn’t much else to say about her.

The vegetable lady, on the other hand, is quite the talker. She goes on and on to me in Chinese although we both know I understand hardly a word. And then she laughs at me when I tell her for the hundredth time that I don’t speak Chinese.

The flour man is a unique fellow. He likes to throw English words in all throughout our transactions. Usually the word of choice is a very energetic ‘Thank you!’ He knows exactly what I want and to keep me from asking, every day for the last couple of weeks he says right away when he sees me, ‘Meiyou damai mianfen!’ (I don’t have barley flour!) Eric had mistakenly told me that the word for barley flour was the word for whole wheat flour. So I used it quite happily for a couple of months before the flour guy suddenly stopped selling it and before we realized it wasn’t even whole wheat flour. But the egg and flour man doesn’t sell that either so I am still without a good, healthy flour. Very sad.

There you go, that is the friendly neighborhood market! I'm really liking buying food this way though I still wonder sometimes whether they are ripping me off. Who knows...