Arab-Americans

[Ahmed Jo]

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USA > Canada ( aka frozen tundra ). Only the French speaking part is worthy of a visit I imagine but same shitty weather.

If you want to settle "permanently" abroad I would suggest you to settle somewhere in Western Europe rather than Canada if you have excluded the US. Much closer to Jordan as well. You would have to learn a third language if you don't want to settle on the British Isles.

Or better just stay in the US. Texas can't be that bad.

I have very fond memories of my time as a young student in California. This makes me sound very old (I am not) but I could easily settle down in the US permanently sometime in the future.

Haha, one man's shitty weather is another man's dream. I plan on immigrating to Montreal specifically, which is in the French speaking part but as a city the main language is English. I tried learning French and it really just isn't my thing. It's impossible lol!

I've actually strongly considering going to the UK and living there but in my mind, Canada always comes out on top in quality of life while having the general atmosphere of mix between UK and U.S. (I hope that made sense lol)

Oh and Texas isn't bad at all. Practically the same weather as California but no draught and much less expensive.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Haha, one man's shitty weather is another man's dream. I plan on immigrating to Montreal specifically, which is in the French speaking part but as a city the main language is English. I tried learning French and it really just isn't my thing. It's impossible lol!

I've actually strongly considering going to the UK and living there but in my mind, Canada always comes out on top in quality of life while having the general atmosphere of mix between UK and U.S. (I hope that made sense lol)

Oh and Texas isn't bad at all. Practically the same weather as California but no draught and much less expensive.

I have long ago concluded, after spending too much time in Copenhagen, that I cannot live without warm and sunny weather. It's not that the weather in Copenhagen (and most of Northwestern Europe for that matter) is particular cold (compared to the winters of Central and Eastern Europe, much of Scandinavia etc.) it's just that the long dark, windy, rainy and unpleasant winters are too horrible for me. Autumn and spring are not exactly a guarantee of good weather either. Of course you can always get used to it (I have) but I definitely prefer warm and sunny weather every day of the week.

I mean just compare the overall lifestyle, scenery, cuisine etc. of the Mediterranean countries with everything North of the Alps and you get my point. Of course if you want to make a career and earn quick money Northern Western Europe + Scandinavia is still the place to be.

Winters + snow are only good for skiing. In Europe you basically "only" have the Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathian Mountains and Scandinavia (excluding Denmark) for that.

Nothing beats Southern France, Granada + Lebanon though. You can be on the beach (Mediterranean) the same day later to ski in the mountains the exact same day. In the summer mind you. You have areas of California where you can do that too. That's a luxury that few can afford.

French is not really that difficult IMO. Not much of a challenge compared to Arabic for instance. I think that the pronouncation and in many cases spelling scare people away. The English language has A LOT of words that originate from French.

I am not very familiar with Canada but I know the UK fairly well.

BTW how true is this?



California is great. It really is. South Florida too.

 

[Ahmed Jo]

I have long ago concluded, after spending too much time in Copenhagen, that I cannot live without warm and sunny weather. It's not that the weather in Copenhagen (and most of Northwestern Europe for that matter) is particular cold (compared to the winters of Central and Eastern Europe, much of Scandinavia etc.) it's just that the long dark, windy, rainy and unpleasant winters are too horrible for me. Autumn and spring are not exactly a guarantee of good weather either. Of course you can always get used to it (I have) but I definitely prefer warm and sunny weather every day of the week.

I mean just compare the overall lifestyle, scenery, cuisine etc. of the Mediterranean countries with everything North of the Alps and you get my point. Of course if you want to make a career and earn quick money Northern Western Europe + Scandinavia is still the place to be.

French is not really that difficult IMO. Not much of a challenge compared to Arabic for instance. I think that the pronouncation and in many cases spelling scare people away. The English language has A LOT of words that originate from French.

I am not very familiar with Canada but I know the UK fairly well.

BTW how true is this?



California is great. It really is. South Florida too.

