The Market

After my presentation on Wednesday, a few of us girls headed downtown to San Jose. I hardly ever visit San Jose because we have classes all day long, and then at night we are not allowed to be out. This makes it tough to get there, but we finally had the perfect chance this afternoon as we did not have class after our presentations.

While we were down there, we spent most of our time at the Art Market. This is a place where artists sell their works. It is not entirely legal, and they have a difficult time making it. The man that spoke to our class a few weeks ago and about his story (Elmer) actually sells his paintings here. In fact, we saw him there, and he recognized us! He greeted us with handshakes and kisses, and we spent a few minutes talking to him. It really was cool to see him after hearing his story. This made the market so much more meaningful for me: this is not just a place to buy souvenirs or look at what is the cheapest. No, this is a place where people are really struggling to make it, and this is their life. They are trying to survive. It really changed my attitude of how I look for things to buy here. I’m less concerned about finding things for a good price, and I’m more concerned about where the money is going. When I buy things at this market, I know who my money goes to: it goes directly to the person that I’m talking to. I am not just buying a thing, but I’m having an interaction with the person who made the things. This is not just a separated, commercial business. It’s really awesome, actually, to have a personal conversation with the person whose things you are buying. It is not just a thing. This is their life. This is how they feed their family. This is the type of business I want to support.

This was made even more evident when we were talking to Elmer. As we were getting ready to keep walking, he sincerely thanked us for taking a few minutes to talk to him. He said that it is very rare that people actually stop and talk to him and ask him how he is doing. They only care about the things he sells. I found this so sad, and it just really was humbling to hear how much he appreciates a small conversation. It is such a small thing that really can make a difference. I think we made his day, yet I still think I was impacted more.