★ღTips, tricks and random advice to a Foreign Wife living in the Arabian Gulfღ★

★ღY'all Are Sweetღ★

Thursday, March 22, 2012

ADVICE: "don't be a outsider to the locals while you're walking around in the Gulf"

did y'all ever see that movie called "Don't be a Menace to Society While You're Drinking Your Juice in the Hood"?  i have and it's one of my fave movies so of course i am gonna take the title and try and warp it to make this Post look cool cuz that's how i am

anyways...

if you're an AJNABIYYA (foreign lady) married to a KHALEEJI (Gulfy guy), be prepared to be stared down and given bad looks -- especially if you look like you're from Syria or Morroco.  in fact, i would strongly suggest investing in a niqaab or learn how to tie a shayla to cover the entire face because many MUSLIMS like giving other Muslims the Evil Eye.  errrrr whatever happened to saying "mashaaAllah tabarakAllah" and being happy for what Allah has Decreed??  sub7anAllah...
"ya rayal shoof alajnabiyya hnak"
i'm all for inter-racial marriages and why the heck not -- it isn't like it's 7ARAAM or a bad thing, right?  but actually many ppl (including strangers) take it offence to it and u can just ask any girl who's married to a Arab/Khaleeji guy what it's like going out with their husband or even to a wedding.
there's a million reasons why a man from the Gulf would wanna be with a woman from the West and i can personally speak 3x about this LoL many of my friends are also married to Emaratis/Omanis/Saudis and we have our secret on-line groups to vent & discuss the many issues that we face (good and bad).  it helps to talk about our experiences with women from the same background and it amazes me how many of our stories are the same.  no wonder the Saudi government makes their citizens sign a paper saying "Thou Shall Not Marry a Heathen Foreigner" before coming here :-/

in Oman and Bahrain, walking with my husband was an adventure in itself just because of the expressions & sometimes remarks we got -- so much so me and my BFF would laugh about it (not in public but later when we were in a private area...  shhhhh!!).  but there is one thing that really made me angry:  when a man is watching another woman while his wife is sitting right beside him!!!!!!!!!  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr hdfsuhdfusdhfdusfjhd fusdhdsld ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  okay, ur not supposed to be doing that in the first place but hellloooo consider how your wife will feel after??  if that was my husband i would hit him in the head with my purse and tell him to FRIGG OFF because i will not be dissed like that -- nooo waaaay.  
*taken from Tara Umm Omar's Blog http://taraummomar.blogspot.ca/
i've been called many things while in the Khaleej and here is a list of the following (starting with the bad):
"siflah" -- in Oman buy a loser who was just angry i wouldn't look at him
"alfeen riyals" -- self-explanatory
"b*tch" -- i was dressed from head to toe in black so that shows u can have every inch covered but still be considered a prostitute...  lame
"mashaaAllah" -- i dunno man...  it really bothers me when someone mentions Allah's name when they are trying to do something AGAINST the Shari'a ie. "inshaaAllah i find a girl for tonight"
"????????????" -- ????????????
"ya moza" -- i've been called this both in Canada and the Gulf and i always ask the same thing:  WHY ARE MEN CALLING ME A BANANA??!?!

i always adhere to the "When in Rome" motto but i will always be an OUTSIDER.  that's okay, i'm used to it by now but for First-Timers it might be a bit overwhelming.  i'll never forget in Mutrah Souk, a tourist was standing in the middle of the street frantically asking if anyone spoke English.  i said to my husband in Arabic "uh-oh, i know that look" and asked her if she was okay.  she just grabbed me and said "i'm lost and there is a weird man following me while he's..." and i totally knew what she was gonna say.  ew.  creepy perv men are all over the world ast'3firAllah :-/

so the moral of the story is be aware of your surroundings, when u feel threatened or nervous seek the nearest foreigner to u and don't take halwa from a stranger.

happy travelling!!

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