ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Middle East and North AfricaLooking for work... Driving me crazy!!!!!!!

It seems like few of the husbands is interested in pursuing education here, why is that? We all live here and know that education and training is the fastest way to a successful career. Sure, it might take a small investment in the beginning, and time, but the pay off long term is far more substantial than scraping by to save money for a business.


:thumbs:

My husband started with a Business ESL program at UMass Boston last spring and this fall will finish the classes he needs to take (he had some credits transfered from university in algeria/france) to get his bachelor's degree - it has been WONDERFUL for him. Not only is he getting his education which is worth a ton and will eventually get him a better job, he is making friends, learning the language, getting around the city on his own, building his confidence, etc etc. If you go to a state school it's not a huge expense at all - about $100 a credit (at least in MA or at a community college). Most state schools offer night classes too so you can work around a work schedule.

Edited by hollyw, 24 July 2007 - 11:52 AM.

hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-24 11:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaLooking for work... Driving me crazy!!!!!!!

LOL! Your husband sounds like mine only more impatient. :lol: My husband has business/work ideas all the time. Dee, why don't you take him to ask for work so he can see the reaction he'll get. That's what I did and it shut him up. Of course he'll still try to talk to any Arab he encounters to see if they'll hire him. They won't do it either.



GREAT idea. I got so frustrated explaining to my husband that he needed a social security number before he could do ANYthing that I just started saying, "Ok, call them" or "Fine, go see them." He shut up real fast. And now he has a job and is building credit history.... it just happens sooo slowly.

Just DON'T let him get his hands on those fake credit card applications that will start to come for him... I made my husband wait until a legitimate company that I knew sent him an application. And that was after he got rejected for the first 10 or so he applied for. it's a really slow process, but it will begin to work itself out. I know you live in boston... whenever your husband gets a work permit, my husband has found great work valet parking cars. Good money, good tips, good companies, lots of foreign employees.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-24 11:24:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...
We ate this dessert a lot last year during Ramadan...


Creamy Caramel Flan

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
5 eggs
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, cook sugar, stirring occasionally, until golden. Pour into a heated 10 inch round baking dish (I put mine in the oven for 5 minutes), tilting to coat bottom and sides. Set aside.

In a large bowl (or blender, I put mine in the blender), beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Beat in condensed and evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour into caramel coated pan. Place baking dish inside roasting pan and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven 50 to 60 minutes, until center is just set. Cool one hour on wire rack, then chill in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. To unmold, run a knife around edges of pan and invert on a rimmed serving platter.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-07 20:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...
bump :star:
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-25 12:45:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...
oh yay... this was a fun thread.

i don't have any recipes on me now, but I thought I'd bump it up a bit so it didn't get lost in the mix.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-13 11:37:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...

This is one I would like to have. The Momo Cookbook: A Gastronomic Journey Through North Africa. Does anyone here have it?

Meriem


That is one I've been drooling over.. in hard cover it is so expensive, but I just found it in paperback. If you buy it used I think the paperback is around $18. I am in no position right now to pay $75 for a hard cover :P
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-10-17 09:27:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...
Hey Ladies..

I'm going on an amazon.com shopping spree and I'm looking to add to my cookbook collection...

Do you guys have any favorite ME/NA cookbooks??

Or even just cookbooks in general... I've had mine for sooo long and I'm itchin' for some new hot and spicy dishes...
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-10-16 21:53:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...

I forgot to add that I also cooked H'miss. I love this stuff. Here is the recipe.

H'miss is an Algerian salad of roasted peppers, cooked tomatoes and olive oil.

Ingredients:
1 green, 1 yellow and 1 red bell peppers
3 tomatoes diced
olive oil, about 1\2 cup, less or more, your preference
salt

Roast the peppers in the oven at about 400 degrees until the skin can be easily peeled off. Mine are black in some places. Peel, seed and cut them in peices and set aside. Put diced tomatoes in a skillet WITH NO OIL. Add salt to taste. Cook tomatoes until they are mush. Add the peppers to the tomatoes just to heat them, Stir and remove from skillet into a bowl. Pour the olive oil over the tomatoe-pepper mix. Eat it like a dip using french bread, or any traditional breads. Enjoy, this is really good.

