I never thought I would enjoy a trip to Wal-Mart as much as I did last night. We got Oreo Frappes at a coffee stand in the store and did some observing of the people we saw at this rather American looking shopping center. I honestly was a little confused by the whole scene. Earlier that day we had been working on a small three room house for a family that will probably never have anything nicer than what they were going to be moving into. It was in an incredibly poor community with dusty roads and maybe one street light every mile or so. It probably was a kind of culture shock to go to the well kept shopping center a few miles away that featured a cinema, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and an Applebee's. I was really disturbed by the whole thing to be honest.
I had to ask myself while watching the kinds of people that were going into the stores, "where do these people live?" We have been around the lowest class of Mexican people and then soon after in what would be upper-middle class Mexican society. I think something odd even more about the whole thing is looking at Wal-Marts in the states, they are frequented by the lower classes of American culture. But looking at the well dressed people of Ensenada going into Wal-Mart, they look like the upper middle class here. This is what they can afford I suppose. This is what is riches for them...seriously? My heart was lost, confused and burdened by the fact that this level of poverty existed very close to these people who do nothing for their own neighbors. Maybe I'm judging the situation too quickly, it's possible for sure, but I'm still "wowed" by everything here I guess.
Well those are thoughts for the day, hopefully it is somewhat understandable.
-AM
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