Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I LOVE THE SUNDAY MARKET
The Sunday Market in this city is one of the major sightseeing spots in this prefecture.
Fresh fruits and vegetables, dried seafood, local specialties and warm hospitality of local people… Guidebooks of Kochi always introduce the market with such phrases.
Living too close to it, however, I could not appreciate it the same way as tourists do. You know, they say fresh fruits and vegetables, but when I visit my parents’ house in my hometown, I can get real fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood mostly for free of charge. And they say warm hospitality, but maybe it’s a human nature to be nicer to tourists. It doesn’t necessarily mean that those people selling stuff at the Sunday market are exceptionally nice people. They cannot be too different from the folks in my hometown. So, to me, the Sunday market was just a nice place to visit, but I never expected to have any real heart-warming experience there.
This month, I had a chance to help with a fundraising event by selling things at a stall in the Sunday market. Last Sunday, I was at the stall with big smile on my face, despite the total lack of sleep the night before. I was also a little concerned about whether the vendors next to us are still displeased with us.
The weekend before, we set up the stall and sold things there, and seems like we did some things that other vendors in the Sunday market consider as a bad manner. The vendor next to us, an old woman, came to me and told me up-front that it was a bad manner and caused neighboring vendors inconvenience. We apologized and she said it was alright, and when leaving, she said she was looking forward to being our neighbor again in the market next time. I hoped that she really meant what she said, but I was not sure.
So last Sunday, I was still a bit skeptical, even after we greeted each other very cheerfully. Then after a while, it started raining! Now, being new at the market, we were not well-prepared for the rain. All we had was a big plastic sheet, but we didn’t have any frames to spread the sheet over. Then the old lady at the stall next to us, and another middle-aged lady on the other side, just started helping us make a rain-shelter without waiting for us to ask them.
They were so efficient and quick that maybe no girl scout members could beat them. They handed us any material they had… pins, strings, a plastic sheet, laundry poles etc… one after another, and kept saying “OK, here, use this!” with absolutely no hesitation. They instantly figured out the most effective way to spread the sheet and worked it out. And they didn’t blame us at all for being unprepared. I was so touched.
So this IS the relationship they value here… and then I understood why the old lady was so upset about our bad manner. It was something that disturbed the good relationship that the people value at the market. I really liked her for telling us what we did wrong, and also being so nice. This is the way obachans in Kochi are. Very up-front, and so warm at heart.
Honestly, I really would like to be one of such Kochi obachans, maybe in 20 years.
Now I like the Sunday market even more.
Fresh fruits and vegetables, dried seafood, local specialties and warm hospitality of local people… Guidebooks of Kochi always introduce the market with such phrases.
Living too close to it, however, I could not appreciate it the same way as tourists do. You know, they say fresh fruits and vegetables, but when I visit my parents’ house in my hometown, I can get real fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood mostly for free of charge. And they say warm hospitality, but maybe it’s a human nature to be nicer to tourists. It doesn’t necessarily mean that those people selling stuff at the Sunday market are exceptionally nice people. They cannot be too different from the folks in my hometown. So, to me, the Sunday market was just a nice place to visit, but I never expected to have any real heart-warming experience there.
This month, I had a chance to help with a fundraising event by selling things at a stall in the Sunday market. Last Sunday, I was at the stall with big smile on my face, despite the total lack of sleep the night before. I was also a little concerned about whether the vendors next to us are still displeased with us.
The weekend before, we set up the stall and sold things there, and seems like we did some things that other vendors in the Sunday market consider as a bad manner. The vendor next to us, an old woman, came to me and told me up-front that it was a bad manner and caused neighboring vendors inconvenience. We apologized and she said it was alright, and when leaving, she said she was looking forward to being our neighbor again in the market next time. I hoped that she really meant what she said, but I was not sure.
So last Sunday, I was still a bit skeptical, even after we greeted each other very cheerfully. Then after a while, it started raining! Now, being new at the market, we were not well-prepared for the rain. All we had was a big plastic sheet, but we didn’t have any frames to spread the sheet over. Then the old lady at the stall next to us, and another middle-aged lady on the other side, just started helping us make a rain-shelter without waiting for us to ask them.
They were so efficient and quick that maybe no girl scout members could beat them. They handed us any material they had… pins, strings, a plastic sheet, laundry poles etc… one after another, and kept saying “OK, here, use this!” with absolutely no hesitation. They instantly figured out the most effective way to spread the sheet and worked it out. And they didn’t blame us at all for being unprepared. I was so touched.
So this IS the relationship they value here… and then I understood why the old lady was so upset about our bad manner. It was something that disturbed the good relationship that the people value at the market. I really liked her for telling us what we did wrong, and also being so nice. This is the way obachans in Kochi are. Very up-front, and so warm at heart.
Honestly, I really would like to be one of such Kochi obachans, maybe in 20 years.
Now I like the Sunday market even more.
posted by obachan, 3/23/2005 11:46:00 AM
1 Comments:
commented by 
Anonymous, 3/24/2005 7:23 AM
Anonymous, 3/24/2005 7:23 AM
This blog is about an obachan's way of life that you may or may not find interesting. The background designs will change semi-periodically to show the seasonal changes in Japan.
About Me
- Name: obachan
- Location: Muroto, Kochi, Japan
"OBACHAN" means a "middle-aged woman" or "aunty" in Japanese. .*************************. Having moved back to my hometown in April 2009, I live in one of the desperately underpopulated areas in Japan now. Let me share my life in a real countryside with aging parents living in the same house. And here in Muroto -- the place where I chose to live -- you can hear the heartbeat of the Earth! ;)
**
My Other Blogs
- Still Clumsy with Chopsticks (Foodblog)
- Obachan's Kitchen & Balcony Garden (Foodblog)
- Watercolors by Obachan (My watercolor paintings)
Contact
Archive
- current
- January 2004
- August 2004
- September 2004
- October 2004
- November 2004
- December 2004
- January 2005
- February 2005
- March 2005
- April 2005
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- January 2006
- February 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- December 2007
- January 2008
- February 2008
- May 2008
- June 2008
- August 2008
- September 2008
- October 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- February 2009
- March 2009
- April 2009
- June 2009
- July 2009
- August 2009
- September 2009
- October 2009
- December 2009
- January 2010
- March 2010
- August 2010
- September 2010
Template
The contents of this blog created by me (text/comments and photos) are licensed under a Creative Commons License unless otherwise stated. Copyrights of free web graphics used in this site and comments made by others belong to the creators of those works.
Web graphics currently used in this blog are from: Machi.
What did you folks do that the vendors thought was "bad mannered"?
Posted by lance