bustling town

As I have said I am back in my little town and yesterday I went again to the market (yes the dirty one) to get some vegetables for the few days I will be in town. What a surprise was in store for me there. As it is nearing the big holiday for the chinese the market was jammed with people, like I have never seen it, thousands of people, millions of dead chickens, hundreds of millions of stalks of celery. Really something to behold. I wish for your sake I had my camera, but alas I didn't. So I bought my veggies and walked home. It was nice to see the locals getting all ready for the holiday, it reminded me of the days leading up to christmas when you go to the store because you forgot to buy some small thing and the store is buzzing with activity. Really a pleasant feeling knowing that there will be big meals cooked, laughs had, and memories made. I wonder if any of the chinese families have holiday meals and experiences like I had? I would hazard to guess no, after all my family is, I will be generous, they're "special".

dirty

So in order to host a dinner party I had to go to the market to buy the food that I would be cooking. For some reason yesterday I got a glimpse of what china (at least this part) looks like through new eyes. Let me explain, I have been going to this market for the better part of 2 years,on an almost weekly basis. It is where I buy my vegetables and produce. Now when I first went there long long ago I thought it was "not so nice" but hey when in rome right. So for various reasons I have not been back to the market in about a month, but I went yesterday and for fucks sake. It is dirty. No I mean dirty. Like foul dirty. The vegetables are on the ground, directly on the ground no tarp, no table just sitting on the street. And there are butchers next to produce vendors, so there is blood and run off from the butchers mixing with the cabbage and veggies. And there is a part in the middle where they kill the chickens and pull the birds feathers off, this is in the middle and you have to wade through the muck at that point to continue through the market , it is really nasty. This is in addition to the dogs milling about, the children deficating on the street people spitting and blowing snot rockets. Like I said nasty. So I bought what I needed to have a Taco Night dinner party and fled. One thing I will never understand is why does it take so much effort for some to realize that to be clean and sanitary doesnt cost anything extra? I have been to loads of other markets in the world, they are something I try to visit when I travel and I can say without hesitation this one should be condemned. One thing I wont miss about Henan.