I'm a schoolteacher-turned-missionary who cares deeply about the struggles of people around the globe who were born into political/economic/religious circumstances in which they have no say. I'm passionate enough about the orphan crisis to pretty much make it my life's work. And this is what's on my mind: the mall.
I have this illness that is difficult to live with. I spent almost 40 years as a typical American consumer. And although I've let go of a lot to lead this current lifestyle, it is absolutely sick how happy and normal going to the mall makes me feel. Let me explain a couple of important things.
#1 Guatemala has REALLY nice malls. That sounds understandably bizarre. Isn't Guatemala one of the world's poorest nations? Yep. Don't you work in indigenous villages where people have no electricity, running water, or furniture? Yep. So, what gives? We do live on the outskirts of a huge city. There does exist a concentration of Guatemala's wealthier people here, so there are parts of the city that have great entertainment. There are several nice malls, and the one that is closest to us, about 30 minutes away, is Centro Commercial Miraflores. Rumor has it that this was once the largest mall in Central America. I tend to believe it; it is by far the largest mall I have ever experienced. There are palm trees and fountains in this mall. It is gorgeous, not our familiar run-down hotspot-of-the-eighties. There is a carousel and other children's diversions. There are TWO food courts, multiple restaurants, hundreds of stores, and the piece de resistance: a great movie theater (more about that in a minute). It abounds with familiar American delicacies like Dairy Queen and Chili's. and lest I forget one of the most amazing parts, let me tell you about the parking garage. It is huge, clean, well-lit, the spaces are luxuriously large, the parking fee is minimal, and there are lights on each space that indicate whether the space is available, with a lit number at the end of the row indicating how many spaces are free. GENIUS, I tell you.
#2 I cannot afford to shop at this mall. As much as I love walking around, with a coffee/froyo/etc. in hand, window shopping, occasionally looking at a price tag for fun, I seriously couldn't buy something there if I wanted to for the most part. Most things are imported and even stores I would've occasionally shopped at in the States are out of reach for my current budget. And since this mall is a half hour drive into the city, I'm not wasteful enough to come here often just to walk around and eat fast food treats.
We usually go to the mall for the movie theater. One great thing about Guatemala is that movies are cheap! People have to able able to afford to go, right? It's about $5 per person. There's popcorn, which is also cheap. And even though our family can all go see a recent release in English for about$25, this is still a rare treat. Both kids chose to go to the movies with friends for their birthdays. In all, we've really only been three times since we moved here. Hopefully we will again soon, because we need to see Catching Fire!!
In the mall I feel more like my normal consumer self. It feels good. As long as I don't think too much. Because there is also guilt. These malls are built primarily through drug money, or mob money, and just generally by bad guys. And if I pull out of the posh garage and drive a couple of blocks I'll be right in a typical poor neighborhood. How can this extravagant wealth and this dire poverty coexist right next to each other? It's maddening. I would like to give you nice tidy closure here. A story about how I had a talk with God and he told me it he was cool with me going to the mall. Alas, no. Here's all the resolution I have. This mall employs thousands of Guatemalans. This mall provides some (relatively) safe and inexpensive entertainment for our family. And sometimes when you feel like you're a fish out of water, culturally speaking, it feels good to jump back in the water for a few minutes.
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