I wasn't overly busy today, so I decided to head down to a nearby mall I had briefly visited a few weeks ago and wanted to see more of. So I made the five-minute walk to the bus stop and paid the c. 15 cent fare for the 15 minute ride (it's about 15 cents to go anywhere, by bus, in this city of 4+ million people, though one will be lucky to get a seat). I was a little hungry when I got to the mall, so I first stopped at KFC and had something to eat. I paid a little less than $5 for a combo meal--two pieces of chicken, medium fries and coke, and a small ice cream cone afterwards. I thought the price was a little high. But I chose KFC over McDonald's or Subway, mainly because the latter was inexplicably closed. Well, and I didn't see Mr. Pizza in time. Anyway, after eating I ambled through the four-story structure, which was every bit as modern as any mall one would see in America. And, like in the U.S., it was full of mostly women's clothing stores. Not so many shoe stores and not too many electronics places; those are elsewhere. However, when I took the escalator to the 2nd floor, the first shop I saw was "Crocs"--and yes, it sold...Crocs. It was right around the corner from the Calvin Klein store, which wasn't too far from the Lee shop. No GAP (thank goodness). The sporting goods store had a nice picture of Kobe Bryant, wearing number 24 for some reason. Canon and Sony had nice places, though rather small; again, there weren't a lot of electronics items on display. The only place I saw any traditional Chinese clothing was in a wedding shop--a wedding dress. Nobody here wears the traditional clothing any more, at least nobody I've seen in Dalian. Nor do they any longer wear the little blue Mao suits and hats. But anyway, it was quite a display, this mall in China, and all rather ho-hum now to the students at the college, many of whom tell me, "No, I don't especially like going shopping." And it's the girls telling me that.
The one thing they haven't quite got a handle on yet, though, is English. I saw one refreshment type restaurant (named "Aloha") that advertised on its banner "coffee, ice cream, meals, fruit profits." Uh...I think you meant "fruit parfait", guys...
Or maybe they DID have it right....