I had not thought i would do it. Seriously! There was no plan to go, and in spite of my having been to the malls umpteen number of times, i had not been tempted by the on-going 'Sale' offers. (I had stopped buying for 'future' gifting purposes long back- given the space constraints in my cupboard!). And yet, there i was; having given in to the strong desire to meet my parents; running to the malls on consecutive days, with kids in tow (who could not wait for it all to end).
I started at the Ibn Battuta mall, for the sheer fact that it has more walking and breathing space than Mall of the Emirates. (I did venture out to MoE one day, and i could not wait to rush out of its sea of shoppers...it was truly suffocating!). Running from clothing shops, to book shop to the jewellery stores- i can tell you from my very own personal experience that gift shopping may seem exciting at first, but in reality, it is a very tiring and frustrating experience. You have a list of friends and relatives in your hand, and a very vague idea of what you would like to buy for them in a given budget per person- but, to find an ideal gift that meets those gender, age, relationship, and financial criteria, you need a lot of patience, stamina and will power. Add the irritated kids to that list if your kids hate shopping like mine!
So, there i was when i came across some very interesting shoppers.
At the jewellery store, i met this young girl (must be in her early twenties), dressed in simple black and white, hair tied up roughly in a knot and wearing interesting earrings. She saw a lot of simple, everyday wear pieces. By the colour of her skin, she looked European, though she could be from anywhere really. I assumed though, that she was European. I wondered why was she shopping alone. I wondered if she lived here, or was she on holiday or work? I wondered why a young girl like her had no companion... as we both finalised our purchases and the gifts were being wrapped, we both found ourselves admiring a pair of earrings placed on the table in front of us.
"Very pretty!" i remarked.
"For my mom" she said, "her birthday gift."
"Wow!" i thought " lucky mom that her daughter is going through the trouble of selecting a gift that she would be able to wear and show off to her friends..." i tried to imagine rest of her mom's life, her friends, her social circle, her home...but realised it would be too much given the limited interaction i had had with the girl.
A while later, at a clothing store when i was asking the staff for a particular size in the shirt i had selected, an Arab lady walked up to him and asked him something in Arabic, pointing to the dress she had in her hand.
"Sorry ma'am. No Arabic."
She looked at me, if i could tell her what he had just said.
"Maafi Arabi", the only two words i know by heart!
What followed was a mix of hand signs (to denote the age that she was buying for), sign language (like walking), a very broken Arabic conversation, and in the end, a happy ending! She got the information that she was looking for (whether the dress was right for a toddler who had just started walking!), i got the realisation that i should have put more effort in talking to Arabic speakers to pick up the language (that is the only way to truly learn the local dialect by the way!), and the staff probably was thankful that he would not be reprimanded for not being able to help the customer.
A while later i was at the Information counter dropping my 'lucky draw' coupons in the barrel when a family of four walked to claim their own coupons.
"Where are you from?" the staff asked them- he was putting the details in his computer.
"Bahrain."
He handed them over their coupons, and as they proceeded to fill them, the lady grumbled to her husband "You should get a stamp made with your name and address and carry it when we come to Dubai...we have to fill all these details again and again in these coupons"
Clearly, they came to Dubai often, shopped a lot and usually during the shopping festivals.
And then there were more, like the stifling experience at Mall of the Emirates, or the relatively fun way of taking a long walk while trying to find a particular store at the Dubai Mall - thanks to the size of the mall!
In all, i realised that gift shopping may not be fun in itself, but it is great nonetheless. There is always an apprehension whether your gift would be enjoyed or received in the same spirit as it is given; but there is also a satisfaction that you have put in an effort that is truly worthy of the person for whom it is being bought...and that is how, all the visits back home start.
Thanks :)
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