The hot sun beats down on your back as sweat drips down your entire body. It pools around your face as you walk through the cobblestoned roads. Everywhere you look there is something to see. Vendors are on either side of you, with merchants who have crafted the art of selling their work. This is what it is like to walk through the Montreuil Flea Market on a Monday afternoon.
A man lovingly polishes the dust off a mahogany table underneath his tent. It is clear that he has used great detail to create and care for these objects under his tent. Surrounded by what may seem as random and insignificant objects to others, this man has made a living of creating things. He fashions the best furnishings with his handiwork and nurtures them until he can give them to someone who cherishes his workmanship.
A lone dog strolls past the merchants, sniffing the booths of the vendors. Groups of pigeons flock over to eat crumbs off the ground. The shopkeeper shoos them away, protecting his perfectly crafted bureaus. Even the slight brush of a pigeon could ruin his efforts. Maintaining flawless work is a crucial part his job. Finding someone who appreciates his craft just as much as he does is very important to him.
Walking through the Montreuil Flea Market is an experience to be had for sure. Being surrounded by such impassioned people is so inspiring. Seeing the devotion that these shopkeepers have for their craft makes you realize the importance of finding what makes you happy, what gives you purpose in life.
Well done, closely observed, Erin. You put me there, and that was the whole point of this assignment – Jena