Well well well... it looks like Middle Eastern Chick let school and Dubai get the best of her and failed to update her blog for one whole year! How about we let this one slide and call it quits? After all, she has been working on a brand new project that will keep you all busy reading for a while! Middle Eastern Chick is currently compiling her best stories for all you budding readers to enjoy. These stories should be out in a couple of months, so let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that she can maintain a schedule for once in her life.
Other than her shameful disregard for her readers, Middle Eastern Chick has spent most of her time people watching this summer. No, no hot European boys this year (this must be punishment for not writing...). She did, however, manage to learn a thing or two about people in her own city of residence. For example, when one approaches the age of 18 (like MEChick), one sees no age boundaries to who one finds attractive. Does that happen to you too? No...? Okay... just MEChick then...
Well, what she means to say is that her hormones have been raging like crazy and she's gone as far as to look at twenty-four year olds as potential "candidates", if you know what she means? *wink wink* Actually, no you don't know what she means. People jump to conclusions much too quickly around here (that's the second thing she learned, but she'll come to that later) so let's make it clear that she was hinting at dating and nothing more.
About people jumping to conclusions... she CANNOT have been the only person to notice this! People out here really do jump to conclusions over the smallest issues! The best popular example that she can think of is the famous Facbook group named so aptly:
"Bro she liked your picture. Wallah she wants you!"
This jumping to conclusions business is definitely not restricted to the love and lust department.
"She/He hasn't been home for an hour! Where is my baby?! WALLAH SHE/HE MUST BE DYING ON THE ROAD! OR GETTING RAPED!" All teenagers and young adults can relate to this perfectly.
"She has the same purse as I do. WALLAH SHE'S TRYING TO RUIN ME!"
"He goes to the same cafe as I go to. WALLAH HE WANTS ME TO GET HIM A JOB!"
"They both didn't turn up for today's dinner-out? WALLAH THEY'RE DOING THE HANKY PANKY!"
"She didn't sit next to her husband? WALLAH THEY MUST BE HAVING A FIGHT!"
"He looked at me when I passed him? WALLAH HE WANTS ME!"
Alright, Middle Eastern Chick will admit that the last one was definitely her. Damn all this jumping-to-conclusions business! It's harshin' her mellow.
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Aug 15, 2012
Jun 10, 2011
The Direction Convention. Right. No left. No wait... Right!
My mother made a very interesting observation a few days ago. She was asking her Filipina nurse for directions to the metro station when she realised that the ways in which people give directions are so specific to their nationalities. Now that I think about it, she is absolutely right!
The Middle East has an amalgamation of nationalities... Arab (not to mention all the different types of Arabs!), Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, South African, Nepalese, Chinese, Russian, Romanian, British, American, Malaysian... you name it! Naturally, living in such a diverse environment has changed the way people think around here. I realised only recently that, having lived here for most of my life, I'm used to being part of a society where it's perfectly normal to see an a room full of people from completely different backgrounds, to the point where being a room with people of only one nationality feels a bit strange. At the same time, I've realised that while I am accustomed to being part of such a varied society, there are many others who find it implausible that such different people can work, laugh, eat, joke and even just LIVE together in one place!
Now that I know exactly how different my environment is, I have learned to appreciate the differences between those around me. Not too long back, I never really focused on the differences between people of different nationalities living around me... however, now that I'm alert, many beautiful things have begun to shine from within those very people! It's like living in a place where all the hilarious quirks of people of different nationalities are squished together into one big comedic reality show!
Now, back to my mother's story... Here are our observations on the hilarious ways in which people of different nationalities give directions in the Middle East:
Arabs:
Large gesticulations along with loud, friendly and enthusiastic responses. I mostly hear this: "Seeda seeda seeda! Yasar! Seeeeeda!! Seeeeeeda! Yameen! BAS! BI'DHABT!!" (Translation: "Straight straight straight! Left! Strrraaaaaight! Strrraaaaaaaight! STOP! EXACTLY!")
I know this, because I've been there and I sometimes give directions exactly like this. Other times, I give directions like an Indian (because I've got a lot of Indian blood in me).
Indians:
Intense concentration on the question asked, and a sudden leap into directions using all the possible Banks, Sales and Promos along the way as landmarks. It goes something like this: "Hmm... Let me see. Oh! OKAY! Go straight and you'll see the 1/2 Dirham store on your right! Keep going straight until you see the Mashreq Bank and go left from there! Then, you'll see the big pink store with a huge "50% OFF" sign in the window! From there, go right and that's it! You're there!"
Have I given directions like these? Guilty. Have I followed directions like these and shopped till I dropped along the way? Happened so many times that I've lost count.
