Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Middle East and North Africa	Online translating	I would also like to give a big thank you to "Monnik" who helped me out personally via PM. This letter that I shared with you, which is one of the many others received from my husband (98% of all in English) really meant alot to me. You are welcome. Edited by monnik, 29 July 2007 - 12:42 AM.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-29 00:42:00
Middle East and North Africa	Online translating	Try "Golden Al Wafi translator" my husband uses it. Google has a feature in beta, but the translation is bad. Good luck. I would agree that google can translate Arabic in beta, (translate.google.com) but any spelling errors or grammar errors will leave you with a pure mess of a translation. It still might be helpful if you did only a couple of words at a time. Or you could use a combination of two or more translating tools. That way, any words that one doesn't pick up on, the other service might. I know your messages are very personal (coming from your husband) but any small or impersonal words you could ask someone from here to translate for you. I wouldn't mind helping you.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-27 23:21:00
Middle East and North Africa	interview summary	I agree that this sort of question should not be asked, but I have heard of it happening in other countries too. Usually countries with strong cultural norms. I think once it happened to someone interviewing in India, a place where sex outside of marriage is still strongly frowned on. So they may ask to find out if the relationship was based on sex or love. But I rarely hear about that question being asked so it might just be a rare occurrence. It happened right here in California, too, so it really doesn't matter who, what, when, or where. Good point. I remember reading that it happens all over. And I also knew that people get asked very personal questions during the AOS interview. So, it was definitely discussed with my husband that he could get asked the question at any point. Doodle's husband may even get asked that question again in the future. It is a fact of life, but it still rubs a lot of people the wrong way. But, then again, almost every part of immigration is bothersome in some aspect.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 15:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	interview summary	There were two waiting areas. When you first go to the visa area there is an outside waiting area with some chairs. We at first bypassed that and headed inside and we were told that we needed to wait outside until we were called. After the first couple of hours I was thirsty so the man let me go to the bubbler to get some water. That's when I first saw the tv. It was air conditioned inside too. When they finally called us and the lady took some papers from him and told us to sit down, we then had the choice of either sitting inside, where the tv/video was, or back outside. That's when we saw the video played over and over again. It was a/c in there so originally I wanted to stay but then after watching the video I decided we should wait outside in the heat instead of freakin' out watching the sad guy walk away with the paper with no visa. Oh. OK. Yeah, I definitely remember the 2 waiting areas. We have been there twice, plus I have been to the other side, American Services about 3 or 4 times. We waited inside the whole time (except for cig breaks), but maybe you had to sit outside cause there were a lot of people there? That sucks. Especially because of the heat!!!! OMG, I am so glad we didn't see that video. It sounds depressing.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 15:02:00
Middle East and North Africa	interview summary	Well I was in that waiting room and it was a large screen tv and it showed someone getting an interview and a happy person walking away with a visa and a sad person walking away with a paper. I know getting denied a visa is not funny, but the TV thing really is a hoot. I can picture it now. That is kind of funny. I don't remember the TV, but maybe we just didn't pay it any attention. Or maybe they roll it out when the DV interviews are done???? Also, we weren't waiting very long before we got called to the window. But, that would have been an interesting video to see.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 14:32:00
Middle East and North Africa	interview summary	mohamed never got a paper...... are you sure its not a 221g whatever ???? I have no idea what it is since I haven't seen it yet. He never got a paper???? The paper is probably because they asked him for 2 more pictures. This form was given to us after our I-130 interview cause we had to send in proof of our relationship. They also gave us this form when we were told we needed a cosponsor. They checked 2 boxes on our paper. One to get a cosponsor, and one to send in the passport with the information. Just ask him which box is checked on the paper. There is a box for administrative processing and one for photos. Good luck.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 12:23:00
