Visiting the Buford Highway Farmer's Market

Yesterday I visited the Buford Highway Farmer's Market for the first time. I typically shop at Your Dekalb Farmer's Market for international products and food, but decided to try out another one for variety.

I was so impressed with the quantity and scope of international products available there! The market is generally arranged by region of the world, and includes aisles of products from Brazil, Eastern Europe, China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Caribbean, and more. Everything at the market, too, is very reasonably priced.

Almost all the products are labeled in another language; it's sometimes difficult to find the English translation on the product label, and even when I did find it, I was often still left clueless to the contents or use of the product. I always am intrigued by packaging in other languages-- I'm not sure why this is; perhaps it's because it's something representing the quotidian life of people of another country that gets past the touristy images; or perhaps it's because it shakes my ideas of what's "normal" for a soft drink bottle or bag of candy to look like.

The market also includes an extensive produce section with fruits and vegetables from all over the world. I bought longans, a fruit popular in Thailand that I'd never heard of before. Longans are small, grape-like fruits that you have to peel before eating. The flesh of the fruit is similar to that of lychees, but longans are somewhat less flavorful. In any case, it's fun to explore the market and try new fruits and vegetables.

Even if you're not shopping for international food, the market is worth a trip for the people-watching opportunities-- I definitely heard more conversations in foreign languages than I did in English! Outside the market I picked up newspapers in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean.

Here's a short photo slideshow to see some photos from the market.

The market is located at 5600 Buford Highway, Doraville, GA 30340. It's worth the trip!

Greetings!

Thanks for checking out my blog! 

This will be a work constantly in progress, but I thought I'd begin with a little background about the evolution of the idea behind it all...

Sitting in my office, I often long to be traveling and exploring new places, meeting new people, experiencing new tastes, smells, and noises. With limited vacation time and limited funds, my options for international travel are fairly limited. 

I try to keep up my French and stay in tune with international stories through French podcasts. I've been listening lately to one in particular, Au detour du monde, produced by France Inter.  It's a varied program and includes travel advice, music from around the world, and a feature from another country. Recent topics have included a film festival in Burkina Faso, the experience of living in a yurt in Mongolia, and traveling across Finland in the middle of winter. 

While listening to the podcast the other day, I started thinking about how great it would be to be a reporter for Au detour du monde and for my job to be to explore new places and learn about other cultures...when I realized I can do just that here in Atlanta. At that moment, I decided to make it a personal project to get out and explore all the international cultures, food, and activities that Atlanta has to offer, and I hope my adventures inspire others to do the same--to get out of their comfort zone and try new foods and go new places...without even having to leave Georgia. 

I plan on using this blog as a means of documenting my experiences through text, photos, and videos. 

Enjoy!