Meriem (F)


i LOVE this stuff..... i love it so much i OD'd on it the first week i was in Algeria... couldn't really touch it for the rest of my trip!! :lol: and my poor mother in law would put it on the table everynight because she knew i loved it... :) but i think it's about time i make some and try it again.... :D

also bourek. yummmmmmmmmm..... that'll have to go on my list of things to make. SOON. i'm so jealous of my husband every night when he tells me about the food his mom prepares for break fast...
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-10-03 00:32:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...



does anyone have the recipe for lubia? hassan wants me to make it and all he can tell me is u use a different kind of green bean. they are longer and skinny then a regular green bean.

ive looked this lubia recipe up on the internet and all i came up with is lamb and green bean stew and green beans with rice. neither of these is what he is talking about.

i already make him green beans in olive oil with cilantro and garlic...but its not that either. so i dont have any idea of what he wants.



here is the recipe i use to make loubia

1 lb. fresh green beans
4 cups water, salted
3 tbsp. peanut oil (i usually use olive oil)
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. slivered almonds (i always add more... how much more is up to you!)

clean and trim green beans. simmer lightly in salted water until just tender, about 30-40 minutes. drain and put into serving dish. put remaining ingredients (except almonds) in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. add almonds and stir briefly to coat. pour mixture over the green beans and toss until coated then serve.

*don't use canned beans... gross!*



30-40 minutes for green beans to be "just tender"? I cook mine for like 5 minutes if that. Those are gonna be mush!


thats how they like 'em!!! at least thats how my husband's family does it... i guess just tender's not the right word... almost mush would be better :lol: you can always simmer to your liking.. or steam (which i like better). when we make this, we put it in a big serving dish and everyone goes at it with pieces of bread.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-10-01 15:54:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...

does anyone have the recipe for lubia? hassan wants me to make it and all he can tell me is u use a different kind of green bean. they are longer and skinny then a regular green bean.

ive looked this lubia recipe up on the internet and all i came up with is lamb and green bean stew and green beans with rice. neither of these is what he is talking about.

i already make him green beans in olive oil with cilantro and garlic...but its not that either. so i dont have any idea of what he wants.



here is the recipe i use to make loubia

1 lb. fresh green beans
4 cups water, salted
3 tbsp. peanut oil (i usually use olive oil)
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. slivered almonds (i always add more... how much more is up to you!)

clean and trim green beans. simmer lightly in salted water until just tender, about 30-40 minutes. drain and put into serving dish. put remaining ingredients (except almonds) in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. add almonds and stir briefly to coat. pour mixture over the green beans and toss until coated then serve.

*don't use canned beans... gross!*
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-10-01 15:38:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...
bump........... :P
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-09-25 16:29:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...

LOL!

Jello brand gelatin is made with kosher gelatin so he can eat that :)

Some yogurts, candies, fruit snacks, etc. contain gelatin as well so you really have to read your labels. That is if you're vigilant about it.



i actually have a question about this....
when i was living in Paris i noticed that a lot of times on the ingredients labels they would include geltin and then in parenthesis say that it was pork gelatin.... i havent noticed this so much since i've been paying attention in the US.. if they just say "gelatin" in the ingredients is it kosher?? do they have to say that it is pork gelatin if it contains pork?? i would think that this would make sense because there are so many people out there that do not eat pork... or do people just avoid gelatin altogether...
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-08-30 10:43:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...

Sweet Lamb for Ramadhan (El Ham Lahlou - Algeria)

1 lb lamb
12 prunes (dried)
1 pear (firm)
3 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons orange blossom water
2 tablespoons raisins (white)
2 tablespoons whole almonds (blanched)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cut lamb into 2-3 in pieces. Soak prunes in water for 1-2 hours & remove pits. Peel & core the pear & cut into wedges.
Melt butter in a pan over low heat & add the lamb. Sauté over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add cinnamon, water & sugar & mix well.
Increase heat to mod & cook for approx 45 minutes or till the lamb is tender to a fork. The sauce will become darker.
Drain prunes & add them to the lamb w/the raisins, almonds & pear.
Simmer for a further 15 minutes, remove the pan from heat & stir in the orange blossom water. (See note below).
NOTES: "Normally served at room temp w/rice, salad & bread, this sweet lamb dish is eaten after a dy of fasting during the Muslim holy celebration of Ramadhan. It's cooked w/o salt to prevent thirst the next dy for those fasting -- something that can be important in hot desert areas.".
"Orange blossom water is distilled water containing the essential oils of the orange blossom. It adds a hint of a citrus scent to foods & compliments the flavor. It is used in many lamb dishes, desserts & is perfect for fruit. A little goes a long way, so add it a few drops at a time to determine how much you like. It can be found at farmers markets, specialty food stores & Middle Eastern grocers.".



