Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
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
Middle East and North Africa	Hump day already?	Well, I am here as always! Happy Wednesday (or Hump day) Hope everyone is well.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-08 01:10:00
Middle East and North Africa	Emailing the Embassy	Nuisance? How can you be a nuisance when they don't even bother to reply for weeks at a time? Don't feel bad doodle. They are used to getting multiple emails. Hope you hear from them soon!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-09 07:58:00
Middle East and North Africa	Emailing the Embassy	Hey, Yesterday and today I tried to email the US Embassy in Cairo... consularcairoIV@state.gov and I keep getting my mail msgs sent back to me saying Delivery Status Failed !!! I never had that before and this is 2 days now. Any one else have this problem sending an email to Cairo yesterday or today??? Im very curious now! I called the embassy and the girl told me that she didn't have an answer to whether the email was working or not. Also, she didn't have another email for the consular. She said to try emailing from a different email address or a different location. Then she told me to call American Services to ask if they had any additional help for this problem. The lady who answered the phone sent me a test mail from the consular's address and I received it. **see below** Just keep trying to contact them. Make sure the email address is typed correctly and try to use another email account or computer. Good luck everyone.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-09 07:34:00
Middle East and North Africa	'100 Days In America'	In celebration of my husband being here in America with me for 100 days, we went to see the play 'Wicked' yesterday. It was absolutely wicked. It involved what many good books, good plays, or good films are about. The play acts included betrayal, adultery, manipulation, and lies. On a good note, it included in the acts: love, loyalty, kindness, forgiveness, acceptance, and decency. He enjoyed his surprise! We had a great evening. I do not know how today could be better for our celebration, but this evening we are going to Benihanas. This is also a surprise. Tomorrow a small party (it will actually be 100 days Saturday) with cake and ice cream. I pray to God that I will be able to post about my husbands '1000 Days In America-Our Life Together' in 30 months. On that note, good luck to everyone going through the visa process (the easy part) and to everyone that is already building a life with your MENA husband in America (the hard part). I'm Out! i adore you - are you a teacher? The 100 day celebration is a great idea. The only other time I have seen the 100 day celebration was when I was working for a company that sold supplies to teachers! You are so sweet.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-04 18:17:00
Middle East and North Africa	'100 Days In America'	988 days, Sara. I'll let you in on my secret: http://www.timeandda...e/duration.html Thanks for that link Jenn! I have been in Egypt 276 days!! It has been 382 days since I saw my family in person!!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-04 18:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cultural Shock	I am curious as to the different ways that your SO handled the culture shock when they first got here. Mine is doing pretty good now, but he was so depressed and homesick at first. He seriously was ready for us to pack up and move there, but I refused. He hated the food so much, that was a big thing too. Problems don't end when they get here, they just change. But one thing I know for a fact is that I am hanging on to him because he is a keeper! Well, he (or we, rather) haven't made it to the US yet. But, I have definitely experienced culture shock, homesickness, or whatever you want to call it. I get frustrated that I can't just get up and go when I want to (which is similar to the experiences some have posted about their husbands in USA). It's also restricting to feel like there is only one person in the country that you can talk to or that understands you. Sometimes, that person is not on your good side, so then you feel like you have nobody. (or at least I have felt that way) My frustrations didn't start until after we had been here for several months. The immigration process is so slow and drawn out. I felt anxious to get back to work and to see my family again (but somehow found myself missing cheesecake, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate icing more than anything else ) You are right in saying that the problems don't end when you change countries. You just get new types of problems. I know that what lies ahead of us will be tough to deal with, but I am fortunate enough to have had this transition period with my husband. I hope it will benefit both of us. In USA, we will have our roles reversed almost completely (except he speaks much more English than I do Arabic) and we will at least have logged some experience in eachother's situation.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-09 22:09:00