Middle East and North Africa	interview summary	Hi Doodle and welcome back! We missed you. I hope you get some rest and I completely know how you feel about the elephant ankles I got those after a long road trip to Monterrey, Mexico and I looked deformed!!!!!!!! Anyway, I am sorry to hear that the interview was so screwy and that you guys have been upset. I also had the fear that the officer would ask about our sex life because my hubby would freak out! I don't know why they would ask stupid questions like that! Especially in a country where they should know it's disrespectful to talk about your wife in that way.............Come to think about it, it's disrespectful in any country! They are a bunch of jerks. And about paying the DHL fees and them not keeping the passport, we did the same thing. Because we paid the fees before the actual interview. After our denial, they gave us back the passport, but I think they keep the receipt from DHL. Just to be sure, though. Make sure that when your hubby takes or sends his passport to the embassy that he makes a copy of the DHL receipt to go along with it. I don't think that you were denied, but a follow-up email might help you get a clear answer. Talk about rude behavior! The consular doesn't show up for work and you guys get treated like #######! I had a similar experience in that during our interview, the consular stepped away from the window and took personal phone calls/text messages for about 20 minutes and walked around laughing with co-workers! So unprofessional!!!! And, I handwrote a letter to the consular general and had it hand delivered to their office ( what good it will do, I have no idea) and told them that our interview was not conducted properly and that the officer was rude. (btw, his officer wasn't the black guy, it was a chubby white guy) Even if you do complain to their office, it will probably go into the huge pile of "we could give a sh!t" correspondence. I hope you can find some comfort here in venting with your fellow VJers. And, I hope you get some rest and relaxation soon. You sound very stressed (((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))) NIKI	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-29 16:27:00
Middle East and North Africa	Concerns and Trust	Life is way too short, and it is only what you make it. Let it drag you down and it will. Look for the positive in things, and you win. Use your experiences to learn and move on. I think these statements are very wise and very true. Bravo for having a positive and reasonable outlook!!! I wish you a lot of happiness!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 22:15:00
Middle East and North Africa	Concerns and Trust	Very interesting on so many levels... Thanks, Rahma (oh and I meant to say... I am so glad to see The Queen Of Links back up in here ! Always fascinating, always thought-provoking... or just fun to look at Keep 'em coming.... ) Thanks for the link, Rahma. That article was very interesting. I wrote a post about an intercultural marriage gone wrong that has been making news in england a while back (and no, this is not a shameless promotion of my blog ). It may be of interest to posters here in the ME/NA subforum. I read the article and thought it was very interesting, too! I think that the writers did a great job of bringing you into their marriage and understanding both sides' perceptions. I would definitely like to read more stories like that. I agree. Rahma should post more links.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-23 16:39:00
Middle East and North Africa	HELP ME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	monnik is living in cairo so maybe she'll read this and have her husband call. I think most husbands wouldn't want to get involved though, I'm sorry to say. I don't think mine would. He's sleeping right now anyways but I'll ask him tomorrow when we talk again. I don't think Mon would want to get involved either, but the best thing we could offer would be to listen in on a conference call to see if anyone said anything that could be a sign. Or, we could teach you a couple of sentences to say so that YOU can make sure they know who you are looking for and who you are. Or maybe we could write something out in Arabic and you could text it to a cell phone ??? I did make the suggestion that if something happened to him, his family might not know to inform you. But, he is wary of getting in the middle of something that really could have any kind of outcome. KISHYAMED< feel free to PM me though if you would like to ask me more questions or if you would like some pointers on asking the tough questions yourself.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 22:50:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cairo Interview Survey	And she was just as rude to Wael which was so uncalled for. When I went to the American Services to get the free to marry paper, they wouldn't even let him in the building. He had to wait outside. (In November, thankfully, so he wasn't in the heat.) And, I went back to American Services after that, but they wouldn't let him in without showing the marriage certificate. Don't think being American has any bearing on how well they treat you. They are equally rude to everyone. It seems like the thin white guy is one of the kindest ones there. If only he was available at special request.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-31 19:20:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cairo Interview Survey	Sam had the white guy with glasses. Not too old. Very nice and polite and friendly. We have been on AP for almost six months!!!! His interview went very well, AP...............a nightmare!! I think this is the guy we had who approved the I-130. He seems to be one of the nicest ones there. Anybody remember my husband joking with him and inviting him to dinner? Well, he didn't get upset or anything, he just laughed. He is polite, and he even speaks some Arabic. He talked to my husband in Arabic a little. For the visa interview we had a different CO, he was a white guy also, but he was heavy and didn't conversate with us much. Both of those guys look to be in their 30's or early 40's, but the only difference is their size. I am not sure if you keep the same CO throughout the whole process, but I really don't think so. I just think that they only have a handful of officers that conduct the interviews, so people probably get the same one over and over. Also, I don't know how much of a difference it would make to have one specific officer to handle your case. It seems like you only get one visa interview. (or am I wrong?) After the interview, your case probably goes back into the pile, and is pulled out when needed by whichever person is handling it that day. But, who knows? They also have other officers that handle everything else but the interviews. Like adding information to your file (receipts, forms, etc.) and double-checking that your information is correct. These employees were more friendly and were open to our questions more than the CO. So, these people could be the ones who touch your case from time to time. Maybe the interviewing officer's job is done after the interview???? Wouldn't that be great?!!! Good luck everybody.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 14:29:00
