Title: Two different experiences

      This morning after we had finished explaining the task, we went to purchase in groups, we were totally divided into two groups: vegetable group and meat group, which separately went to the Wellcome Supermarket and Luchou traditional food market to purchase.
      First we came to our first station the Wellcome Supermarket, we selected and bought a handful of cabbage, two corns, half of a Korea vegetable, a large block of bean curd, one bag of skin of soya-bean milk, two bags of hand pulled noodles, one bag of orange, two bags of flammulina, totally spent 347 yuan. In this supermarket food purchase voyage, we felt the space was very tidy, the shop was very clean, but the attitude of salespeople was cold and detached, the price was like the price in the label, couldn’t be negotiated, at food purchase one could not judge whether the vegetable was fresh or not, for example the soya-bean milk skin we bought seemed to have been stored for a long time, there was a queer smell (stinking oil). The grain of corn looked flat and had no moisture content (we had selected for a long time).

      In our second station, we began to purchase in the traditional market, the vegetable stall keeper treated us very well, one Korea vegetable only counted NT$20 (the stall keeper said half a Korea vegetable cannot be sold), a handful of cabbage costed NT$10, one large block of bean curd NT$10 ( the original price was NT$15), two bags of flammulina NT$20 (the original price NT$30), additionally the stall keeper also give us one ginseng yam, that was great. Moreover we came to the northern and southern grocery shopkeeper to buy a bag of soya-bean milk skin with NT$20 (it smelt very fresh), we also went to the noodle making shop to buy 3 jin of hand pulled noodle with NT$50 (what a sweet-smelling of flour, it was made early in the morning ), we also bought 3 jin orange with NT$30 (above 3 jin).

       This purchase experience on traditional market was very pleasant, the stall keepers behaved cordial and had a large space for negotiation, moreover it could be given some food or fruits. While during purchase, the customers could pick by themselves their favorites, the freshness could be seen at any moment. But the environment in the market was comparatively disordered, the smell was rather bad (many flavours miscellaneously exposed ), there was water everywhere on the ground, it was easy to slip.

       After finishing purchase, we immediately began the work of cutting and washing, when we started to cook, we found the boiler with food bought at supermarket had a queer smell, but at eating the taste was similar. From today’s task we discovered that the appearance of the foods sold in traditional market was better, fresh and good-looking, their goods were stocked at the very day, there was no time for storage, so it was rather delicious. While the stall keepers all hailed customers very cordially, even in food purchase they would voluntarily present many stuffs, this was the advantages of traditional markets and what they were worthy of promotion.

Title: The tour to visit traditional markets (Tamshui)
Date: February 6,
Location: Tamshui Old Street Market
Recorder: Ya-ting Chen (Hsin-rong’s mom)                                                            

      Leaving the food market, we went to the Chingshui Tzushu Temple on the slope, on the way we passed two button shops, among which the shopkeeper’s wife poured out her past, in her shop merely the ruler there was clothmeasure used from the Japan occupation times to now, her shop was herself’s, at the mention of business, before it once earned ten thousand a day, but nowadays it had to depend on the clothes amending and still could not earn the income of ten thousand.

      At entering the market we saw the pork stall keeper and his wife were filling sausages, to our group of children who were extremely busy in the city “busy to study in the remediation class and acquirement class”, it indeed came true one Taiwan saying “if you haven’t see the pig walking, you should also eat pork”, of course it included myself too!

      When the stall keepers who were filling sausages saw us, he certainly didn’t grudge to tell us how to make sausages, sausage were originally made through small intestine of pigs pickling salt and with which the sowbelly was filled. Going to another stall, Ms. Wu asked the rise and history of the market, and just knew the market had already a history of over 100 years, it also had already a history of three or four decades after reconstruction, when we asked why toady the entire market only remained less than 10 stalls, the stall keeper’s wife sighed with feeling and said: in the people of the market, the old ones chose to retire, the young didn’t want to do the business, so the stalls reduced year by year, she also admonished us to study more, did not do such toilsome business as she, and could merely earn for a living, in fact the children might only have a sketchy knowledge! Today’s children were too happy, they should be very difficult to understand the heart of the stall keeper’s wife!

      Finishing the tour to the market, the group of people again went in massive and streaming columns to the next burgeoning market. At he meeting of school, the children heard the teachers once said most of the markets concentrated in the neighborhood of temples, but the next market was near the campus where there were many students, let’s went and saw what on earth it was!
     

Entering the Yingzhuan Road, what we saw was full of snack stalls and clothes shops, it seemed like night fair, going upwards along the road, we walked on the small mountain road, like climbing mountain, as we walked along we entered the campus of Tamshui University, the group of children were full of curiosity to the life of college students, they heard the teachers said one could ride on bicycle in campus, and shouted bravo! But the explanation of the teacher was that the university was too big and one might be late for class.
     Passing through the campus, we went with our stomach rumbling with hunger directly to the restaurant to have lunch, after we finished eating the lunch and love fish and fruits of the teachers, we prepared to go back, did you suppose you would have nothing to do after going back home? You were absolutely wrong, surely we had to log on Internet to write experience! Nevertheless, as parents we believed it was also a good thing to let children experience the life of stall keepers in food market; after all day’s visit and interview, even I could better understand, although I raised children at home, couldn’t do what I wanted, but comparing to the toilsome stall keepers, it was not much chop for me to be like this, I truly would be content with my lot! I wouldn’t again complain to others! I was really looking forward to the next visit!                                              