Middle East and North Africa	IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! TGIF!!!!	Gvl/Spartanburg area....bounced around all of the towns and cities in between. Cowpens, Mayo, Chesnee, Boiling Springs, Moore, Duncan, Greer.....you name it, I inhabited it. Just thought those names sound weird, huh? I lived in Cowpens for 11 years. They have an annual MIGHTY MOO FESTIVAL!! teehee Is that too much information? Paying attention there, stalkers????? Congratulations on your big bonus Jackie!! Enjoy your hard earned payoff. Wow, you've covered most of the 293 zip codes and some of 296. I've lived in Iva (know where that is?), Spartanburg, Anderson, Greenville, parents lived up the road from Cowpens in Gaffney for a while. Now I'm finally away from I-85 and down in Columbia. It's dang hot... Well, I could go on forever......Inman, Lyman-Wellford, Rock Hill, I know most of those places by heart! I haven't been to Iva, but I have heard of it. I am familiar with G-town also. heehhee My mom told me about the heat wave and I feel bad. The temps are almost as bad as Egypt! I get no sympathy when I tell her I'm living in the desert.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-10 12:31:00
Middle East and North Africa	IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! TGIF!!!!	Maybe. But, the Gamecocks were my dad's favorite college team. He absolutely loved them! So, we had pictures and souvenirs with ####### references all around. Plus, I went to Univ of SC, so ...........Go cocks, again!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-10 11:44:00
Middle East and North Africa	IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! TGIF!!!!	Wow, another SC'er! For the longest time, I thought I was the only one, but it seems like a few of us have popped up lately. Yaaaaaaay! GO COCKS!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-10 10:32:00
Middle East and North Africa	IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! TGIF!!!!	Gvl/Spartanburg area....bounced around all of the towns and cities in between. Cowpens, Mayo, Chesnee, Boiling Springs, Moore, Duncan, Greer.....you name it, I inhabited it. Just thought those names sound weird, huh? I lived in Cowpens for 11 years. They have an annual MIGHTY MOO FESTIVAL!! teehee Is that too much information? Paying attention there, stalkers????? Congratulations on your big bonus Jackie!! Enjoy your hard earned payoff.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-10 08:43:00
Middle East and North Africa	IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! TGIF!!!!	yay Friday!!!! work...today's a real important day for us as the company I have to work for has to do a demo for a panel of people, and we were all there till 8:30 last night trying to iron it out and right now we're praying it doesn't hit the snags we hit last night. wee! Just found out last night my fiance's going to the beach (he said near Alexandria but not exactly) for a couple days next week, lucky duck. I want to go to the beach! Hey sparrow, is he going for the holiday? We are supposed to go to the North Coast and Alexandria in about 10 days or so for the Eid. Wow. Your job sounds exciting. Hope everything is a success.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-10 07:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! TGIF!!!!	YES, finally FRIDAY!!! Allousa, is Carowinds an amusement park? I did my cleaning last night, we having family over for a BBQ and swimming. I think the rain has come to its end!! ( the last 3 days felt like 110 deg and heavy rain off and on) The yard clean up was horrible-it looked like we were hit by a tornado! Have a great Friday everybody! Yeah. Carowinds is an amusement park on the border of North and South Carolina - hence the CARO in CAROwinds. Half of the park is on the NC side, and half is on the SC side. I grew up in SC, and it was a yearly ritual. We would drive north once to Carowinds, and drive south once to Six Flags in GA. That's too bad that you had such a mess to clean up because of the weather. That is awful. I remember once, we had a very severe ice and hail storm and it destroyed a lot of things in our area. Tree limbs were falling everywhere, cars were dented and destroyed, it was a big mess. Happy Friday guys and girls!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-10 07:19:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!!	Wow, Sarah. That reminds me of that movie Volcano. That does sound like a weird sight.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-11 16:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!!	It's a sleepy Saturday around here. I am freezing in the A/C and have to snuggle up with a blanket. Doodle - I love The Fairly Odd Parents! I have watched it in 3 different languages. (I have also watched Finding Nemo, A Shark Tale, Shrek, JoJo's Circus, and Crazytown in 3 languages) Jackie - I hope it was a piercing and not a tattoo, but it's totally up to you! Thanks for the cute pics. Hope everyone has a great day!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-11 11:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	Has anyone done this before?	We had the same conversation exactly! And it wasn't because of the distance. I was here with him. It was because I was not freaking out and emailing the embassy every day. I would say that the reason for his urgency was because every day his family (here and in America) and friends were asking him when he was gonna get the visa. It's kind of like when a woman is pregnant and keeps getting the "when are you gonna have that baby?" question. It can grate on their nerves. Plus, if he is seeing other people around him that get their visas quickly, he can get nervous. Just try and be patient. Let him know that you can only move one small step at a time.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-11 20:13:00
