While reading the assigned essay for artapre, I remembered how I struggled into understanding the endless reading assignments that I had last summer for my “Sikolohiyang Pilipino” class. Those readings were also written in Filipino language so I had to read those over and over again before I finally understood the “essence” of those readings.

Anyway, I read the essay by Rolando Tolentino and apparently I had a hard time understanding its content therefore I had to read it for quite a number of times.

He basically discussed about “Kulturang Popyular” and he focused on Malls. He talked about what people usually do in malls and how these malls affect us and our economic standing, the evolution of malls (from plaza à mall), the difference between the malls of the upper class to the malls for the masses and the importance of its spaces, etc.

For me, a mall is analogous to a city because it is a place where we can do practically everything that we usually do in our everyday lives. We can do our laundry in the laundry shops, buy supplies from hardware stores, eat at restaurant booths, buy food in the grocery, purchase clothes form the various array of boutique, watch movies or play bowling for entertainment, heck… you can even work inside malls because there are call centers inside it! Probably, the only difference of a mall to a city is that malls do not have an area where people can actually build their own houses.

I don’t usually go to malls. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy shopping! It’s just that… I hate crowded areas and a mall is definitely a jam-packed place. That’s why I avoid going to malls that are fond of giving “promo contests” and “on sale items” because people will definitely hound those areas. Because of this, anyone can tell that I’m rather picky when it comes to malls. I usually go to malls where there aren’t a lot of people. I also like malls where there are a lot of open spaces and those that are in-touch with nature.

My favorite places in malls are the clothing shops (of course!) and furniture shops. I especially like those furniture shops that showcase unique style and designs. Whenever I’m inside those shops, I always imagine that I am an interior designer who is actually assigned to decorate and furnish houses. =)