Where am I?

This is the question I almost had to ask myself last night, as I experienced the Filipino mall. As Jason and I walked around (the girls blessed us with a night out, no kids), it was easy to forget that I wasn’t in the states. The mall (which isn’t the largest mall) was four stories of every kind of store imaginable, air conditioned (I even got to put my sweater to good use), with a food court and all. Of course, the food court was different—tons of stalls all serving a variety of Filipino food, rice included. But if you walk around a bit, you can find Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, or Burger King. Some movies are in English, with new releases being shown. Signs are in English, and most of the employees in the stores speak English. The differences? For one thing, we were clearly the minority, and people definitely noticed us. Things seem to be cheaper, especially food (you can get a fast food meal for $1-2). Movies only cost $2 with $0.70 popcorn (yum). If it’s an American brand, however, it’s definitely more. When you walk into the department store, it seems that every rack of clothes has an employee waiting to help you. Oh, and another difference that I’ve noticed in all kinds of establishments (from banks to fast food restaurants), there are armed security guards standing watch at every entrance, sometimes even doing a quick body or purse search. Not bad, just different (this is the phrase we are trying to instill in the kids as they experience life here). Another thing we noticed is that it didn’t seem like many of the people walking around in the mall were there because they were making purchases (we didn’t see a lot of people carrying shopping bags). Which makes sense—it’s a great place to come and get away from the heat, but most people probably can’t afford to shop at the mall. Jason went to a cultural training class the other day, where he learned that there is a small percentage of elite wealthy in the Philippines. These people generally don’t like to associate themselves with the common Filipinos, so they speak mostly English and try to create places that feel more western. The mall definitely felt western. In the end, we enjoyed our time there for the reason that most people probably enjoy their time there—getting a break from the heat and everyday life. But it was one more thing I’ve found to add to the contrast that mixes the rich and the poor.