They say that the culture shock is hardest when coming back to your own country. Reentry shock, they call it.
For some reason, I found myself wandering around the old mall I used to work at back in college. It was early in the day, so there weren't the throngs of crowds around. In fact, there weren't very many people at all, which gave the whole a place an eerie atmosphere. Some of the old stores I used to shop at had changed dramatically while the place I worked had disappeared entirely. Bigger stores are replacing smaller ones at an alarming rate. Did you ever think that such a thing was possible? Malls are already full of bigger stores than you would find downtown, but these places are just huge. For example, I went to Dick's Sporting Goods, and was amazed at the size of it. There were three other customers in the store, but I didn't know it for a whole 20 minutes. I walked along the vast aisles of fully stocked, neatly organized rows of shirts, bikes, shorts, steel coffee mugs, and golf bags, wondering if it was possible for these racks to be empty. Then I noticed there was a second level.
Upstairs was more of the same: tents, fishing vests, rods, nalgene bottles, camping chairs, pavilions, and sleeping mats. As I floated down the escalator, I thought that since this store obviously has everything, maybe I could find a pair of winter biking gloves which is why I came to the mall in the first place.
I perused their bike section, but apparently the rest of America doesn't ride their bike in winter or for very long in the summer. These bikes looked like they were waiting to be bought so they could sit in the garage to wait there again for a sunny day. There were no panniers, no bike fenders, no rain gear, and certainly no winter gear. Just helmets, bikes, and locks. And almost all the bikes had front shocks on them. Call me a biker snob, but I really don't see the point of front shocks on bikes. They weigh the bike down so much that if you are going long distances, they slow you down. Save the weight and carry more food! At least you can eat that weight off. Sure they may save the wrists if you don't ride around very much, but if that's the case, are they saving your wrists all that much? I would venture to say that anyone who has front shocks on their bikes probably spends more time on the computer than they do on their bike. Carpal tunnel is more likely at the keyboard then, than on the bike. But I digress.
I have to give the designers of this store a little credit. People like to be able to identify with things, so on some of the columns holding up the store were blown up images of an area map with "Madison" in bold print. Way to give some hometown feel! I'm sure the store in St. Louis has the same thing but with "St. Louis" in bold.
The thing that upset me the most is that I walked around in that place for a good 20 minutes before I saw anyone. What has happened to human interaction? In Turkey, there is so much human interaction that it is sometimes annoying, but even so, I miss it. I miss being able to bargain with the shop keeper or merchant. I miss the smells of the market place, the feel of the outdoor air in my nostrils. None of this artificial air freshener that makes me nauseous. I also miss the sounds of human activity, the laughter, various shop keepers singing their selling song, and the clomp of human feet on the cobblestone ground.
One more gripe about mall shopping America and I'll stop.
My quest to find mittens to replace the glove I lost went unfulfilled. Can you believe that it's still 20 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside and the entire mall is selling spring clothing? The only hand coverings I found where on the 77 cent rack in JCPenny's, and they would have been utterly useless in fighting the wind chill I feel on my hands as I ride to work. Pure polyester pink pansies of gloves.
My next post will be about something happy. Promise.