AHHH im sooo happy you put up this recipe!!!! ive been looking for a sweet lamb one exactly like it! :P do you think you can add apricots too? has anyone tried this?
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-08-29 14:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaGetting ready for Ramadan...
c'mon ladies.... i know you all know how to cook!!!! and if not, i KNOW you know what your favorite dishes are!!! i feel like this post creeps up every so often, but seeing as how we are approaching Ramadan, i think it is appropriate once again. My husband won't be here for Ramadan :crying: but i am trying to build my repetoire for when he IS here so i prove that i know how to cook more than frozen pizza and french fries. if you can't contribute a recipe, at least let everyone what it is you're looking forward to eating....

Some of my favorites (and i'm sorry if my spelling offends anyone):

Fuffla
The dish with chicken, eggplants, potatoes, and chick peas (brahmia??? i think....)
Bourek

And ill throw in a recipe here for bourek... it is something i like a lot AND it's easy....

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons parsely, chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
phyllo dough
lemon wedges

Heat one tablespoon of oil in the skillet, add onion, and stir fry over moderate heat fo about two minutes. Add beef, salt, and pepper. stir fry for five minutes. Add egg and parsely. Fry for one more minute and then set aside to cool. Spread out phyllo dough. Place two tablespoons of beef on phyllo dough. fold sides into the middle and shape into a packet (like an egg roll or a sandwich wrap). Do the same with all the remaining meat and set aside. Place the remaining oil in a skillet and, over moderate to low heat, add the rolls. Brown on both sides for about three minutes. Drain rolls on a paper towel. Serve warm and with the lemon wedges (if desired).

I have also made bourek with just cheese and sometimes I add cheese to the beef. Usually i use Laughing Cow cheese or some kind of soft cheese. I also know people that use Boursin. It turns out yummy. I also know people that add red and green peppers (thinly sliced or chopped) or olives (again, chopped) to the meet mixture. There are variations to everything!!!



Does anyone have a good recipe for chorba????
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-08-29 11:39:00
Middle East and North AfricaMORNING MENA - ITS TUESDAY
QUOTE (doodlebug @ Aug 28 2007, 11:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Tomorrow when I pick the kids up in the morning we're off to IKEA for the first time. It's a little ways away (I think an hour and a half or something) from us but I've never been there and they look like they have such cool stuff just by looking at the website.


in Stoughton?? LOVE it! You're gonna have fun.

I was there a couple weekends ago... locked my keys in my car blush.gif (well actually my husband did mad.gif ). They have really fun stuff and a restaurant and a snack bar. It's like an adult playground. Be careful of the quality of stuff you buy.... I've bought some stuff that I love that has lasted for a long time and stuff that falls apart almost immediately. I have to go back and pick up some stuff to furnish our new place, but I'm waiting until after the Sept. 1st rush.. I made that mistake last year no0pb.gif .
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-28 11:13:00
Middle East and North AfricaHappy Friday!!!!!
QUOTE (jenn3539 @ Aug 31 2007, 10:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (hollyw @ Aug 31 2007, 10:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Happy Friday everyone!! kicking.gif Thank god it's a three day weekend.

Does anyone know what the change of address form is for permanent residents?? I can't seem to find it... unsure.gif it's funny, after all those months of immigration we went through i thought i would never forget this stuff... now i'm completely lost laughing.gif


It's called the AR-11. Don't forget that you have to do a I-865 to change address for a sponsor (you) too!



THANKS!!!!
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-31 11:28:00
Middle East and North AfricaHappy Friday!!!!!
Happy Friday everyone!! kicking.gif Thank god it's a three day weekend.

Does anyone know what the change of address form is for permanent residents?? I can't seem to find it... unsure.gif it's funny, after all those months of immigration we went through i thought i would never forget this stuff... now i'm completely lost laughing.gif
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-31 09:12:00
Middle East and North AfricaTHANKFUL THURSDAY
I'm thankful for the snooze button on my alarm clock and that I get to pick up my dry cleaning today...
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-16 07:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaMonday, Monday
QUOTE (doodlebug @ Aug 20 2007, 07:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (hollyw @ Aug 20 2007, 05:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (AmeraMouttaki @ Aug 20 2007, 04:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hollyw ---- did your husband have to get a visa to go to mexico??? We were thinking about a cruise but didn't think we could with just a Green card and Moroccan passport??