Title: Long march to the fish market in Yilan Date: February 7
Location: Food market

      In the previous several times, we went to the food market to call on Grandfather Lin who sold fish, we learned about the fish he sold were all stocked from the fish market in Yilan,so the food market contingent decided to long march to the fish market in Yilan,

today we set out in two groups, one group went directly to Taipei Main Station to wait, the other group went to Luchou Market to call on Grandfather Lin, after Grandfather Lin packing up the stall, went together to Taipei Main Station to meet,
then we together took train to Yilan, the feeling of taking train for the first time was really great,
while eating neritic squid bought by Ms. Wu and Grandfather Lin, and watching the picturesque scenery, it was really happy!!!
      On arriving the destination, we said goodbye to each other after taking photos with Grandfather Lin, then we went to  Renwen  Elementary School, Ms.Wu asked teachers there to lead us to the fish market nearby,ver there we saw many marine products,,there were luckfish, neritic squid, and also fishes I had never seen before, it really broadened my views.

Title: Visit new market
 Date: February 14
Location: Songjiang Market and market of Mr. Wu
Recorder: Hsiao-nai Lin
Participants: Chia-ling, Hsiao-nai, Mei-lien, Guan-cheng, Ya-jun, Ms. Shiou-yen, Ms. Mei-chung

      We took the 225 bus to Songjiang Market, we got off at the one station before Hsing Tien Kong, after getting off, we went to the shop opened by Ms. Wu’s husband, at the door of shop of teacher’s husband there was Spring Festival couplets written by father of Ms. Wu, the teacher said when her father’s Spring Festival couplets finished, Ms. Wu helped to sell, so the money of teacher’s husband laid at one side, the money of Grandfather Wu laid on another side, it was truly troublesome!
     At the back of the shop of teacher’s husband there was also a food market, over there was a public toilet, but one had to bail water from inside to rinse by himself, so the teacher said that public toilet was a fully automatic toilet. There were only several stalls left in that food market, so it looked quiet and lonesome inside, there were only a butcher’s shop and a grocery, the original vegetable shop was also leased to others and became a steamed bread factory, their stalls one by one that sold stuff were still there, there was stuff still laying on the table of stall, although there was a few people in that market, the past traces were still left! On the above there was a small attic when they sold before, the teacher said the sellers lived on the above otherwise they stored goods on it, until now there were still people living one the above! How I wished I could go up and see what on earth it was like! 
     After seeing these, the time was almost up, we should to Songjiang Market, once we passed the zebra crossing we saw the bustling stream of people, which was totally different with the atmosphere there in the shop of teacher’s husband just now.

     Entering the market, the teacher let us observe the difference between basement and the first floor , but I found it sold everything downstairs, only emphasized on meat, on the first floor it mostly sold commodities, after we rambled for a round,  the teacher said let’s compete whose stall he asked was senior in years, we asked one stall, that stall sold grocery, he had sold for 42 years, he sold for 10 years at other places, and 32 years there, he said this market had a history of 32 years, it was just like this when he moved in, the stall the teacher asked sold fish, she said the market had a history of 35 years, it was strange, didn’t that stall keeper say just now it was 32 years? So queer, she has sold for about 20 years at other places and 35 years here, so totally it was about 50 years, what about 50 years, much less than us! It seemed we lost this time, the teacher asked us whether we wanted to ask a stall with a history of 60 years, we said we didn’t have to, going out we saw a shop sold dried meat, he grilled it at other place, we were very curious, so the teacher bought to us to eat, we ate with great relish, because it was truly too delicious, we again walked around the market for a circle, then went back to the shop of teacher’s husband’s.

Title: Experience on watching others sell meat
 Date: February 13
Location: Luchiang Elementary School-> Luchou Market ->Luchiang Elementary School->Home
Participants: Chia-ling and I
 Recorder: Hsin-rong Li
Content:

     Today Chia-ling and I would go to experience a pork stall, but the teacher said because we couldn’t sell pork, so we had to stand and watch at opposite, although we seemed to want to sell very much on the surface, we wouldn’t like to sell in the heart, because both Chia-ling and I dared not to touch pork! Afterwards two of us went to the food market together, after arriving at the pork stall, I discovered almost all rows of stalls sold pork, when we saw I found that uncle seemed to close his eyes at chopping pork! In fact it was due to the reason of angle! Additionally we discovered when there was no business, the stall keeper’s wife even did exercises! Moreover as long as the customers couldn’t cook, the stall keeper’s wife would be very kind to tell them how to cook, we also discovered the stall next to them had a extremely booming business, I really didn’t know why, I believed the pork in that stall should be especially delicious!

Title: The future market in my mind

 Date: February 1
Location: Classroom of Grade 4 Class 7
Recorder: Mei-lien Li
Participants: Cyberfair team and teachers
I hope the future Luchou Market will be:

1. comfortable
2. quiet
3. clean
4. good service
5. cheap goods
6. one can pick by himself
7. flexible in demand volume
8. flexible in selling time
9. the time waiting to check-out is short
10.subarea trade, don’t concentrate in the same area
Making such plan will let us have things to  eat and sell~! It also let us eat securely and healthfully~!