The Car Market

We've been on the hunt this weekend for an apartment and a car.  Nothing finalized yet but we do have two apartments we're considering.  They both cost more than we originally had hoped to spend but we can't find anything decent below $1000/month.  Some places we visited were like dungeons; dark, gloomy, stinky and so depressing.  But these two are much nicer and both have their pros and cons.  They are between 1000 and 1200sq/ft which will seem spacious compared to this 800sq/ft apartment we're in now!  It's all a matter of perspective!! :-) 

 

Then there's car shopping.  We were told the best place to find a car is the "car market".  Evidently every Sunday there is a market where people bring their cars to sell, so today that's where we went.  I think we now know why the city seems so quiet on Sundays, nearly everyone is at the car market!  And not just cars, but car parts and pieces and scraps and you name it....   Some people were selling other items too.  Hey, why not adorn your hood with jeans, sweaters, hats, shoes, gloves, underwear, perfume, chocolate, gum, or any item you might find at your local Wal-Mart.  We figured that those whose hoods were covered with such items must not have been too serious about selling their car or maybe we were supposed to do some shopping in order to view the "big-ticket" item.  And of course when that many people get together in once place food merchants are quick to set up shop.  So while looking for that "perfect" car you can munch on giant pretzels or savory sausages (called Mici - pronounce "meech") or if you just want a light snack how about a cup full of sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.  Then if you do decide to by a car there's a guy sitting at a little table in the middle of hundred of cars just waiting to type up a receipt.  Do you need car insurance for that new car?  You can buy that at another table.  This is user friendly car shopping!   As we made our way through the crowd we criss-crossed rows and rows of cars.  Some old, some new but most were very nice and quite expensive.  I kept wondering how long these cars would look nice given the driving conditions we'd experienced.  Oddly enough, with so many people attending the car market the streets were pretty clear and the driving was smooth.  We didn't actually buy a car today, but we sure learned a lot and had a good time looking.

more later.....

 

-Shannon