Posted by clairef on Saturday, May 13, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

After class on Saturday morning, a few of us decided to go to the Farmers’ Market. Since the Farmers’ Market is only open on Saturday, we wanted to take advantage of our open afternoon, and see if there were any fresh options for lunch.

About eight of us set off towards the Farmers’ Market. The walk to the Farmers’ Market was a little longer than we originally expected, and at one point we even considered turning around. Fortunately, somebody in the group knows a little Italian and was able to ask locals for directions. When we determined we were close, we kept walking to the market.

 

Finally, we arrived at the Farmers’ Market, and the first tents we approached were selling sunglasses, clothing, hats and toys. This is the first difference that I noticed between Farmers’ Markets in the United States and Farmers’ Markets here in Sicily – the items being sold are not limited to food items, but include a wide range of other goods. Examples of items that surprised me included luggage, a wide range of apparel (socks, stockings, track suits, shoes, etc.), kitchen supplies, and more. All of the Farmers’ Markets that I have visited in the United States sell mainly fruits and vegetables, and a few sell some meats. However, in the U.S. I have not seen a Farmers’ Market selling items such an extensive variety of items. Sometimes there are handmade clothing and jewelry, but not mass produced items like here in Cefalu.

That being said, the Farmers’ Market here in Cefalu had many vendors also selling fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, nuts, and even candy. I was originally surprised by the extensive collection of nuts, grains and legumes that many of the vendors had. From my experience, much of the food that we passed was meant to be purchased in bulk – such as the produce, nuts, meats and cheeses, and was not ready to eat. I am curious if the local people of Cefalu use the Farmers’ Market for a substantial portion of their grocery shopping. In the United States, going to the Farmers’ Market is more of an experience, where people may buy some fruit or vegetables, but are more interested in the activity than the shopping. I am also curious as to how many individuals visiting the Farmers’ Market were tourists, as opposed to locals. When looking around I believe that I saw a high proportion of locals; however, I still have difficulty deciphering between tourists and local people in most cases. I would be interested to determine if the Farmers’ Market is a tourist attraction, or a stable shopping venue for the locals of Cefalu.

Another significant aspect of this experience was the language barrier. Many of the vendors did not speak English, and all of the signs were also in Italian. It was easy to point to obvious things that we wanted, such as strawberries and pistachios, but we struggled to differentiate between different types of cheeses, grains and more obscure vegetables. Fortunately, one of the students with us was able to speak to the vendors, but this experience truly highlighted the disadvantages of language barriers and the importance of communication. It was obvious that the vendors were trying their best to effectively communicate with us, by holding up fingers to indicate prices and attempting to say the English names for different items. While I appreciate how accommodating the vendors are, I could really benefit from attempting to learn more Italian phrases.

Unfortunately, the Farmers’ Market did not have any hot food options, so while we did not get lunch, we left with two batches of fresh strawberries! Due to the generosity of the vendors, I was also able to sample different nuts, dried apricots and some cheese. My experience at the Farmers’ Market provided insight into the difference between Farmers’ Markets in the United States and the Farmers’ Market here in Cefalu: mainly the difference in items sold, the extensive options, the purpose of the market, etc. Going to the Farmers’ Market also provided us the opportunity to interact with farmers from Cefalu. I am glad that we took the time to visit the Farmers’ Market, and want to go back next Saturday, prepared to buy produce that we could cook into a meal!