La Ropa

               

          













“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined,

self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand

encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not

the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the 

earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be

compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and 

bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize

that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you.

Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins

So, Sunday was an experience. My sister (my home-stay sister) took me to the mall. Yes, there is a mall in case you were wondering. It was a definitively Ecuadorian, or perhaps Latin American, version of a mall. When we arrived, we were required to get a ticket to park as if it were Cedar Point (an amusement park in Ohio). The lot was packed, as was the mall, as I could see when I approached. It seemed like everyone was out and about. Sunday seems like the Ecuadorian day to go out with your family, or stay home and spend time with them and later go to a movie. Everyone goes out for diversions (diversions, or fun past times). There was a large trampoline/bungee cord apparatus in the middle of an atrium. The atrium was a central, two story area, where a young girl was in the make-shift slingshot screaming. She was screaming because she was having fun being bounced up and down, looking like every time she would hit the ceiling. The entire balcony surrounding the slingshot was filled with people watching her, as was the floor below. I was amazed at how fascinated people were, or maybe just by the sheer volume of people relaxing and watching the “show”. They were in no hurry to go anywhere!

There was also a movie theater in the mall advertising the coming event of the Muppets movie, which I do want to see! I think it would be a unique experience to see something like that completely in Spanish. Oh, and the movies only cost $4.50, which brings me to the thing I found most fascinating about the trip. The mall was extremely expensive! I don’t know that I can stress that enough actually. I didn’t recognize any of the stores, but the stores that did have name brands were absolutely outrageous. I started checking prices on everything simply for curiosity’s sake. One store had some Polo Ralph Lauren™ clothing, and a short-sleeved men’s polo shirt costs $135.00!!!!

It seems so strange; the cost of living is so much cheaper here in Ecuador. They also already have a textile industry, so why the extreme prices? I think it is because they are paying for the design or for the North American brand-names, but there are no actual brand-owned stores. All of the stores are small local stores selling whatever it is that they have managed to import. If I had the money to invest, I would buy a franchise or license for a solid company (American) and set up the store here in Ecuador. It is quite ironic actually, because I did a market-entrance project for international business that I based on a textile company (Ed-Hardy™) entering a Latin American country (Costa Rica). As it turns out, the business venture I planned hypothetically could be truly lucrative. It wouldn’t be bad for the local economy either, as I would build the textile factory here-- no importing involved. The material is here, the skilled labor is here, and the demand is here.

The only dilemma I see is that there is always a thin line drawn where North American imperialism begins and cultural mixing and changing ends. Would starting a business venture such as this be pushing our cultural values and norms on the people of Ecuador? I mean we aren’t exactly talking about Wal-Mart™ or McDonalds, simply a locally owned brand name store, right? Although the size of the venture would be smaller in scale, it would be a bit of economic imperialism because it would be an American businesswoman seizing an opportunity to make a profit. It is just hard to see that part of the picture when the people of Ecuador are craving the material icons of North American popular culture, and they are willing to pay dearly for them. A business venture with a brand name company would just be giving them what they want then, right?