I think this has basically been answered, but, no, he didn't need to get a visa... good thing, because we're not going! we're going to call later this evening and cancel our reservations crying.gif bummer!

we used the delta site and verified it here: http://www.sre.gob.mx/boston/

And thats right, residents can't travel everywhere we can.... my husband has to get a visa to go to Paris this winter.



Did you have trip insurance so you can get refunded? Most will refund due to things like hurricaines. I'm so sorry I know you were looking forward to this much needed vacation. Hopefully you can go somewhere else instead?


we DIDNT have trip insurance, but luckily it's turning into such a big hurricaine that expedia is going to refund us the entire amount... phew!

i think we'll go out and spend the week on martha's vineyard.... i mean, we're not hurtin' here wink.gif
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-20 18:40:00
Middle East and North AfricaMonday, Monday
QUOTE (AmeraMouttaki @ Aug 20 2007, 04:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hollyw ---- did your husband have to get a visa to go to mexico??? We were thinking about a cruise but didn't think we could with just a Green card and Moroccan passport??



I think this has basically been answered, but, no, he didn't need to get a visa... good thing, because we're not going! we're going to call later this evening and cancel our reservations crying.gif bummer!

we used the delta site and verified it here: http://www.sre.gob.mx/boston/

And thats right, residents can't travel everywhere we can.... my husband has to get a visa to go to Paris this winter.

Edited by hollyw, 20 August 2007 - 04:57 PM.

hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-20 16:57:00
Middle East and North AfricaMonday, Monday
Tomorrow my husband and I are supposed to fly to Cancun.....


..... the hurricane should be arriving around the same time unsure.gif
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-20 12:08:00
Middle East and North AfricaI gotta say Thanks to you all
perhaps it's time to get the VJ MENA Boston ladies together...... (F)
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-13 10:49:00
Middle East and North AfricaI gotta say Thanks to you all
I'm so sorry that you are going through this. You are an exceptionally strong woman. (F)
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-10 15:01:00
Middle East and North AfricaA Poll on Jealousy
i was a strawberry blonde w/ freckles in a sea of dark hair or hijabs. i stood out big time. but i got the feeling that people stared more out of curiosity than jealousy, especially because i was in a town that didn't get a lot of tourists. most people thought i was french because my husband and i speak french to each other. after a while i got used to the staring and my husband was exhausted from trying to stare back at people to get them to stop. whenever we'd go out with one of his family members they couldn't believe the number of people staring. i felt like some kind of celebrity :lol:
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-08 08:31:00
Middle East and North Africa'100 Days In America'

I was disappointed by Wicked though Idina Menzel is simply amazing. Only like one song. The idea was clever but I don't know something missing. Anyone read the book?


I have no idea how many days Idir has been here. August 10 is the 6 month mark...can someone else do the math for me? :lol: Jenn- you are good with numbers :whistle:


I read the book. LOVED it. I'm about to start the sequal, Son of a Witch.

I was disappointed by the content of the play, I felt like they dumbed it down and made it all happy-happy (it's a musical, I know, but still), although I liked the musical itself. I have a weakness for musicals. Something about all the dancing and the catchy songs and the costumes.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-03 10:47:00
Middle East and North AfricaCultural Shock
That's funny, my husband is the same way... he insists that he's fine and happy. he doesn't miss Algeria at all, but he misses his family/friends there. He does miss Paris, i think he considered that more home than Algeria. He very rarely confesses that he's homesick and usually it's only because he's in a quiet mood and i coax it out of him.

The only other thing i can think of, and i don't know if this is related to culture shock, is i think sometimes he gets tired of speaking english/making the extra effort to communicate with people and wants to stay in the house because of it. so when that happens we usually stay home, watch movies dubbed in french, and order take out. but it doesn't happen very often.


