The Mall

If you think this entry is going to be about anything other than the mall you are sadly mistaken.
Today after going to the Lama Temple I decided I had waited long enough and really needed to buy clothes. For my language practicum I had to stop people on the street and interview them about their shopping and found out most people buy their clothes at the mall. So! I went to the mall which thankfully has elevators that go both up and down because there's, I think, five floors. I walked in and immediately see a store that looks promising. A Chinese girl gives me the run-down, very similar to how it is in the U.S. At least, I think so. I couldn't understand her so I just said "Nihao!" (你好). Anyway, she follows me around the entire store way too closely. She was so close it made me wonder if she thought I was going to steal something. It became so uncomfortable that I left quickly. I went right next door to once again be followed like a shadow. This continued in every store I entered- I don't believe they did it for every customer either. I think I got special treatment. Anyway, I finally found a dress that wasn't expensive and asked "我试试吗？" (or 'wo shi shi ma' which means 'can I try on?') She said yes and so I entered the fitting room.
There's no mirror.
Why on earth would someone want to try something on and not see themselves in the outfit. I had to step outside to check myself out and didn't like how I looked so I put it back and left. Granted that was a small store that really wasn't a store at all but a section dedicated to a particular brand so I thought when I tried something on in an actual store the experience may be different.
Nope.
At this time I remembered someone saying that China was trying to make it's economy based on services. It's almost like they purposely don't put mirrors in the rooms so you have to come out and  show the person helping you. I started to think these people were paid by commission the way this one girl clung to me and followed me around.
This isn't the only thing I noticed. I also noticed that Chinese clothes are weird.
Like, the style is just weird. Or rather, very different from the U.S. I honestly can't out my finger on exactly how though. Sometimes it was the shape, other times the color choice, another had feathers pinned to the shoulder. And they seriously have a thing about shoulders. You might remember that video of Miley Cyrus singing I don't remember but everyone said she was trying to be like Lady Gaga with these shoulder pad things? They aren't shoulder pads but they poof them out. It's like they think they don't have shoulders and need to exaggerate them. At the end of the day I just gave up and went to Espirit but their clothes were just too expensive. I went to all of the stores on four floors and I didn't find anything that was what I liked or if it was too expensive.
I finally just gave up and went back to the dorm.