tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3948677340500742474.post4624727038723400700..comments2023-08-22T09:56:18.941-05:00Comments on Eric and Emily's Adventures: Malls: A Brasilian LoveEmilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04624952545651275644noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3948677340500742474.post-18767932546138423802008-05-09T20:16:00.000-05:002008-05-09T20:16:00.000-05:00Hey, Em!! It's Betsy...I would log in, but for som...Hey, Em!! It's Betsy...I would log in, but for some reason my internet provider has a problem with blogspot and I can NEVER even log into to update my own blog. VERY annoying....anyway...we were at Fellowship last weekend and saw your grandparents...and they passed on your blog address. I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying your time in Brazil, even though the customs and habits take some definite getting used to. I hear you're teaching English...I'll bet that's a LOT of fun...Love you and I'll be keeping up with you now! Love, BetsyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3948677340500742474.post-59356914057038199152008-05-09T18:22:00.000-05:002008-05-09T18:22:00.000-05:00Mmmm... Well, it´s true, malls are full on sundays...Mmmm... Well, it´s true, malls are full on sundays (though parks and normal restaurants also are). So, why, if stores are closed? Well, being from Belo Horizonte I can tell some situations I´ve been to the mall when stores were closed:<BR/><BR/>- Sometimes I go with my family to have lunch. If we go to "normal" restaurants it will cost 30 reais per head, at least 20 something... When we don´t want to spend that much money we go to one "a quilo" or to the mall: a choice I like, since I get my burger, my sister her pizza, my parents something in the chinese or "mineiro" (both "a quilo") and so on... Usually we leave right after we eat, though my mother always makes us walk a bit to see some prices in the "vitrines" (shop windows?). So food courts are seen as a cheap option, in a "pleasant" place.<BR/><BR/>- Sometimes when I want to meet some friends, without a reason, nothing specific to do (like "let´s go to the jazz festival in Savassi" or go to one boteco) we meet in the mall. The intention is: let´s meet there, eat something, then try a movie, then eat something else, walk... So, we can spend a long time together, doing different things, in just one place. If we met in a boteco, we would have to stay there, in that table, drinking. In a restaurant, also. In nice "walkable" places like Savassi, Lourdes or Avenida Bandeirantes, stores are also closed. So we meet in the mall, although the intention is just to talk to friends! >D<BR/><BR/>I can go to Minas Tenis Clube, though not all my friends are members. I can go to a park, though it´s a "fast meeting", that last for just an hour, I only do it with friends who live nearby... <BR/><BR/>Though brazilians are always complaining about security, I don´t think it´s a reason. We complain, but we don´t change our plans or the places we go because of that(that´s why parks and others places are also full at the same time). But for one specific age group it´s true: young teenagers: parents leave them in the mall, "the safe place", and actually, as I said, a good place to meet friends. Specially teens, that can´t drink in botecos, can´t drive through the city... So watch a movie, eat some ice cream and chat in the food court is fun for them... and the mall is full of other teens, so they enjoy also doing some people-watching.<BR/> <BR/><BR/>I definitely don´t think air con. is also reason, BH´s weather is fine (at least for us! hehe) it may be hot in the summer, but rarely enough to make people prefer a mall over a street (for THAT reason). And now, temperatures during the day are very similar to the one in an air con. place (around 23ºC). Since you said "2 stories tall", I guess you were in Pátio Savassi. Most parts of it don´t even have air con.! <BR/><BR/>Well.. I don´t know, I guess people are more "laid-back" (that´s how you say it?) and don´t go there just TO shop... That´s why stores are closed, and people are chatting in the F.C, then still walking around, cos they still want to talk... hehehe Any suggestion for better places? heheheAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3948677340500742474.post-76705046412760719522008-05-09T13:42:00.000-05:002008-05-09T13:42:00.000-05:001. parking2. security3. air con!bad side: syntheti...1. parking<BR/>2. security<BR/>3. air con!<BR/><BR/>bad side: synthetic food, bad food, hordes of uniformized teens with vague looks, so much people in the food court resembling a chicken yard!<BR/><BR/>very bad side: I can't believe I am commenting on the malls post!Germanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09917524067189020345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3948677340500742474.post-62209204246466210442008-05-09T11:34:00.000-05:002008-05-09T11:34:00.000-05:00Emily,Malls are also getting popular because they ...Emily,<BR/><BR/>Malls are also getting popular because they are safer places than street stores and restaurants. I was in Rio last weekend and went to a new mall in Leblon, the neighborhood next to Ipanema. Basically, they had taken all the neat restaurants, bars and shops that make Leblon so neat and put them in the mall. You could TOTALLY tell it was driven by rich cariocas afraid of crime - to get to any stores you had to go up 2 escalators and the food court was on the top level.<BR/><BR/>I also notice that the BH malls are packed, but can´t say how much of that is also security driven. I personally like going to restaurants in the malls rather than the street because the parking in not as much of a hassle and usually there is wheel-chair acess, which I need for my mom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com