Dubai is home to families from diverse cultures –and habits. This is a city, which is globally recognized for its major expatriate population. After a tiring week of nagging bosses or meeting deadlines, we all lust for the weekend.
And Friday? Friday is universally acknowledged to be a Family Day [at least in the UAE]. So, we want to know what your typical Family Friday looks like: Refusing to get stuck in traffic after spending your weekdays in it or heading out fearlessly for a night on the town with loved ones?
Let’s take a peek into what families in Dubai indulge in on Fridays [Maybe you’ll find your family’s new Friday tradition]:
Friday begins with a game of Rugby
I am a 41-year old married, working mother of 2 from the US. We start the day off with rugby, followed by church. After church, we sometimes we go to the beach, play tennis or watch a polo match. We usually spend the night at home watching a movie as a family, although sometimes we go out to the movies at the Polo Club. – Christine Nasserghodsi
Brunch, family gossip/jokes/impressions and Humus
We’re a close-knit bunch. Everyone wakes up late and the kids experimentally cook brunch [sometimes we fail miserably and order in]. We spend the afternoons shamelessly catching up on family gossip with our father playfully mocking our career goals and quite often hilariously impersonating us as doctors or lawyers [It’s true, we can’t do it]. Evenings are for lazing in the living room with a family movie [and sometimes an English movie dubbed in Hindi just for kicks]. – Anonymous
Movie night, of course
Friday mornings are reserved for the cinema! I usually go to watch a movie with my dad because we are both film buffs. My parents catch up on their sleep while I listen to music, write poetry, or craft flowers to have some alone time. For dinner, we usually go out for pizza [my personal favorite!], Lebanese or Indian. – Hetasha Gopalani
Catching up on family conversation
So, I spend most of my Fridays out with friends, but when I do stay at home it’s a relaxed atmosphere. We eat some home-cooked food, and spend some time talking about [almost] everything while gorging on the delicious meal. We also try and catch up on conversation and talk about how our relatives are doing. – Shihab Maghraoui
Walking the dog, entertaining relatives and a fancy dinner
Recently, my family and I have begun to wake up at about 6am, and go for a walk around the creek with our dog. Then we go around town for a ride and usually grab some breakfast at a café [Starbucks!]. Very often, we have relatives and friends visiting from Malaysia or India and we show them around. At night, we go for dinner at a fancy place, which is the highlight of my weekend because I’m a huge foodie! My recent favorite restaurant would be Cle Dubai, with Zuma reserving a special place for my Friday nights usually. – Gina Mary Jacob
Tell us what your Friday Family tradition is in the comments below. Wacky traditions are most welcome.
B-Change extends a special thanks to the staff and students at GEMS Wellington for their contributions to this piece.