Transatlantic Slave Trade Study Abroad Day 6
My last day hit me with many regrets, but overall satisfaction. I was almost prepared for this trip I was extremely interested in opening my eyes to the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in London. I read a few books and articles prior to the trip, and I came into the trip with an open mind ready to learn. But I was not prepared to explore and learn during my free time. I regret not researching the places we visited in advance. I wish I would have gone to less touristy restaurants. I wish I would have spent less time walking around aimlessly looking for places to go. Also I wish I would have had a better understanding of the markets we spent time in.
In China I looked up in advance how to shop in the markets, but I made the mistake of thinking London was just like the States. On our cultural excursions through the market places I did not realize I could haggle. Luckily I had a very low budget and did not spend much, but some of the items I did buy I feel I could have bought for a lower price. Haggling is fun and I regret missing out on it. However I still left the market places with a smile because of my interactions with some of the people selling items.
One of my best interactions of the day was with a shoe maker from a smaller town outside of London. He told me everything in his booth was handmade, and he went on actually complimenting that most people from the states seem to actually appreciate handmade things more. He says handmade things have started to loose their value to most people in London who are looking for bigger more popular items. I began thinking how much London has changed over the years. I even wondered if in the past some of these markets sold slave made items. I wonder if some of the sales people's families profited from the slave trade. Then finally I wonder if any of the inexpensive items in the surrounding stores were actually made by slaves in different countries or people who were at least paid very little for what they do.
On a random note the best purchase I made was a rainbow bagel.
In China I looked up in advance how to shop in the markets, but I made the mistake of thinking London was just like the States. On our cultural excursions through the market places I did not realize I could haggle. Luckily I had a very low budget and did not spend much, but some of the items I did buy I feel I could have bought for a lower price. Haggling is fun and I regret missing out on it. However I still left the market places with a smile because of my interactions with some of the people selling items.
One of my best interactions of the day was with a shoe maker from a smaller town outside of London. He told me everything in his booth was handmade, and he went on actually complimenting that most people from the states seem to actually appreciate handmade things more. He says handmade things have started to loose their value to most people in London who are looking for bigger more popular items. I began thinking how much London has changed over the years. I even wondered if in the past some of these markets sold slave made items. I wonder if some of the sales people's families profited from the slave trade. Then finally I wonder if any of the inexpensive items in the surrounding stores were actually made by slaves in different countries or people who were at least paid very little for what they do.
On a random note the best purchase I made was a rainbow bagel.
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