Filipinos:
They are the most jovial people out here. Always laughing, smiling, joking and eating. That's probably why all their directions involve food joints and restaurants. "Okay... Just walk until you see the Tandoori Chicken Palace and cross the road from there. Then, walk straight until you reach the Asian Wok. From there, go left. You'll see a big mall straight ahead and see the Delhi Darbar. Just walk a little further and you'll see the Meat House. It's right next to the Meat House."
I love Filipinos, but I try my best not to ask them for directions. They always leave me feeling so damn hungry!
Chinese:
It's all about the technology. 'Nuff said. "Go to the Plug Ins Store and drive until you see Ace Hardware. From there, just go left until you see the Apple Store. That's it."
American:
I can never understand their directions... Possibly because in the USA, it's really easy to give directions using street names and coordinates since they have the grid system. Out here, you try using street names and people will look at you like you just popped in from Mars. It's something like this:
Taxi driver: "Where to, sir?"
American passenger: "Building number 11, street number 13B, Al Muwaihat road, Abu Dhabi"
What the Taxi driver heard: "BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH - BLAH BLAH BLAH - BLAH - Abu Dhabi"
Yeah... we don't do street names out here unless they're the highway names. If you're American and planning to visit the Middle East, keep your eyes peeled on the road for as many large landmarks as possible... because that's how you'll be giving directions. So, the American Passenger should have said something like this:
"Abu Dhabi, near the Reef Mall, opposite the Radisson." Easy.
Living in the Middle East has made me pick up on all these little traits (except for the American road naming... that just doesn't go down with people out here) without even realising it! It's quite possibly the best thing in the world to realise that you live in a diverse community and you've got a little bit of every culture in you. I feel like a real child of the world ;)
The Middle East has an amalgamation of nationalities... Arab (not to mention all the different types of Arabs!), Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, South African, Nepalese, Chinese, Russian, Romanian, British, American, Malaysian... you name it! Naturally, living in such a diverse environment has changed the way people think around here. I realised only recently that, having lived here for most of my life, I'm used to being part of a society where it's perfectly normal to see an a room full of people from completely different backgrounds, to the point where being a room with people of only one nationality feels a bit strange. At the same time, I've realised that while I am accustomed to being part of such a varied society, there are many others who find it implausible that such different people can work, laugh, eat, joke and even just LIVE together in one place!
Now that I know exactly how different my environment is, I have learned to appreciate the differences between those around me. Not too long back, I never really focused on the differences between people of different nationalities living around me... however, now that I'm alert, many beautiful things have begun to shine from within those very people! It's like living in a place where all the hilarious quirks of people of different nationalities are squished together into one big comedic reality show!
Now, back to my mother's story... Here are our observations on the hilarious ways in which people of different nationalities give directions in the Middle East:
Arabs:
Large gesticulations along with loud, friendly and enthusiastic responses. I mostly hear this: "Seeda seeda seeda! Yasar! Seeeeeda!! Seeeeeeda! Yameen! BAS! BI'DHABT!!" (Translation: "Straight straight straight! Left! Strrraaaaaight! Strrraaaaaaaight! STOP! EXACTLY!")
I know this, because I've been there and I sometimes give directions exactly like this. Other times, I give directions like an Indian (because I've got a lot of Indian blood in me).
Indians:
Intense concentration on the question asked, and a sudden leap into directions using all the possible Banks, Sales and Promos along the way as landmarks. It goes something like this: "Hmm... Let me see. Oh! OKAY! Go straight and you'll see the 1/2 Dirham store on your right! Keep going straight until you see the Mashreq Bank and go left from there! Then, you'll see the big pink store with a huge "50% OFF" sign in the window! From there, go right and that's it! You're there!"
Have I given directions like these? Guilty. Have I followed directions like these and shopped till I dropped along the way? Happened so many times that I've lost count.
Filipinos:
They are the most jovial people out here. Always laughing, smiling, joking and eating. That's probably why all their directions involve food joints and restaurants. "Okay... Just walk until you see the Tandoori Chicken Palace and cross the road from there. Then, walk straight until you reach the Asian Wok. From there, go left. You'll see a big mall straight ahead and see the Delhi Darbar. Just walk a little further and you'll see the Meat House. It's right next to the Meat House."
I love Filipinos, but I try my best not to ask them for directions. They always leave me feeling so damn hungry!
Chinese:
It's all about the technology. 'Nuff said. "Go to the Plug Ins Store and drive until you see Ace Hardware. From there, just go left until you see the Apple Store. That's it."
American:
I can never understand their directions... Possibly because in the USA, it's really easy to give directions using street names and coordinates since they have the grid system. Out here, you try using street names and people will look at you like you just popped in from Mars. It's something like this:
Taxi driver: "Where to, sir?"
