Friendships grow in Suzhou farmer’s market在苏州农贸市场里建立友谊

One of the great things I have discovered about living in China are the types of routines and unexpected relationships I have been able to make. Within days of moving to Suzhou my roommate introduced me to the indoor farmer’s market across the street from our apartment.

As we walked around, she struck up conversations with the local grocers, buying her weekly vegetables from various vendors she had become loyal to. After this initial trip, I decided that I would try out all of the vendors before establishing any sort of “loyalty.” Every week I have looked forward to my trip to the market because it gives me a chance to practice my Chinese and an opportunity to build relationships with locals.

After a couple of weeks, I began to regularly buy my groceries from one particular vendor. She stood out to me almost immediately because she always greeted me with a big smile (and she had great produce). She has come to recognize me whenever I come in and immediately starts handing me bags to fill with veggies. I gladly comply, grabbing my favorites: eggplant, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, onions, peppers, tomatoes and whatever else I decide to make for the week.

Usually when you buy a certain amount of produce the vendors will throw in some parsley or chives. I was delighted the last time I went to the market because my favorite vendor pointed to a new veggie I had never seen before. She insisted that I take it, and then made the motions of how to chop it up and cook it. She pointed at a couple of the vegetables that I had already bought and made it clear that it would be good with those. I laughed and thanked her profusely. Our language was a combination of hand motions and Chinese, but it was clear and incredibly friendly.

Walking home that day, I realized that I have begun to establish a comfortable routine here in Suzhou. The first five months I lived in China I was primarily living out of a suitcase, with no fixed home. Although that experience taught me a lot, I always felt that I was missing out on getting a chance to be a part of a community.

My last trip to the market made me realize that I have finally begun to experience the daily life “routines” that I had been looking for all along. I look forward to many more trips to my favorite vegetable vendor with whom I hope to share more conversations as my Chinese continuously improves.我发现生活在中国的最棒的事情之一是日常生活的模式和我已经能够形成的意想不到的关系。在我移居到苏州的日子里，我的室友给我介绍了我们公寓街对面的室内农贸市场。

当我们四处行走时，她和当地的杂货商谈话，从她已经很忠诚的不同的小贩那里买了她每周的蔬菜。在这最初的行程之后，我决定在建立任何形式的“忠诚”之前尝试所有小贩的食物。每个星期我都期待着去市场，因为它给了我练习中文的一个机会，并有机会建立与当地人的关系。

几个星期后，我开始从一个特定的小贩那里定期购买我的杂货。她几乎立刻站出来，用一个大大的微笑招呼我（她有很棒的农产品）。每当我进来时，她已经开始认识我，并立即开始递给我袋子来装蔬菜。我很乐意地接过，开始挑选我喜欢的东西：茄子，西葫芦，生菜，菠菜，洋葱，辣椒，西红柿和其他任何我决定这一周要买的东西。

通常，当你购买一定量的农产品时小贩们会扔给你一些香芹或香葱。上一次我去市场很高兴，因为我最喜欢的小贩指给我一种我以前从未见过的新的蔬菜。她坚持要我带走，然后建议我如何把它切煮。她指着我已经买的一堆蔬菜，明确表示这些一起烧会很好。我笑了，并且向她表示诚挚的感谢。我们的语言是手部动作和中文的组合，但它是明确的，而且非常友好。

那一天走回家的时候，我意识到我已经开始在苏州建立一种舒适的日常生活。我在中国生活的前5个月，我主要都是携带着简便的行李，居无定所。尽管那些经历教了我很多，但我一直觉得我错过了成为一个群体的一部分的机会. 

我上一次去市场的经历让我意识到，我终于开始体验我一直在寻找的日常生活模式。我期待着更多去我喜欢的蔬菜小贩那里的经历，当我的中文不断提高，和他们一起我希望能够有更多的交谈。