the colored paper
Posted in Pristine on 10/24/2007 01:11 am by GraceMy daughter feels like a model since we came to Dubai early this year. People in the malls, beach or in the streets would comment on how cute she is, how lovely her curly locks are, some of them would even take snaps of her. Clearly, the people here don’t know what to do with our little Jap girl.
To each of that attention she is getting, Pristine gamely poses and say thanks.
Last Friday was no different. An Arab guy in long white traditional dress and head-dress came to us while we waited for the bus. Pristine said, “Hi”. The guy reach out to her and pinched her cheeks then proceeded to his luxury car parked nearby. He was waving at us inside his car. When I looked down, my daughter was waving him goodbye too.
As the man pulled his car off the driveway, Pristine blew him a kiss. Whoa, where did she get that!? lol! The Arab guy stepped on the brakes and called me. I did not move a muscle, I was confused if my daughter’s action elicited something negative - we’ll never know, their culture is very different than ours! Will he file a sexual harassment case against a 3 year old?
He pointed at my daughter and smiled and still asked us to come over. I carried Pristine and went to his car, with the passenger window now open. I was nervous when he reach out for something from his dashboard. I could tell my clueless daughter was confused as well, as she was unbelievably silent.
The Arab guy smiled wider as he handed out a 100-dirham bill!! (approx. US$36) I was like, huh? What was that for? He handed the bill to my daughter’s little hands. Pristine refused to accept. We were in a very sticky situation.
The guy insisted so Pristine got the money, but still with eyes open wide with lots of confusion. I had nothing better to say but “Eid Mubarak” - a greeting for Muslims after Ramadan. He replied courteously and sped away with his car.
P.S. - My daughter has no idea about money except for coins for the bus. She asked me what was the colored paper from the man for. 
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October 24th, 2007 at 4:26 am
yokatta ne. smile (flying kiss) dake de okane ga moraeru. otona mo sou shitara ii no ka na. moraeru no ka na…
colored paper-
October 24th, 2007 at 4:57 am
tell pristine to cut the colored paper into little flowers and stick them to her album/scrapbook! it’s good that she doesn’t have the concept of money yet!
the arab guy must have found her really nice and pretty … but still be careful! pristine must never be left alone. kind’a scary …
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October 24th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Pristine is so lucky to get the Eid gift from that Arab guy! Actually it is a common thing to give money to other people especially kids, relatives, friends, elderly and etc. during Eid as a gift. So, I think you don’t have to worry about that. Ouh but still, no harm to be careful right :). We don’t know what some people might have in their minds.
Anyway, when I was still a kid I always excited for Eid to come since I really looked forward to be receiving the Eid gift the most! That’s the most interesting part of Eid for me back then. I would never hesitate to visit any relatives’ or friends’ houses and even dragged my parents to not stopped visiting because I wanted to collect as much money as I could :P. As a way to teach me to fast completely for 30 days, my parents would always threat that I would not get enough Eid gift (money) from them if I didn’t fast completely for 1 month. So I did fast for 1 month without failed since I was 9 years old hahaha!
October 24th, 2007 at 9:49 am
ui ma shock nalang ka! hehe. anyway fyi, kami n mamals nag tudlo ug flying kiss n plenshin noh. ayaw na ka shock. adto manang nag chat mi aw nag mic pod dy dyn pag babay nko ana ko ‘flying kiss plenshin’ dli mn kblo imong anak, so gitudlo.an n mamals. k, thats ol bow ehhehe.. chooaarrr gtagaan lugar money c plenshin. bsin nagpa impress tong arab man sa imo! hahahha oveeeeerrrr!!!!
October 24th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Pristine is so adorable. As far as the gift, I’d enjoy it as it was meant to be. Take Pristine for some ice cream. I also agree it’s good to be cautious. It shows that if you ‘Smile’ the world smiles with you!
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October 24th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Hahaha
Pwede na diay mahimo ug artista si Pristine! Beauty, Brains and Charm! 
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October 24th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I agree with Christine. Take Pristine shopping with the money. I think he was just impressed with her friendliness!
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October 24th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Hi Kailani - the money she received went to her piggy bank because she doesn’t like ice cream and can’t make up her mind what to buy with it. I guess right now, she really has no concept of money yet (which is good!).
She asked for a chupa chups lollipop though and it was silly to give a 100-dirham bill to the cashier for a candy only worth 0.50 fills (cents). I paid for the lolly with my coin.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:01 am
To whom much is given she gifted his heart and he gifted her back. How dear of her to show the true beauty of joy. I think it a strange thing to see in that culture.
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October 25th, 2007 at 10:39 am
It’s hard these days not knowing if someones intentions are good or not hey. What did you do with the money? Did you buy her something? Can’t believe he just gave her so much money! Wow.
All the attention though can only be good for her self-confidence. And let’s face it. She is a very pretty girl.
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