Middle East and North Africa	Long distance relationship jealousy	Not odd at all. I have survived a very hurtful divorce where my husband left me for another woman. I spent a good year full of jealousy and sorry pining over the man. I finally got strong enough and with two kids under the age of 2 pulled myself up by the bootstraps and built my life over. So, call it odd if you will but I just don't see the point in the energy of being jealous. If he's seriously into someone else, why bother fighting it, since neither of you will be happy in the end. I don't need a man to fulfill my life. Sure he enhances it but I won't die if he leaves, so why burn up energy on worrying if he's gonna? I think the same way. I had almost the same experience (except for the kids part). My husband used to see this as me not caring about him. Some people think that if you are not jealous, it means that you don't care. But that's not true in my case. I care. But, I learned that if he wants to be with someone else, he's already left the relationship (in his mind, at the very least) and that means I will just be wasting my time. In the past, I didn't get jealous until I had a reason to feel that way. And, now, even if I have a reason to be jealous, I won't let it consume me. I don't like being lied to. But, I am not going to spend another 3 1/2 years (like last time) trying to figure out if I am the only one in his life. It's too draining and it makes you miserable.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-08 06:03:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sleepy Sunday	I think we are not gonna switch to the wireless because when we leave we will take the laptop and the other computer doesn't need the wireless. Plus, it costs about 5 times as much as the regular DSL. I think Krispy Kreme must be a southern preference or something. Side note: The man who owned the Krispy Kreme in my town was (and maybe still is) a state rep of SC. And, he would send out congratulatory letters to all of the Dean's List recipients at my university. You could bring the letter into Krispy Kreme and get a free doughnut and coffee. I would do that every semester!! WOOOHOOO!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-12 18:45:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sleepy Sunday	Morning girlie! I couldn't agree with you more about Krispy Kreme. I'm pretty sure that they dip those in pure CRACK!!!!! YUM!!!!!! Have you guys tried putting the wireless modem up in a high place. When I was living with some family members, I had a similar problem with it not connecting and once we put up in a higher spot, it worked for the most part. Connection was slow. Good luck! Welcome back allousa. I am glad you had a good time! I think he's just trying to see if he can get it to work from the signal that is coming from his cousins' flats. They are surrounding us on almost all sides and he was trying to avoid getting the wireless for this flat (save money, i guess ) but we may have to do that in the end. We're not sure yet.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-12 12:52:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sleepy Sunday	Happy Sunday everyone. I think I have only eaten at Dunkin Donuts once in my life. But, Krispy Kreme, on the other hand, is close to my heart. I think the small towns I used to live in had a Dunkin once, but it closed down or moved. sara- I miss brewed coffee!!! I used to brew a half pot of colombian coffee (with a little cinnamon sprinkled in with the filter) every morning. We have Turkish coffee here, and it's nice, but not the same as brewed coffee. Doodle, have fun cleaning floors. We got a new laptop yesterday and we are trying to connect to the wireless internet that is here on our street. The people across the hall have it, the people behind us have it, the people one floor up from us have it, but guess what......................................it won't connect in this apartment!!!!!!!!!!!! What the hay?!? But, I am excited that we got the computer because we're gonna take it back to USA and that is one less thing we have to worry about buying when we get there. And, it's one of the first things we would need there so that we can talk to the fam! Mabrook for us!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-12 10:43:00
Middle East and North Africa	Free Hug !!!	Cute movie! Thanks Sand.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-12 23:30:00
Middle East and North Africa	Arabic Food !!!	I downloaded the 2nd part Sand, and I am downloading the 1st part now. I thought it was very informative and I liked the recipes, the instructions, and the pictures. That was very sweet of you. Do you have any other books or cds that you have uploaded? I am always curious about what other people read or use. Thanks.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-12 20:27:00
Middle East and North Africa	religion questions	I can't think of really anything a Christian wouldn't say that a Muslim would. Both say "inshallah", "alhamdulilah", "salaam alaikum". The difference is when a Muslim answers a Muslim after salaam alaikum it may include wa rahmantullah wa barakatuhu. A Muslim would never include this last part when responding to a Christian. Other than that I'll have to ask my husband. He has quite a few Christian friends and neighbors back home plus he attended Catholic school as a child. moody - did your husband go to Catholic school in Egypt? sparrow- your fiance's personal experiences might be the best ones for you to learn from (IMO) Moody is basically right. The everyday phrases for Copts in Egypt are the same: God willing, Thanks be to God, Peace upon you (*see below). This is because they share a language. The differences come when using words that refer to tenets or beliefs pertaining to each faith. Some differences I have noticed between the two religions is that Christians don't say any phrases that have to do with the prophet or don't say PBUH (peace be upon him). When Muslims say things like that or other