Middle East and North Africa	Egypt in the Summer	I have to laugh. When I was married to my ex and I would point out a good looking man on TV, he would say "him? he's gay" Now when I point out a good looking man to my hunny he says "him? he's a jerk" LOL why do men always find something wrong with good looking singers/actors? The same reason why I searched for and found Beyonce's fall on youtube and laughed and played it 20 times. Drinking too much h8rade Yes! Beyonce's fall was soooo funny to me, too. I couldn't get enough of it. Yeah, seems like the hubby has been chompin on some hater tots, too. Good for him, they sell Haterade in Egypt cause he will need something to wash it down with. IMO - Tamer is not cute! But he is swooned over by a lot of girls here, so guys automatically react with the JERK statements.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-02 19:55:00
Middle East and North Africa	Egypt in the Summer	No offense, Monnik, but when my husband saw Tamer Hosny in your signature he said, ohhhh I hate that guy! He is khawwal! my husband doesn't like him either for some reason. Why would I be offended? He is not liked by a lot of people, but I don't know why. I actually think he's kind of ugly. That's why I put him in my signature cuz he wasn't all HOT! But, his songs are cute and I can understand most of them, so I am content. My husband CLAIMS the same thing - he can't sing, he's the KH-word, he sucks, whatever - but he still knows the words to his songs and claps and sings in the car when a lively song of Tamer's is playing. It definitely reminds me of envy that guys get for someone who gets a lot of attention from the girls. You know, like N'Sync or BSB, every guy in America was saying how gay they were and their songs were stupid, but somehow they all know the songs.........weird??? It doesn't help that in Egypt, almost every singer is an actor, too. And, all of Tamer's songs are forced upon the masses with songs, videos, movies, and commercials............ But, that doesn't mean that your husbands are like that. (envious I mean) I am just comparing the way my husband is to the way I have seen guys act over any heartthrob or new IT guy.......... (you can substitute any guy here - I have seen it with Brad Pitt, The ROCK, and others) Also, his younger brother is 15 and he LOOOOOOOOOOVES Tamer. I think it's kind of like Tamer belongs to the new wave of singers. Kind of why I never fell head over heels for N'Sync - but the NKOTB was a different story!!!!!!! hardy harr harr	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 15:16:00
Middle East and North Africa	Egypt in the Summer	omg monnik i thought of you while in Alex 'cause this guy had a cart with blinking lights and each side of the card had pictures of Amr Diab on it. lol. He is so BIG over there I couldn't believe it!!!!! Usama's sisters know all his songs by heart including the ones on the new cd!! lol Awww, thanks for thinking about me!! Amr is like Michael Jackson or some HUGE star that everybody likes at least some of his songs. Yeah. Every taxi/car/etc. is playing Amr's new songs right now. It's kind of like when you're driving in the US, and you notice that someone else is listening to the same radio station as you...... only times 1000 cause everybody is listening to the same CD in Cairo. hehehhee We downloaded Amr's new album the first day it was available. I actually don't like very many of his songs, but the new album has several that I like. Tamer is another story! I like almost all of his songs. (just a reminder doodle, Tamer is the one in my signature now - I know this has been confused a couple of times. ) Monnik, I'm so glad that you changed the pictures...at least now when I'm scrolling down to read, my eyes don't pop out of my skull and my heart doesn't stop beating!!! Well, I am glad. You know it was all for you!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 14:15:00
Middle East and North Africa	Egypt in the Summer	I think I should cry now..... I head to Egypt August 28!!! My SO has held me off during the summers for 4 years now. But we can't wait to see each other. The hotel I will stay at seemed to be cooler he said and we'd head out in the evenings and night. The weather starts getting cooler here at the end of August/beginning of September. The peak temperatures of the summer occur during the end of June and the month of July. (110 degrees and up) It also depends on what climate you are used to living in. You will be fine. Don't cry.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 11:43:00
Middle East and North Africa	Egypt in the Summer	bwahahahah toooooo funny and im about to make plans to go to Egypt in one month... possibly... i loved it there in Alex Hurry up and come Tamara! Try to plan your trip for the end of August. It will start to cool down here. But, the airfare will be ridiculous. September and October are comfortable months. I hope you come if Adam doesn't come to you first.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-29 21:03:00