I feel that way, too. That he hides it for my benefit but he insists that he doesn't. Moh has shown no signs of culture shock either. He's never been out of Egypt and lived in a rural community so this surprises me. The only showed homesickness once but it was homesickness for his family not his country.

my husband never showed any signs of culture shock. i don't know if this is because he came from france (where he had lived for almost 5 years), and had already done some adjusting to european culture or what, but he seemed to adjust really well. it worries me sometime that he hides it for my benefit. i know he misses paris a lot. and he misses his friends and family. homesickness is really the only symptom of culture shock that i've noticed during the 9 months that he's been here.


We have a transportation issue too - thank god we're moving in a month! I start work at 8am and he doesnt start until 11am. so i have to drop him off at the train and he has to sit/sleep in starbucks until work starts. then i go home at 6pm and he doesnt get off til 11pm-1am and i have to wait up/wake up and go get him at the train. the schedule is killing us.

My husband won't eat eggs for breakfast either - they are "not a breakfast food." Cereal is also not a breakfast food apparently. We eat a lot of waffles, pancakes, and french toast (well he does.... i eat power bars and yogurt :( ) Also croissants with nutella or strawberry jam are big breakfast food in our house. Toast. He likes to drink coffee that is basically hot chocolate. He heats milk and adds some nescafé and about a cup of sugar. My husband loves the orange/strawberry/banana or orange/pineapple/banana juices. They too strong for me (too citrusy perhaps?)... what I do sometimes is buy the juice from the international section at the grocery store, i think i usually buy Goya or Allen's, I think the are a bit milder and i like them better. they're also good for smoothies (another huge any-time-of-day favorite). and they're cheaper. He'll also eat any type of cookie or brownie for breakfast. those, i guess, ARE breakfast food ;)

Yeah, the transportation thing is an issue too! My husband got off work early today, but I work too far from home to pick him up. The bus doesn't come around our area, and taxi's are only around the airport. I have an SUV for him, but he just won't work on a drivers license. I hope the latest difficulty getting home is enough to get him serious about a drivers license.

Breakfast.....I can't find anything he likes for breakfast. If he eats fromage and bread he wants tea, but for some reason the tea sends him crawling up the walls. Is our caffeine stronger here? He would settle for juice, but it hurts his stomach. He won't try cereal...hot or cold. Won't eat eggs....about the only thing he will eat is pancakes or crepes with a little milk, but that gets old quick. He tried an omlette, and like it, but said that this is not breakfast food and his stomach can't handle it in the morning. :bonk: :help: :ranting: Any suggestions?


Edited by hollyw, 09 August 2007 - 06:07 PM.

hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-09 18:04:00
Middle East and North AfricaCultural Shock
my husband never showed any signs of culture shock. i don't know if this is because he came from france (where he had lived for almost 5 years), and had already done some adjusting to european culture or what, but he seemed to adjust really well. it worries me sometime that he hides it for my benefit. i know he misses paris a lot. and he misses his friends and family. homesickness is really the only symptom of culture shock that i've noticed during the 9 months that he's been here.

Edited by hollyw, 09 August 2007 - 04:03 PM.

hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-09 16:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaMonday...BLEH
This weekend my husband and I took advantage of the Mass. tax free weekend and the sale at Sears and bought ourselves a nice, big plasma TV. woohoo! I think all in all we got about $500 off :dance: We're moving in two or three weeks, so we're going to keep it in the box til then, but we opened it and unwrapped it a bit to take a peak - it's fancy!


Other than that we're getting ready to move, getting ready to go to Mexico, and working our a$$es off - I bet we only see each other for an hour a day now. We're in desperate need of a vacation!
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-13 11:11:00
Middle East and North AfricaDid everybody in MENA forget to wake up today?

Totally feels like Wednesday, not Tuesday! :angry:


My husband told me last night that he wants to get a Buick Skylark when he gets his license.

:unsure:


All I could think of was My Cousin Vinnie!


For the first two hours of my day I thought it WAS Wednesday :angry: My day was going pretty well until I realized is was Tuesday.


So we watched 300 last night. Well, I fell asleep about half way through and have to finish it tonight maybe. But can I just say, "#######?" Did anyone else see it? :unsure:


My husband and I started the 300 Sunday night and both fell asleep - woke up at 4 in the morning with the menu scren on :lol: We finished it last night. Not my favorite. it IS nonstop violence, for the most part. I thought the computer graphics were cool, but the story line was kind of dull and there wasn't enough to it. I did like it more as the movie went on though.


PS. i don't see any other Tuesday threads either....

Edited by hollyw, 14 August 2007 - 09:33 AM.

hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-14 09:32:00
Middle East and North Africahappy hump day

Happy Wednesday mena.

