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Market Spices

3/15/2019

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On every trip to China, we visit a food market. The variety of fruits and vegetables is magnificent.  The vendors set up the items in a colorful array of circles and lines.  Purple eggplant.  Orange carrots.  Fuchsia dragonfruit. 

I could mill around the produce for hours.  I love listening to the vendors talking to one another.  I watch as they pat each other on their backs, laugh and share a cup of tea.  There is a sense of community that we don't find in our local supermarket.

There is another section in these markets that offers more than color:  spices.  They tickle my nostrils with the unfamiliar.  The spices remind me of the meals I share with the people with whom I travel.  They remind me of family dinners, even though I rarely make a stir fry.  

On every trip to a market, I buy a bag or two of spices.  They are never used to cook.  In fact, they I don't think they have ever made it back to the U.S.  I just like to buy them.  I generally leave them in my hotel room before checking out of the hotel in the city or village in which they were purchased.  

I buy them not for their future use, but for the present moment.  Even if I did not speak the language, the transaction would still make an impression that shapes the way I see the world.  The smelling of the spices.  The smile of the vendor, noticing my appreciation.  The offer of a sample taste.  The unusual flavor as it hits my taste buds. Pointing at a small bag.  The scooping of the spice.  The trade of spice for money.  The bag in hand as I walk away.  No words required.
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    Lauren Drazen

    I have traveled all over the world, including adventures in China, Uganda, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Argentina, Vietnam, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, England, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Netherlands, Canada and Mexico!  My greatest love is introducing Americans to the sites, traditions and people of China.  My hope is to give travelers a new lens through which to see the world.

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Lauren Drazen
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lauren@chowfuntours.com

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