a melting potAbout a week ago, I went to visit my lovely, former anthropology professor, during her office hours. I began to talk to her about my autoethnography and she eagerly suggested I go to the Curb Market in downtown, Atlanta. I decided to visit after class one monday, and took an Uber in the pouring rain to the market. As I walked into the market, I noticed a big shift in the demographics. Coming from a sheltered college, and getting closer to the heart of the city I definitely experienced a little culture shock. I always get a little nervous being a young woman, alone in an unfamiliar place, but once I adjusted to my new surroundings, I felt more comfortable. The fact that Atlanta is a melting pot really started to come clear. The market is near Grady Hospital, the King Center, and a bunch of residential neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic classes. When I went to the market I saw people of different races, with different accents, and different socioeconomic classes. The vendors were all fairly friendly when I tried to talk to them, but only a couple were willing to talk to me about the market. Most of the time a vendor would send me to another worker, and they would send me to a different guy, until I finally met one of the men at the deli counter, who had worked at the Curb Market for twenty seven years. He told me that he loves working there because people come from all over, mostly the south, to visit the market. As I wandered around the different vendors, I saw how much slower paced the people living in the city were. At a market back home, the man working at the deli would rapidly slice deli meats for one customer, in order to make sure the next customer does not need to wait very long. Typically, I have noticed customers also order a lot faster and make their decisions before going up to the counter. The customers at this marker would actually spend like ten or more minutes politely and carefully picking out exactly what they wanted, and the workers would graciously help them with all of their requests. Even the pace people walked with their carts slowed down! I was glad to go to this marker, because I think it was a wonderful representation of southern culture of Atlanta.
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