End of an era

i had ambivalent feelings when i noticed that all the chinese vegetables being grown in the flower beds had disappeared and would not be growing back

a chinese clothes/accessories shop (we call them kinezika here) used to operate here until only a month ago - the owner had been planting chinese vegetables there (eg bok choy) for 4 or 5 years now

kinezika are, let's say, full of outlandish, gaudy, outdated styles, made in fabric that smells from the first time you wear the clothings, or sticks to your body in the heat - they often suit skinny women or innocent children not yet tainted by the fashion world

kinezika were considered cheap places to buy clothes, especially in the economic crisis, but now that it has come to pass and it has now become an identity crisis, life has become cheaper and quality cheap fashion is now becoming mroe affordable (i discovered this when i took my daughter shopping a couple of times this year)

kinezika provided answers at a time when people were still unsure of themselves - perhaps this is changing now, and people are looking for answers elsewhere - or even coming up with solutions themselves

i wont miss the clothes and accessories at the kinezika, but i will miss the sight of the bok choy and kai lan growing right next to the traffic lights, in the middle of my mediterranean town, and especially the sight of the chinese man doing a spot of gardening during a quiet moment at the shop