I have a loose baby bird in my house :blink: How in the world do I get it outside? Tried to put a bowl over it but it jumps, then I jump and we are both about to have a heart attack.

Hope you all have a nice day.

Jackie (F)



Ooooo one time we had a bat in our house... it wouldn't stop flying long enough for us to catch it and it kept diving at our heads. Eventually we just opened all the doors and windows and left the house for awhile. When we got back, it was gone.


In other news, I'm starting to not like my job. I have a new manager (who has never managed before) and she's horrible.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-15 08:41:00
Middle East and North AfricaSong of the day thread
isn't that why everyone in the movies about people in the "olden days" have really white, powder-like skin? because if you were darker it meant you spent time in the fields and working outside, but if you had pale skin you were part of the upper class that didnt need to be outside? I'm having flashbacks of grade school US history...

AAAAAND back to music.....

I've been listening to a CD I made to listen to in the car with a lot of Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, DMX, Gnawa Diffusion, Beck, Bob Marley, Matisyahu, Paolo Conte, Kayne, etc, etc, etc.... it makes me happy :) if i knew how to find music online or add links, i would :D
hollywFemaleAlgeria2006-07-21 22:57:00
Middle East and North AfricaHump day already?

"the best recipe" cookbook from cooks illustrated has a great PB cookie recipe. if you can find a link to it online get the recipe. if not, i'll get it from my book and write it for you.
the bread also works well in a container of brown sugar to keep it from turning into a solid block!



I've done the bread in the sugar thing, i never thought to do it for cookies :blush: I guess i've just always followed recipes and wondered why my peanut butter cookies aren't chewy (my chocolate chip ones are!). Cooking obviously does not come naturally to me.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-08 15:52:00
Middle East and North AfricaHump day already?
how do you get peanut butter cookies to come out chewy?? mine always come out crunchy and crumbly (which is still delcious, but i prefer chewy).
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-08 12:59:00
Middle East and North AfricaAnd speaking of jealousy....

I, too, lived in Algeria for a year and a half and am quite shocked at the way Algerian women are being portrayed here.

There are many parts of the culture with which I was uncomfortable. It was hard for me as an American, Jewish woman to live in Algeria. I won't minimize that. But, the women I met there, be it through family or work, were nothing but kind and supportive, if a little baffled by my life (the feeling is mutual). The gossip and staring by strangers are a bit much and we are easy targets because we are different in a country that sees very few, if any, foreigners. I am sure tongues wagged after I left family affairs sometimes. But, this is not malicious, only hard to take for someone who is very private by nature. We come from an individualist culture and enter a communal one where what you do and how you behave is important beyond just yourself. I agree that to live there, to remain sane, sometimes you just have to ignore it, but I also understand why ignoring what Algerian women think of me can be seen as hostile and can provoke an equally disrespectful reaction. It took time, but the women in my husband's family and the ones who became my friends did eventually accept my differences, learn that I did not like weddings, know that I needed to go read a book by myself, stop trying to take me to the hairdresser, etc. I know they thought it all strange, but we found a balance with some time. I also met some women like me in this regard and they were as frutsrated as me by how strange this was to others. I am very grateful to the women I met. Now, the men, that is another story...(joking there).

As an afterthought, of the discomfort I did feel, I would attribute none of it to jealousy of me regarding my husband. Time and again, women seemed proud that an American woman would marry an Algerian man when she could marry an American instead. "Then you like Algerian men!" My reply was always,"well, I like ONE Algerian man."


I agree, I never experienced any kind of jealousy in Algeria. A lot of curiousity, but not jealousy.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-08-06 14:39:00
Middle East and North AfricaIt's Friday!!!

I've been thinking about names. One of my friends has always named her cats "Thank You" in various languages. There were Arigato, Grazie, Merci, etc. I thought that was cool. Maybe we could do some word in Arabic, Italian, whatever... But to find a good word to use....

Oh, and I suppose Wadi might want a say. But I'm ready for a fight. :devil:



In Paris we had a cat named Minouch (mi-noosh.. algerian for "cat")... not very original I guess, but I thought it was a cute name.

