Snow, Moving Apartments, and the Friday Market

Here are some pictures that I took this Friday, our third day of very cold temps (4/-10 C; 39/14 F) and snowfall (we've gotten a few inches, but it's early this year, so it feels like more).

The first two pictures show the level of snow but also the normal method for moving people into and out of high-rise apartment buildings (which are the norm here).

On the backside of the apartments there is an enclosed balcony area, usually used for drying laundry and storing things.  These balconies having sliding glass doors, and the screens can be popped off to allow furniture, etc. to be moved in and out.

On the ground there is a truck with an elevator lift that runs a flat/level platform up and down, and the platform is stacked with the items that need to be moved.

In the apartment village that I live in, where there are hundreds of apartments in different buildings, it is not unusual to hear the noise from these lifts almost every day, up and down, up and down.

It's an efficient process, and costs about $500 for a move.

The apartment villages are dotted with small playgrounds . . .

And then there is the Friday market.  On the way to school I buy enough tofu to last for a week, and sometimes other food items such as nuts, dried seaweed, fruit, etc.  The tents are put up and taken down every Friday by the individual sellers.

The first large tent belongs to the vegetable sellers.

Then there is the tent where I buy tofu, fresh rice noodles, etc.  He also sells nuts, dried anchovies, and other things.

The seafood tent is next, though I have never bought anything from them.

And then there are some clothes, ready-to-eat foods, etc.