Middle East and North Africa	Egypt in the Summer	Doodle you are so funny! And that experience sounds so traumatizing! Nothing like some good ole Egyptian heat and an upset stomach to bring the comedy. You are right! The heat is awful - the humidity makes you miserable - and the fumes and pollution will make you sick! We were out the other day (in Cairo) in the early afternoon and it is actually more comfortable to ride in the car with the windows rolled up and ROAST than to open the windows and get smacked in the face with what feels like a hot frying pan full of sewage and exhaust! YUCK We are going to Alex in about 2 weeks, and I don't look forward to the weather, but I love the night life and this time the younger siblings are going so we will do some more exciting stuff. I hope we don't run into any dirty diapers. I heard that this past Friday a heat wave moved in to Egypt from KSA. Those days were the worst that I have had so far. But, the worst heat I ever experienced was in Laredo, Texas in July. It was about 11:30pm and you could feel the heat coming off the pavement in waves. I couldn't breathe! The sun had been gone for hours and the streets were melting my poor sneakers. Literally - the rubber on the bottom of my shoes was softened from the heat! I was out in the heat for about 10 minutes and then decided to spent the rest of the time in the front seat of the car with AC on full blast!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-29 20:17:00
Middle East and North Africa	Yo! Happy Wednesday!!!!	I just got connected a little while ago (missed the whole Barbershop III thread), and had to chuckle at this: I think the point is, when someone says it's offensive, who are we to question it? Obviously most people in the thread didn't find it offensive or know that it would be offensive, hence the repetitive use of the term. But when someone says hey, this is offensive to me, they should be given the respect of us shutting up, not fighting with her and telling her she's wrong and to chill out and to be prepared for a backlash. And IMO, a woman here calling her husband's hair nappy is inappropriate to me since no one here is married to an african american, no one here has a husband who's history includes this term. I did go back and read, though. And it's sad that aj1 was offended by some comments. It's also too bad that her own personal truth couldn't be acknowledged fully in this forum (for whatever reasons I'm not sure..........too many opinions in one room, jumping to conclusions - either side, defensiveness-either side, or attitude-either side). I, personally, didn't find it offensive and I even thought that the context of the conversation was clear enough that the intention to offend just wasn't there. (We all know that doesn't mean that noone WILL get offended.) That is just the way it goes. Caladan was wise to bypass the whole offensiveness issue and address the topic - shopping around to find someone with experience cutting thick, curly, or whatever type of hair you have will be worth the search! Last, but not least, I would like to say to aj1 - I am sorry that you felt offended.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-02 02:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	Happy Saturday	Doodle and Jackie, I hope both of you are in better spirits soon. On or off VJ, doesn't matter!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-04 21:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	IM SO FRUSTRATED	I get kicked offline about 4 or 5 times per day. The network gets unplugged for about an hour per day (at different times every day) and I want to scream!!!!! Internet in Egypt suckkkkkkkkkkkks.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-04 17:55:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sunday in ME/NA	Well, I just woke up. See how backwards my days and nights are? Oh my gosh! Sparrow - I was dreaming about horses being killed. It was awful!!!!!!!! I wish I had a bunch of pretty pictures so I could do those slideshows that are so cool! All of my pictures suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-05 15:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sunday in ME/NA	Try this link for your MySpace Page: http://www.htmate2.com/mylook/ Thanks to you too, allousa. I will try that one also. I have seen on some sites a layout snatcher. I think it lets you steal the layout of another site. I might go back to one of the really good ones and snatch it up!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-05 06:31:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sunday in ME/NA	ugghhh... i was sleeping so soundly but the tv was on and someone on it was screaming and woke me up. now i'm up and waiting for hubby to return from work. prolly have breakfast w/ him and go back to sleep when he does. monnik, try profilemods.com or pimpmyspace.com - maybe you'll find some tricked out page designs there. Thanks! I am looking at profilemods right now. I will try and figure out something to spice it up.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-05 06:16:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sunday in ME/NA	It's 11 am here, so that means it's around 4am on the east coast. Nobody to talk to. My mornings are lonely! I have resorted to tinkering with our myspace page. I am HTML challenged! It seems like everyone else's site looks way better than mine! Oh well! Happy Sunday to everybody. If anybody has any tips or sites I can visit to help make my page look cute, let me know. A little Tamer to make me feel better, maybe. ZuGg1MWRsMM	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-05 03:48:00
Middle East and North Africa	hello from Riyadh	Hi Jess! Come back when you've got some time to talk. Glad to hear that you are doing well.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-06 00:10:00