phrases, most Christians just answer with "Taieb" or "Mashy". On the flip side, Copts use phrases among theirselves that they can or will not use with others. Usually it is anything to do with Jesus or the cross. In my observations (which are limited to Egypt only and to my Christian family), the usual greeting from a Christian is just "salaam" , but if someone says "salaam alikoum" they will answer "we alikoum salaam". Even though the English translation doesn't mean anything other than peace to you or peace upon you, it is considered a Muslim greeting (in this family, at least). Caladan - peace to you or peace be upon you can be used in Christian services (in America or in other Arabic speaking countries) , but not in Coptic services - the closest thing they have to that is "Go with the peace of God" said at the end of services. Again, it's not the literal translation that makes it stand out, (wishing peace is very common in many languages and faiths) it is the recognized association with Islam. That's about as far as I could go with this topic. This forum is public and I am living in Egypt! But, it is interesting, and my advice is for sparrow to ask her fiancee everything she is curious about. Nik	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-03 20:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	NO PLACE TO STAY YET???	Oops!!! I didn't even look to see if you were married since your screenname has "mrs" in it. My bad!!! I always thought her name was Amr's snow angel. But I could be wrong.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-13 23:06:00
Middle East and North Africa	Warm Fuzzies	You always have warm fuzzies!!! The brand name perfumes are very cheap here in Egypt. Husband bought me some Chanel Chance (which is my favorite) and some Lacoste Pink. They only cost 60LE (about $10) for the full-sized bottles. I will definitely be taking some extra bottles with us to USA. Edited by monnik, 10 August 2007 - 08:58 AM.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-10 08:54:00
Middle East and North Africa	Warm Fuzzies	How many of our men ARE warm and fuzzy? Or just fuzzy? Husband's eyebrows were fuzzy in the middle until I tackled him with the tweezers in hand. Now, it's a ritual, even though he still hates it. He knows it looks better now than it did before. Some sweet things he has said or done for me? HMMMMM, once after I got my wisdom teeth pulled, he went to an engagement party for a friend of his, and he was so sad that I didn't feel like going. When he came back, he told me that the party was so beautiful and the food smelled great, but he didn't eat anything cause the room with the food was dark. I was like, Dark? Was the power out in that room, or what? And, he says, No, it was dark because the moon wasn't there with me. (I am the moon....... CHEESE!!!!!!!!!!) hehehe That was cute, and it was when I realized being called the moon was a compliment in Arabic. Usually I associate the moon with Moon-pie , moon-face, or some other big round insult. Anywho==========He has sent postcards to my nieces, gifts for my mom, my sister, my best friend, my step-brother, and step-dad. He did all of that without telling me, so it was a big surprise when I got it from DHL. He also got me a Bible in Arabic and English (just the New Testament, but I loved it). And he stood up for me with one of his friends. He told him off and stopped talking to him completely cause he asked him some stupid personal question about me, and even though they had been friends for a long time, he won't talk to him anymore. Which I thought was honorable!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-01 00:10:00
Middle East and North Africa	Going to the Dentist	Exactly! I do think that some things are overpriced in USA, but if you pay less, you can't blame the person who did your work. IMO Overall, I am happy, but I will finish my dental work in the states, thankyouverymuch.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-14 09:29:00
Middle East and North Africa	Going to the Dentist	I was trying to reply in this thread earlier today but I lost my connection. I have had all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted here in Egypt (1 had to be cut out because he broke it in half). Also, I have had a bridge, cleanings, and my braces removed. I will just say that the facilities here are not as good as my dentist's back home. I felt really nervous about the equipment that looked like it was from the 70's. But, I really didn't have a choice. The dental work was very cheap. I think overall it was 500LE (which is less than $100). But, the quality of work is not what I was used to. My husband and his family assured me that the dentist was one of the best around. I would really hate to see the worst, you know. I think I have a pic of my husband getting his teeth cleaned. You might be able to see the old timey arm that the drill is on. There are no gloves....no bibs.....no white shiny sparkling new machinery....... I think that for an extraction or a cleaning, this country is OK, but for any type of cosmetic dental work, the better the technology the better your results. This is not a picture of a real dentist's office, it is just a picture I found that reminded me of the dental equipment here. Scary, huh? hehehee	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-14 09:19:00
Middle East and North Africa	Did everybody in MENA forget to wake up today?	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? We had that movie for about a minute. I got disinterested about 20 minutes into it. We never could finish it, so we scrapped it.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-14 08:53:00
