To top off this amazing day, I also went to my first street market. In Hong Kong, the street market is called Lady’s Market, it’s known for its cheap prices on goods and souvenirs. As we walked through the street, we saw many people of different cultures. We saw people from all over the world, doing the same thing everyone does at these types of shops, bargain for the best price. But instead of focusing on the people that I saw, I focused on the merchants themselves. These people make a living out of selling these products. They sit in the hot night with no air conditioning, just hoping that they have good sales to go back home with. As I saw one of my fellow travel companions try to bargain for some Disney miniatures, I saw the merchant get excited that she was going to do a sale. As I saw them try to communicate, even though they did not speak the same language, it really brought light to me as to how important body language was. As my friend was trying to make a bargain her body held cold features and you could tell that the merchant was trying to analyze the possibility of a sale. As she lowered the price for my friend, you could see that she was getting excited to have a sale. However, as my friend continued to ask for a lower price, you could see the merchant’s mood shift. She, now, was agitated and annoyed that the sale had still not happened. As my friend asked for a lower price for the last time, threatening the lady that she will “leave”, the merchant started yelling in Cantonese. Even though I did not know what she was saying I knew that she was very upset. I felt that we had upset her because we did not see the effort and time it takes for them to do this, that sometimes we forget to analyze that there is another person at the other end, that needs to make a living. Sometimes we get so concentrated in ourselves, that we only look for ways to make us happy (ie. getting a bargain on a product), that we forget that others can either be happy or destroyed for the actions we make. As she finished her yelling in Cantonese, she said in English “you come back tomorrow,” signaling us to go away. She definitely did not want our business anymore.
As I continued to walk down the street, I just watched in awe the work it must have taken to get all these products to be showcased in this manner. The fact that these merchants had to bring everything up and take everything down just for the sole chance that someone would buy something for them, was so impressive, that I admired all these workers. As I approached a shop, I saw something that looked interesting, something that I might have bought if I brought enough money. As I kept inspecting the product, I continued to look at the product from a distance, the merchant came up to me. She said “you buy?” as she stood up to talk to me. As she was getting up, I got startled and started to shake my head. I then politely said “No, thanks.” At this moment she got very angry, and said “no buy, no look” in a very agitated tone. I got the message loud and clear and left the shop. I, however, did not let this deter me from coming back to the street market. I just got a deeper sense of the frustration these merchants have to deal with day to day. I, too, would be upset if thousands of people would just come to my shop thinking that they are above me, an not respect that this was my way of living. I can not say that I will ever be able to completely understand the lives of these merchants, but I do know where they are coming from, and for that I will only leave with good things from this famous Lady’s Market.
BasiliOhMyGoodness 