I have a friend that does kinds of tea... there has been Oolong, Keemun, etc... I like that one too
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-20 10:07:00
Middle East and North AfricaIt's Wednesday!!!!
Mexican is a big hit in our house too. So far I've made chicken, beef, and shrimp fajitas, beef tacos, enchiladas, chimichangas, and homemade salsa/guacamole. My husband likes soft tortillas a lot more than the fried crispy ones. So do I, so it works out fine.

Indian food is also HUGE. We eat a lot of indian food.

Some other big hits were shepherd's pie (my recipe is really plain), homemade chicken pot pie, chicken parmesan, linguine alfredo w/ chicken or shrimp, homemade pizza, beef stroganoff, arroz con pollo, steak au poivre, chili, southwestern egg rolls, etc etc.

I've realized that he likes anything saucey, cheesey, or bready.

And anything that has chocolate.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-25 12:44:00
Middle East and North AfricaConcerns and Trust

I think its rarely as simple as he used me for a green card. I think more often than not "he" saw the marriage as an opportunity for a future and took a chance. Love is not, nor should it be the sole basis for marriage. I mean you are building a life together, bringing two families together (if he is MENA then it IS two families not two people involved)..love will ony take you so far.

I know there are those that marry with the intention of it being short term, simply for the purpose fo the green card. But the majority of marriages that fall apart have other problems, other incompatabilities that were difficult to overcome. The cultural differences, the expectations of lifestyle, marriage roles etc do get in the way and can be even more difficult to overcome when there other other personality incompatibilities.


And these generalizations about Arab culture. Sure you can find examples of this in teh Arab world, that's why they are generalizations. BUT some of what is said is simply western interpretation of MENA- meaning, what you think you see is not what the reality is. I find the whole post rather offensive. Why do we insist on evaluating others based on our own experiences????? You can not paint MENA with one broad brush stroke, its much more complex.



Well said
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-19 18:14:00
Middle East and North AfricaConcerns and Trust
Wow. Well, I'm happy to say that that is not a ME/NA that I have experienced nor is it what happens in my own household or in my family's house in Algiera (while I do understand that it is a reality for many many people).

I realize this is something that a lot of us are probably struggling with, especially coming having SOs from high fraud countries - how do you know that what you have with your husband is the real thing? Will he leave after the two year green card? The ten year? Naturalization? Is he using you for your money?

What I try to remember when I start to think like that is that you can never be sure of any type of relationship, no matter who you marry or what background they're from. There are many men right here in the United States who treat their wives the exact same way as you've described "all" middle eastern men treating their wives. It's a gamble... you just have to go with your gut.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-19 17:01:00
Middle East and North AfricaTuesday thread

I agree with dee,,,today f'ing sucks.

Jackie


Count me in. :thumbs:



i'm with you guys... :angry:

except that the weather is lovely
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-17 12:41:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhat were your SO's first thoughts of the US?

My husband is shocked at the obesity in the United States vs other countries and he comments on it at least once a day.


where do you live? Are people from Jordan that skinny?

The other thing is quality of family life here - its pretty bad. As a result, we are planning to move to Jordan to raise children together, God Willing.


Again maybe it's where you are living now. The US is a BIG place and there's so many awesome locations to raise a family. Unless I'm totally missing something here. I love my little town, though it's wicked expensive. The kids are getting a great education and the town really looks out for one another.

Maybe he'll like it once he's here a bit longer.


Agreed... the only place that my husband was blown over by the number of obese people was at Six Flags. I guess it depends on where you live. We live in Boston and, while you see your fare share of overweight people, I wouldn't say it's shocking. I also think there are tons of fabulous places to raise your kids/start a family, you just have to choose wisely.

That being said, I plan on moving back to Paris! :D

Seriously...your husbands have never seen fat ppl? There were plenty of fat ppl in Egypt. I can't imagine that Morocco and Jordan don't have fat ppl, too. Not to be rude or anything but plenty of MENA men have married obese women. I can't believe that word hasn't gotten around about this phenomenon.


:lol: :lol: Algeria's got em too!!


I don't think I ever added to this thread when it was started, so I'll comment a little on my husband's first reactions... he was worried that we were living in the woods because in Algeria there are criminals/terrorists that live(d) there. He was surprised that you could buy a 2 liter bottle of coke for $1. He loved the selection of food in the grocery store. He loves getting paid overtime. He was surprised that people were so polite to each other (he had gotten really used to living in Paris). He liked how cheap new balance sneakers were.
hollywFemaleAlgeria2007-07-16 14:41:00