Middle East and North Africa	Did everybody in MENA forget to wake up today?	Hey everybody! I am awake....just been out today running errands. We finally got our co-sponsor's information mailed off and now we are just gonna wait. I don't know if they will make us go to another interview or not. I was here yesterday, too. But, I was doing some catch up reading because there was a lot of action going on. We are going to Alexandria tonight. 3 days in Alex , then 3 days in the North Coast. I might check in on you guys from time to time. I haven't even packed. We just found out about 30 minutes ago. Last minute vacation! Yipee!!!!!! (Oh, and Doodle, we are driving to Alex in our Buick Century. Our car is older than most of the family.)	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-14 08:43:00
Middle East and North Africa	Happy Birthday Monnik!	Awwww thanks everybody! I love the cakes!!! Mina's birthday was the 15th. He's not 89, though. I have a link to some pics. (Just a few, cause I have a lot of them.) http://imageevent.co...sfromalexandria If you would like to see them, PM me and I will give you the password. Happy Birthday to my husband!! YAY!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-16 23:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	Has anyone called Cairo consulate lately?	They won't give you any information about your case over the phone. They can't answer your visa questions over the phone. I called about a week and a half ago when Tamara was having problems sending the consular an email. I asked for an alternate email or phone number that I could call. She said they only have one email for visa inquiries. I said, Well what if that email is not working? What am I supposed to do? She couldn't tell me. They don't have a backup plan if the email goes down. The phone number is for a call center. The only response that I got was from American Services (which I think is the number that Doodle posted), and even she couldn't answer my questions. She just told me that there was no problem with the consular's mail and she sent me a test mail from her computer and told me to reply to it. You are not gonna get a specific answer about your case. And if you do, it will be one that brings you false hope. I know in these situations you need every small hope that you can find. But, when I send an email, I prepare myself by realizing in advance that they will not answer my question the way it needs to be answered. Good luck getting the bots to answer any questions.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-15 10:58:00
Middle East and North Africa	Hey Everyone!	Have a happy birthday Prena!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-19 07:23:00
Middle East and North Africa	New VJ baby!	QUOTE (jessNgeorges @ Aug 19 2007, 04:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> posted congrats in OT but it never hurts to double up the congrats!!!!! I will second that , Jess! Congrats again!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-19 08:31:00
Middle East and North Africa	Got an email from Rome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	Yayyyyy allousa!!!!!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-06 22:01:00
Middle East and North Africa	Arabic ABC's	Just curious if anybody has been successful in downloading the files and if there are any questions or other things I can help with. I hope somebody finds it useful. It really has helped me even though I am lazy about practicing. Maybe somebody could go through the book with me. Anybody need a study buddy? I would be willing to help and practice with someone.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-21 11:41:00
Middle East and North Africa	Arabic ABC's	Here is the link for the Arabic book and lessons for practice.(the book doesn't go with the lessons , there are different lessons inside the book) Anybody can download it who wants it. I hope you guys can use it, and if you have any problems or questions, let me know. http://www.speedysha.../538607810.html	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-20 07:38:00
Middle East and North Africa	Arabic ABC's	Yassmine, I have some files and study sheets on the Arabic alphabet that I could give you. I also have a book on how to teach yourself Arabic and it goes through everything very thoroughly (I think). Unfortunately I don't have any audio files as I get help with pronunciation from my husband and his family. ( The Egyptian accent is different from what is described in the book. ) Anyway, I will post it for you when I get back from vacation. I don't have those files on this computer. All of the files are in PDF format and do not take up very much memory. I will try and post them as soon as I get back and have a steady internet connection.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-15 11:15:00
Middle East and North Africa	TuuTuesdayy	Mabrouk on the new TV!!! ETA: Make that televisions ( plural ) ! Edited by monnik, 21 August 2007 - 05:55 PM.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-21 17:54:00
Middle East and North Africa	TuuTuesdayy	QUOTE (allousa @ Aug 21 2007, 07:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sereia - I am SOOOO glad that things are working out for you guys! We'll keep our fingers crossed that Abdou gets the job!!!!! MAJOR MOJO!!!! Every time I see that word "mojo", I think about Mojo Jojo from the Powerpuff Girls. I am just surfing Youtube and eating some cantaloupe. Exciting, huh? There are a couple of people here, but not many people are posting. Are Tuesdays boring still? Oh - and that clip was funny. I downloaded it to my collection!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-21 14:48:00