If They Tore Down Your Grocery Store

So - big changes here in our city. It really seems like every week a new high rise goes up, an old neighborhood gets demolished, a new street gets paved. I can't believe how much this city has changed in the short 1 and 1/2 years that I've lived here. Last week, I biked home from the nice little coffee shop where I sometimes like to grade, and as I took the back street behind my apartment building, I noticed something strange. It was about 8:30 at night, and the street was absolutely quiet. Typically, there are kids playing in the street, xiao kiao (Chinese barbeque - style street food - yum!) stands smoking, shops open, fire pits burning, neighbors calling to each other, men yelling and loading metal beams into pickup trucks. Nothing. There were just a few kids and adults walking the street, and a mere two small convenience stores with lights on. I was curious, but thought maybe the police had just closed down the vendors or something. (That happens every so often, making me search for new nearby places to find delicious - and probably parasitic - street food. It's distressing, but I'm used to it.) I biked down the same street in the daylight a few days later and discovered that there was a Chinese character painted on nearly every door of every building on the alleyway. Now, I only know about 15 characters, and this is definitely not one of them, but I can use my powers of deduction to know what it means. They're tearing down the neighborhood. Probably to put in a new high rise of apartments that will remain half empty. I'm not going to give my political opinion; if you're interested in that, there's plenty of blogs from people who understand what's going on here in that realm much better than I do. BBC News - China axes 2D Avatar from cinemas

But it makes me a little sad. That street is one of my favorites to bike down - especially on Sunday mornings. All the people are out and it's just got that old neighborhood feel. No one even says "hello" to me or shouts "foreign person" as I bike past anymore, because they're used to seeing me. It's nice and friendly feeling.

And then, on Thursday night, my friend Michelle texts me and says they tore down the market. Now to imagine my level of distress you're going to have to imagine a little. Imagine that there are maybe 2 supermarkets in the area where you live. One is 5 minutes from your house. You go there maybe 3 times a week; it has the freshest fruits and vegetables, and you almost never spend more than $3 at one time. You know the people who work there, and they don't rip you off - even though they could; you're quite obviously from out of town. The fruit lady always gives you a sample before you buy, and sometimes she gives you extra for free if it's about to go bad. And she always makes sure you get good mangos. There's another grocery store, but it's about 20 minutes away; you'd have to sit in some traffic to get there, most likely. It's much bigger, less organized, and you don't know anyone, so you will probably have to pay more for everything. (Are you feeling my pain? Maybe not...) How could they tear down my market?

Well, I decided today to go see for myself. Thankfully, they didn't tear down the whole thing. The family that I buy vegetables from is still there, but I couldn't find my fruit lady. It's smaller and I have to hike it through some rubble to get there, but at least it still exists. And I saw a man bricking a wall on the side of his shop; he wouldn't do that if they were going to tear the rest down, right??

Well, I guess everything changes. Mostly, I think I don't mind change. But then something changes, and I realize that I kind of despise change - unless it's on my terms. For now though, I'm just relieved that the market isn't torn down. Good thing - it's one of my favorite places in China.