Open Markets

Open markets, where there are lots of stalls of people from all around the area to sell their goods. Whether it's all varieties of food, art, clothing, or other things. I've been going to a few of these markets lately. It's relatively common here in Sydney. Seems like most towns have one on the weekends.

I know this isn't a big thing or a new thing in most other countries, or even certain places in the US. I know in a lot of places around the world, this is the norm. There aren't giant mega malls or shopping centers or Super Wally-worlds. The time at the market seems to go a little slower. People aren't as rushed.

I'm really liking these markets. The more I go to them, the more I like them. I like the idea that if I'm buying food, more than likely, the dude standing in front of me is the person that grew it or raised it. There's not this big unknown chain of where did your food come from. It's the guy/gal in front of you, and they brought it from wherever they're from. Probably within a short driving distance.

If you're buying stuff, there's an even higher chance that the person selling it is the person that made it. They can probably make something else you like if you just ask. This is quite different than going to a store.

I also find people are really friendly in these markets. Both the people selling and the people buying. Since there's one in each town, it's mostly the locals. So every weekend, it's a place where people can meet or run into someone they haven't seen in a little bit. I like that idea. Actually meeting people that live around you.

As much as I'm online, you can't beat the live interactions. When you're online, for the most part, you're chatting with people you know. When you go somewhere, you could meet someone new. Just sitting around I talked to an old dude about the Health Care system in Spain and listen in on where the latest cool furniture is. I know that probably sounds quite uninteresting to most of you, but I have to stress, it's not always the topic that's interesting. It's the people that's talking about it.

I think people don't spend enough time meeting new people. At least, there aren't that many good avenues to really meet people. People always seem to have their guards up. I know there are good reasons for it as there are a lot of bad people out there. However, we can't forget that there are a lot of good people out there as well. If we keep our guards up so high all the time, everyone ends up isolating themselves. Instead of all of us world living in the same world, we're all just living in our own little world.

I for one, don't want to live in my own little world.