Assignment 2

Saturday mornings in Chico, California. If you wake up early enough you can make it to the Saturday open air market at the edge of downtown. It’s one of my favorite things to do with any of my friends or when my family comes to visit (there’s also one on Thursday but I like the Saturday one better!) Something about it just screams kindness and open arms to me. You walk up and there’s probably about four rows of white tents selling everything from fresh almond milk, to hand picked flowers, to fresh honey, to fresh fruit, to jewelry, to my favorite: fresh iced tea with fruit bought from other sellers at the market. It’s always sunny on Saturday mornings, as if mother nature knew the market would be open. 

I think the reason why I love the market so much is because of the people. The people who go to the saturday markets are the families and the older couples in town. I love seeing this because for the most part, Chico is a college town so I really just see college students walking around. But the markets are where the families take their kids, buy their produce for the week, and catch up with friends. The environment is just so welcoming that it really puts a smile on your face. Especially because all the people selling products there are such hard workers. They made these items, or harvested these items themselves! All of the stand owners are so overly friendly it’s terrific. It seems as if they really don’t care if you buy their product or not. More so they want to make sure you’re having a good day. 

My favorite stand is owned by an Australian hippy couple. They are the absolute sweetest and they sell the best iced peach tea I have ever had. It’s to die for I’m not kidding. It’s simple, comes in a plastic cup with a biodegradable straw (if you bring your own metal straw you get a discount). It’s ice cold and hits your mouth like a burst of tiny pulses of electricity. The peach is incredible, it’s sweet and flavorful but not too overbearing! There’s always a slice of peach at the bottom from a stand not too far down the row and I always go there right after I get my tea and buy peaches from her. Some notable stands that are also great to stop at: the wild Chico rice stand, the almond harvesters stand, and the fresh OJ stand. So good.

Moving to Italy I was nervous for a lot of reasons obviously, and I think one of the biggest was finding an area or a place that felt like home for the time being. A place where I didn’t feel anxiety from the new city and the different culture. I do love my apartment; it has started to feel more like home, but the place I felt most instantly at peace and in a state of serenity was at the open air market here in Viterbo. Obviously, it’s very different to that of the one in chico, less stands and less variety, but the energy is still the same. The people feel the same. I still get the same warm feeling whenever I go. This is extremely comforting for me and one of the first times I felt safe in this new city was when I went to the market for the first time. The vendors here have such smiles on their faces, like a proud kid when they finish their first science project, they beam at you when you walk up to their stands. You look at all the produce they worked so hard to farm, and you know it too! You can tell on the quality of the food (the oranges are especially good right now) I was hesitant, of course, because of the language barrier. I speak very little italian at the moment (un po!) but the vendors actually help you! All other instances I have had the Italians would just kind of look at me, as if they were waiting for me to switch to perfect italian. But here they understand, they don’t care where you come from, they just want to make sure you’re having a good day and find what you’re looking for. It’s refreshing. The vendor even helped me in correcting what little italian I do know, and not in a demeaning way, but in a way you would correct a child. It’s comforting. Something about the whole atmosphere just makes me feel soothed. 

In general I have found that people who either attend or work at farmers markets are all genuine kind people. No matter where you are, they’re people who are hardworking, charismatic, kind, and helpful. They don’t care about anything negative going on in their life. They’re just taking their time, focusing on their produce and living life simply. I feel like markets are places where time stops for a while. Everything’s good in the world, you’re not mad at anyone, you’re not stressed. You’re at ease. You’re comforted. You’re at home.