American passenger: "Building number 11, street number 13B, Al Muwaihat road, Abu Dhabi"
What the Taxi driver heard: "BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH - BLAH BLAH BLAH - BLAH - Abu Dhabi"
Yeah... we don't do street names out here unless they're the highway names. If you're American and planning to visit the Middle East, keep your eyes peeled on the road for as many large landmarks as possible... because that's how you'll be giving directions. So, the American Passenger should have said something like this:
"Abu Dhabi, near the Reef Mall, opposite the Radisson." Easy.
Living in the Middle East has made me pick up on all these little traits (except for the American road naming... that just doesn't go down with people out here) without even realising it! It's quite possibly the best thing in the world to realise that you live in a diverse community and you've got a little bit of every culture in you. I feel like a real child of the world ;)
May 7, 2011
Arabenglish
It's a fairly common thing nowadays to be in an Arab country and still not hear a word of Arabic in some places. I, as a teenager, can confirm that most of the time, even those teens who DO speak Arabic hardly ever converse in Arabic. I do however think that this probably applies more in the UAE than in many other Arab countries merely because of the fact that the backgrounds of people out here are so diverse.
I go to a school in this country and in that tiny community itself there are probably over 100 nationalities. Last year, a teacher conducted a survey to see how many languages were spoken in grade 10. In GRADE 10 ALONE, she found that over 40 languages were spoken! So, naturally, it comes as no surprise that the primary language for communication out here among the youth is English.
However, despite the prevalence of English, there have been a few tweaks that the Arab teens of today have made in order to keep their roots (as much as they can, that is...)
One such genius tweak is the development of what I like to call Arabenglish. It's basically typing in Arabic using Roman script and Arabic numbers. If you're friends with an Arab person (especially a tech-savvy one), then you'll have probably already come across Arabenglish.
Here's an example:
Salam 3laikum. Keef 7alkum? Fahmeen shay2?
I just greeted you and asked you how you were and whether you could understand what I was writing. The numbers in the writing represent Arabic phonetics that can't be written in Roman script. The number 3 represents the throaty sound that is made ("aa") while squeezing muscles around your vocal chord (I have no idea if there are muscles there... this is all pseudo science).
The number 7 is for the "h" sound made from the throat, as if you're Harry trying to speak Parseltongue. Try it!
So, you see, we Arab kids might be "deviating from our culture" (as my grandmother and mother like to point out whenever I speak to my Iraqi best friend in English, despite the fact that we both speak Arabic), but we still use creative ways to keep it alive ;)
Apr 2, 2011
He said, she said. Maybe we'll leave it at the former.
It’s a generally understood concept that the GUY always makes the move first and asks the girl out. Now that times are changing, we’re getting a lot of the GIRLS making the moves first… and why not, I say?
Of course, a lot of people don’t see eye to eye on the matter. For example, I once asked a guy out (not for a date) and I think it went pretty well. I don’t regret doing it at all! It wasn’t that hard either… I was freaking out before hand, but somehow, when I actually approached him, I kind of calmed down and managed to pull it off without having a break down, flipping out or releasing bursts of manic laughter in between words and scaring him away with my tennis-ball eyes that felt like they were about to pop out and smack him in the face. It went pretty well.
Now, a lot of girls where I live won’t be able to understand my next step… but I did it anyways. I told my mother. I told her that I asked the guy out. It was shortly after the actual asking out part when I was in the car with my mom and I just… told her. I can just imagine what you’d think my fellow Middle Eastern girls would say:
- “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! She KNOWS that you DATE?!”
(Let me explain the above quote. Most of the girls I know… well, actually, ALL of the girls I know date and have boyfriends without their parents knowing. Well, this is for obvious reasons: It’s against our culture and, of course, all parents get protective. I don’t date either… I just happened to go out with someone this one time and my mother seemed to be cool with it. The question of having a boyfriend still has the same answer for me: “No.” My smarter friends don’t bother asking. They just go with it ;)
- “Did she threaten to marry you off?”
- “Did you get disowned or just thrown out? I got lucky by getting only the latter.”
(Note: the above quotes are just exaggerations. Parents are not murderous or ruthless.)
However, not all mothers are like that! If they are, then they’re like that for a reason. Anyways, I won’t get into that. Basically, my mother is more like a friend. I tell her pretty much everything. Although, the response I got when I told her I asked a guy out was not “Yeah! Atta girl!” or “There’s my brave modern girl!” or even “What?! You went out with a guy?! You’re grounded!” No, it was:
“What?! You asked him out?! You’re supposed to be a cultured girl! He should ask you out!”
She wasn’t even mad about the fact that I went out with a guy (although it wasn't even a date)! She was just mad about the fact that I happened to make the first move. You gotta love my mom. I love being Asian. It’s exciting!
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