We returned to Gulberg main market on Monday. The girls were rejuvenated and realized that the whole country was not like the congestion they felt at our "headquarters".
My older daughter was even willing to go with me and her cousins to the main market shopping area, ironically named Liberty. It was time to go clothes shopping. I had arranged months before our arrival to have our summer clothes stitched and ready for our arrival in July. My girls and I had no cotton outfits to wear in the heat. So, 80% of the shoppping was complete. But I knew I would have to venture out myself to buy the gifts and rest of the items I needed. We all packed into the Corolla - this time nine people. We were all sweaty and mashed up but tell eight women that they were going shopping and NOTHING would put a damper on our plans.
I was amazed at all the shops. Most of them in Liberty were high end. Our aunt and cousins knew exactly what we needed and where to navigate. They had a radar for these things. Screw GPS. I was shown so much variety that it left my head spinning. Again, the prices were phenomenal. Each trip to the market left my wallet screaming for a refill. I never carried a purse and strategically hid my wallet under a shawl near my chest. I also carried a pouch within my waistband.
Squeeze me? Yes. I dubbed it my "Plan B pouch". Before I left for the market, my husband caught me pinning the pouch, full of cash, inside my pants.
"I don't want to know" he exclaimed as he headed to the washroom to take his fourth shower of the day. I didn't care. I had to have a backup plan. If my wallet was stolen, at least the bulk of my assets were close to my other assets ;)
We completed the bulk of our shopping in two hours. It was like clock work. I would tell my aunt what I needed, she would direct me into the shop, I would select my items and she would do the bargaining. I could never imagine that she could save me more money with things already so cheap but she executed on this great service for me like it was second nature. By the time eight women returned from shopping, we had 20 bags amongst us. We had to make separate trips to the car to pack them in the trunk so not to direct any attention. Too many bags meant too much money. And despite our many tactics, I was still wary, looking over my shoulder and watching my surroundings for anything suspicious. But with so many people and cars in the street, you would never know what to look for anyways.
When we came home, I packed all my shopping in the suitcases. When we first arrived, I was instructed to empty out our suitcases and hang the clothes in the closet. For some reason, I could not bring myself to do this. Instead, we lived out of the suitcases. There were four of them lined up around the wall. Our UK cousins would walk in and ask why I hadn't put them away. I would make some lame excuse. But deep down inside, it was in case I needed to make a quick getaway. And to leave the suitcases open, kept my sanity in check...
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