Middle East and North Africa	TGIFRIDAY, VIERNES VENDREDI =0)	I am a hurtin' pup. I have pneumonia. I guess if the meds don't help by tomorrow they'll admit me. And my space bar keeps sticking. Have a good one everyone. I"m going back to my new home, my bed. Oh my goodness! I hope you get better real soon, Doodle. Happy Friday everybody!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-03 02:33:00
Middle East and North Africa	Song of the day thread	Tamer Hosny - erga3ly its so beautiful and sweet. if anyone wants to listen, i can send it.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-04-30 02:54:00
Middle East and North Africa	Another Monday!	Yes, it's pretty easy to find out. Look up the model online ans look for the specifications. Mobile phones come in 4 bands: 850 MHz / 900 MHz / 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz The US uses 850 and 900 while the rest of the world uses either 1800 or 1900 A quad band can be used anywhere in the world ans a tri band can be used in most countries. You should be able to do a google search and find out the list of bands by country. Thanks. This is what was said about his phone: Operating frequencyGSM 900/1800/1900 Since it uses 900, it will work in the USA? Is that anywhere or just certain states?	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-06 21:54:00
Middle East and North Africa	Another Monday!	It depends on if the phone is a tri or quad ban model than it would operate. You would also have to go with a comany that uses sims cards- not all do. Yo would also have to make sure the phone is unlocked (which is probably already is) How would I find that out? Would it be in the manual ? or on Nokia online? I never had to deal with this before------	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-06 21:26:00
Middle East and North Africa	Another Monday!	Good Monday, everyone! I have a question for anyone whose SO came from Egypt (or another MENA country).......Will a cell phone purchased here still work in the US? I have been told that the operating system (?) is different and that it won't be the same type of technology........I wanna know if we can put a US SIM card in the phone he has now. We are wondering if we should sell his phone before we leave or maybe give it to his brother. Advice????	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-06 05:54:00
Middle East and North Africa	egypt pictures and videos	That's awful doodle. I would try to prosecute.....check out the laws in your area and see what you have to do to stop that person!! Hopefully, your employer will support you. Good luck.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-07 18:11:00
Middle East and North Africa	egypt pictures and videos	I love taking pictures of food. lol. Unfortunately I had to stop showing the videos since I'm being stalked by someone on another website but oh well that's life. Oh my gosh! That is just crazy, doodle. People are strange.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-07 03:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	egypt pictures and videos	I like your pictures doodle. That area of Alex is very nice.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-30 22:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	YAY TUESDAY!!!!	When I was talking to Mon online from USA, I would always ask... what time is it over there? Why do you stay up all night? But, I get it now. It's all about the peace and quiet you get when everyone else is asleep. It's the one-on-one time that you get with the computer without someone asking for something every 5 minutes. It's being able to sip a cup of tea slowly by the soft glow of your monitor. Ahhhhhhhh. Good times. And I wonder why I'm so pale these days......no sunlight for me!!!!!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-07 03:21:00
Middle East and North Africa	YAY TUESDAY!!!!	Wow! That's some good news! Glad to see that someone else is awake besides me. Happy Tuesday everybody. I am glad Monday is over. It seemed like everybody was in a slump yesterday, and I don't blame them. Mondays don't seem to have that effect over here. I guess that is something I will miss!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-07 02:59:00
Middle East and North Africa	finnaly	Yaaayyyy! That's great news. Congratulations!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-07 18:12:00
Middle East and North Africa	Orange didnt look soo bad	Wow! Those pictures look nice. And orange looked HOT on you guys. Beautiful	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-04 21:16:00
Middle East and North Africa	Hump day already?	I see your point of not getting the phone calls and having some peace and quiet....smart girl! I have to say though, once you go DSL or cable, you can't ever go back. It will drive you to insanity! Watch it there, you are making Spoiler generalizations about the whole data transmission community!!! And........... Spoiler generalizations ....... and don't forget about your Spoiler generalizations ........... and just let me tell you something about your Spoiler generalizations ........ Spoiler I have a dial up modem and I am offended!!!! ...................... Just kidding. Hey! [spoiler]BOO! GENERALIZATIONS!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-09 04:40:00
Middle East and North Africa	Hump day already?	Well, I am usually bored around this time. But, we (the brothers and I) have been looking at some of the new commercials on YouTube. We have seen some of them on the television, but we like watching them over and over. They just started showing them as far as I know. If anybody is familiar with the Melody guy that used to dress up in the yellow spandex, they made a new commercial with him in it too. Check it out:	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-08 01:30:00