The Mal

That's right, I'm talking about your typical over-sized shopping center, and it makes me feel baaaad.

Why, then, have I been spending an exorbitant amount of time there lately it seems? I think I've been 3 times in the last 2 weeks, which makes me feel really disgusting. The first time I had to go to run a bunch of errands that I was sure could be accomplished at "Gran Plaza." The second time was to re-try 5 of the 6 errands since you can never get anything done on the first try in Mexico. (No, I can't tell you which one you need from those three numbers, you need this other number, etc, etc.) The third time was to try to buy a few more clothing items I determined I needed (ahem, wanted) on the second trip.

When I'm heading to The Mall, my hopes are always high. I try to think of the positive things- ¡air conditioning! ¡Segafredo!...uh... I try to approach it like "the modern equivalent of an open air market."

But then I arrive and I'm reminded of why I hate The Mall. Sometimes I'm reminded of it on the bus, if a group of teeny-boppers headed to The Mall gets on.

Although the air conditioning does make everything look more rosy, I still see the 13 year old girls in their 18 year old outfits, the over-priced, under-sized slew of clothing stores, the endless rows of cell-phone booths, the astonishing amount of English posted everywhere (since most of the stores are American). In fact, Gran Plaza's own slogan is even "It's Time to Shopping!" (Yeah, no kidding, way to go on the grammar check on that one guys.)

Going to the area of the city where The Mall is located is also kind of bizarre. You ride way far north, and then get off the bus and look down the road (which is wider, faster, and cleaner than your typical road in this city) and see Sears, McDonalds, Sam's Club, Home Depot and PeMex. BUT, the PeMex is the only one I've ever seen that actually has a convenient store as a part of itself-American style. So it's a bit like walking into another world which, as an American living here, is simultaneously comforting and frightening.

I guess I'm not certain what it is about The Mall that makes me feel so violently nauseous by the end. It might just be that I'm participating and I don't like to admit it. It's true, I do really like the 1...2...3...4...5...6...7 items of clothing I've bought lately (and I haven't bought clothes since I moved here...I swear), but I have an almost allergic reaction when I think about having spent that money on them. As if a part of me wants to be that kind of person that doesn't care at all about her appearance, and then the other part of me has to knock that part upside the head and remind her that we actually do care. But I swear, something about all those stores lined up right next to each other, and all those people going from store to store, just sucks the soul out of me. Truly, I leave feeling like my soul has been sucked out. I can't explain it any other way.

You know, writing about this, and knowing that I won't be going to The Mall for a very long time again, has made me feel a lot better about it. And I do really like the new pants I'm wearing.