Riding the Wave, 31 & 32. Shopping at Christmas.

Yesterday afternoon I received a text from my cousin's daughter. He's doing a bit better, but is still in critical condition. Let's hope he can pull through.

Contagion was going down throughout Spain these past couple of weeks (except in our locality), but now the numbers are starting to go skyward. Some are looking toward Germany, where schools and non-priority businesses are set to close as of tomorrow. Just in case Santiago closes again, I went to do some Christmas shopping yesterday morning and today.

I had completely forgotten about it. And I have no idea what to buy the two people I love most in my life. What they need that is affordable, they already have. (What they need that has to wait for the lottery talk would be a couple of new cars, and stuff like that. And the lottery is just that: talk.) I did find a couple of things, though.

If I had remembered last month, perhaps something would have been bought online. But this year, I try to buy more locally. I bought something for my husband's nephew at an independent store. I found something else at a franchise of a national chain, and another thing at another local store. It's not always possible to buy small, but we can try. Amazon will not see my money, nor will the Chinese response to Amazon, AliExpress. 

Go onto either of those platforms, and you'll see just about everything that can be bought and sold legally (though some things are questionable, such as uranium on Amazon). But I am not interested in making Jeff Bezos, or Daniel Zhang, any more richer than they are. I do sometimes buy at a multi-national company, such as Primark or H&M, but not often. I also know of little stores where, especially during sales, I can find what I am looking for at a mostly decent price. And I try to avoid Zara, though it's difficult, because they have so many different stores. Springfield, Lefties, Oysho, Bershka, and others, all belong to the Inditex group, based in Arteixo, A Coruña. But the problem is that production is not based there. Clothing is made abroad, in factories in Bangladesh, India, Turkey, or Morocco. They used to employ local workers, and local cooperatives, but then the head, Amancio Ortega, decided that farming out the work to cheaper workers would bring in more money and create a bigger empire. It has, and he is one of the richest men in Spain, who avoids paying taxes as much as possible. 

It's difficult to buy only in small stores. Winter weather is not conducive to strolling up and down streets, so most people head to the mall. These days, the only shops you'll find in large malls are chains, and not all franchises. While mall shopping is going down in places like the United States, Spain is seeing more shoppers stopping at malls. With free parking, attractive prices, and at least one large supermarket, some people make weekly pilgrimages to the mall. The newest one in Santiago is never short of shoppers. Weekday mornings might be slow, especially in these times, but weekends are definitely not. 

Really, though, our obsession with presents seems ridiculous this year. I want to buy them something out of love for them, but I know that the best present is simply being together. What infuriates me every year is the insistence we are surrounded by that we need to spend all our money, or it's simply not a good Christmas. This year, there isn't as much insistence on shopping, at least. Too many people have died, too many have suffered in the hospital, too many have lost their jobs, and too many are still going through their hell. Food banks are at a loss as how to feed everyone that shows up at their doors. The Christmas drive this year was not as obvious as others. Normally, there are volunteers at the checkouts, with boxes where shoppers donate things. I would always buy something to donate, especially things most don't think about donating, like gluten-free products. But this year, to avoid strangers touching a lot of things, the drive consisted in buying cards at the checkout counter, the proceeds of which would go to the food banks to buy supplies. I wasn't offered anything like that at the supermarkets I go to, this year, which was sad. 

This year, Christmas is a muted affair. I'm not against it; I just wish it wasn't because we are in a pandemic. 

Life continues.