New Mall!

Today we visited the new mall that just opened in town. It looks just like an American mall with lots of stores (mostly fashionable clothing), a food court and lots of people. The place was packed, as we expected. There were balloons, live music and sales. The new mall is just a little over a block from the first mall in Debrecen, which opened less than ten years ago. But this mall is bigger, about three times bigger! And it has a Burger King and a KFC. Now McDonald's is not the only American fast food in town. Lucky us!?

On the way out of the mall, Nancy met the young lady who was her conversation partner this summer. She was with her mother who commented on the opening of the new mall. She said that even before the present financial crisis, she and many other people were surprised that more stores were opening in Debrecen. They believed that the town already had enough stores for its size. It will be interesting to watch how the new mall affects the other shops in town. It is hard to see Hungarians, many of whom live in poverty, experience the down sides of a consumer economy.