Coach Me
Last week when Ping and Cici had a girls day out with their Chinese lady friends, they went to an Outlet Mall north of Houston that has dozens of designer stores. Cici saw a Coach purse that she really liked, but Ping said no and they didn't buy it. We decided to drive back up to the mall yesterday afternoon to take another look at the bag. Bad idea.
We drove around looking for a parking space and there were none to be found. A lot of other cars were also circling the various lots trying to find a place to park. We finally found a lot far away from the mall that had some parking spaces so we parked and walked. Ironically, we could see that we were approaching the mall from the rear of the Coach store. This is an outdoor mall, so everyone moves from store to store outdoors.
As we approached the mall we saw a long line of people and wondered what was going on. The line stretched from the front of the Coach store all the way back to the street behind the store. I thought maybe there was a movie theater or something that people were standing in line for, perhaps to buy tickets. We by-passed the line of people and walked around to the front of the store to discover that all those people were waiting in line to get into the Coach store, which was limiting the number of people who could come inside at the same time. Otherwise people could not have walked around inside the store.
We could see through the windows of the store that the store didn't have very many things left to sell -- or at least not very many purses. We will come back another day, the girls said. There is no point in standing in the long line. We walked around and visited many other stores. None of them had a long line or was over-crowded, though there were throngs of people walking outdoors, moving from store to store. I can't believe there are this many people here, Cici remarked. When we left the mall a couple of hours later, the line waiting to get inside the Coach store was still as long as before.
Cici wanted a large purse, more like a tote bag, and found only one in the entire mall that she loved. It was in Juicy Couture, a store that sells clothes and other things that Cici likes. The problem with the purse was that it was prominently labeled Baby Couture and Le Enfant de Couture on the side. Inside each bag was a selection of baby bibs and small blankets and even a changing pad. Do you think anyone would notice that this is a baby bag? Cici asked.
I think we better hold out for that Coach bag, I told Cici. Ping and I talked about it and decided we will take Cici back to the mall just before Valentines Day, which is also the Chinese New Year, and see if we can get the Coach bag for her then. Well, at least Cici bought me a new Coach key ring for Christmas.
We drove around looking for a parking space and there were none to be found. A lot of other cars were also circling the various lots trying to find a place to park. We finally found a lot far away from the mall that had some parking spaces so we parked and walked. Ironically, we could see that we were approaching the mall from the rear of the Coach store. This is an outdoor mall, so everyone moves from store to store outdoors.
As we approached the mall we saw a long line of people and wondered what was going on. The line stretched from the front of the Coach store all the way back to the street behind the store. I thought maybe there was a movie theater or something that people were standing in line for, perhaps to buy tickets. We by-passed the line of people and walked around to the front of the store to discover that all those people were waiting in line to get into the Coach store, which was limiting the number of people who could come inside at the same time. Otherwise people could not have walked around inside the store.
We could see through the windows of the store that the store didn't have very many things left to sell -- or at least not very many purses. We will come back another day, the girls said. There is no point in standing in the long line. We walked around and visited many other stores. None of them had a long line or was over-crowded, though there were throngs of people walking outdoors, moving from store to store. I can't believe there are this many people here, Cici remarked. When we left the mall a couple of hours later, the line waiting to get inside the Coach store was still as long as before.
Cici wanted a large purse, more like a tote bag, and found only one in the entire mall that she loved. It was in Juicy Couture, a store that sells clothes and other things that Cici likes. The problem with the purse was that it was prominently labeled Baby Couture and Le Enfant de Couture on the side. Inside each bag was a selection of baby bibs and small blankets and even a changing pad. Do you think anyone would notice that this is a baby bag? Cici asked.
I think we better hold out for that Coach bag, I told Cici. Ping and I talked about it and decided we will take Cici back to the mall just before Valentines Day, which is also the Chinese New Year, and see if we can get the Coach bag for her then. Well, at least Cici bought me a new Coach key ring for Christmas.
I think I have to doubt you sanity now.
Going to a mall after Christmas? Good lord! I drive in the other direction!
I'm curious if Angela is getting used to the population density that we have in the US, and will she be shocked at the population density in China when she goes back for her trip?
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I am very curious too, Smitty, about how Angela will feel about China when she returns. I know she will be happy to see family and friends, and I know she is looking forward to eating in some of her favorite places (Pizza Hut being one of them
I think she may feel like a visitor, especially since what was home for a long time is no longer home - we moved everything to the new house in another part of Guangzhou. Not only that but her perception of her cousins and her Aunts and Uncles has changed while she has been in America, and not for the better. She has changed a lot too -- in appearance, maturity, knowledge of the world, and influence of Western values and lifestyle.
More than anything, I think she will be surprised to learn that home is where her family lives, right here in Houston. And because of this, I bet she will feel homesick after she has been in China for a few weeks.
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