I actually thought that the sky was bigger in Texas when I first moved here from Colorado, turns out that the absence of mountains has that effect haha.
Yeah, maybe French would be okay if I had to learn it, but if there is no urgency to do so then I don't see myself learning it. And apparently there is a difference between regular French and québécois French which is spoken in Quebec.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

I actually thought that the sky was bigger in Texas when I first moved here from Colorado, turns out that the absence of mountains has that effect haha.
Yeah, maybe French would be okay if I had to learn it, but if there is no urgency to do so then I don't see myself learning it. And apparently there is a difference between regular French and québécois French which is spoken in Quebec.

So I can gather that you are not based in El Paso.

Colorado. Cool. Denver?

Yes, but from what I have gathered it's like the difference between Hijazi and Egyptian Arabic (for instance). Or that of American English and British English. Negligible in other words.

Thinking about Texas has made me hungry.

I am big fan of the gun laws and penal code in Texas too.

We are way off-topic bro.

 

[Ahmed Jo]

So I can gather that you are not based in El Paso.

Colorado. Cool. Denver?

Yes, but from what I have gathered it's like the difference between Hijazi and Egyptian Arabic (for instance). Or that of American English and British English. Negligible in other words.

No, Fort Collins, a college-town. Very nice scenery though.

Oh yeah, I'm in Lubbock, Texas. Forgot to mention that. A college-town again, and great medical health professionals here.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

No, Fort Collins, a college-town. Very nice scenery though.

1 million views!

 

[XenoEnsi-14]

Winters + snow are only good for skiing.

WHAAAAAAT?! Dude you have been deprived of the Wonders of Winterland...

 

[Shamain]

How about a trio consisting of shawarma, kebab and falafel?

May I propose kabsa and mandi as well while we are at it?

Shukran akhi. Would like to try to know diff between kabsa and mandi.

 

[Shamain]

WHAAAAAAT?! Dude you have been deprived of the Wonders of Winterland...

Whyyyy u like ice skating. Oh man once i badly badly slipped on the ice floor and fell down with everything iheld going tossing up in the air. And the support stand iwas using as i am a noob went up in air and landed right next to me luckily missing me as the target

 

[James David]

Religion should not matter here. You have millions upon millions of Christian Arabs, Jewish Arabs (most living in Israel today) and millions upon millions of Atheist Arabs. None of those are any less Arab than the most observing Muslim Arab out there.

My friend @Saif al-Arab, one of my closest friend was a Pakistani descent American. I just wanted to share to all that years ago when we were in the Army, He gave me a copy of the Holy Koran, and before giving it, he told me, "Your God is the God of Musa (Moses) and Ibrahim (Abraham), My God is also the the God of Musa and Ibrahim. You are an educated man I know you will understand." . That gift has become one of my most treasured possessions.
Now going back to topic, AMERICA is built on the back of millions and millions of immigrants with hard work, sweat and unimaginable sacrifices.. That is gentlemen our humble origins and that is what makes us great!!!

Yeah, both Jordan and U.S. Allow double citizenship (so does Canada for that matter). Obtaining U.S. citizenship would take about 15 years AFTER graduating from university (which I'm still in as of now). First I find a full time job and get a work visa, then wait five years and get a permenent residency, then wait five years and get citizenship. To be honest, if I decide to live in North America long term, my preferred choice would be Canada. Sorry America

ohhhh buddy don't let me hate you!!!!

 

[Madali]

There is a limit on how far should you take the significance of your origin: whatever-American.

The US is an immigrant country so when a person make known his/her origin, what is he/she saying about it ?

On the one hand, since the US is an immigrant country, a person's origin implies that the US minimizes that origin. How you make it in the US depends mostly on yourself. That does not mean there are no social barriers in the US that may adversely affect a particular origin, every ethnic group have its own bits of 'horror' stories of those social barriers. But what make the US different from other countries/societies is that those social barriers do not have as much legal support when compares to other countries/societies.

For example, how many countries in the world have automatic birthright citizenship ? Not very many. Citizenship endows a person with legal privileges and responsibilities that make that person the legal equal of fellow citizens. The current interpretation of the 14th Amendment in the US Constitution effectively erases a person's origin as far as the Constitution is concerned. Everything about the person's origin, especially significant items like race/ethnic and religion, are meaningless to the Constitution.

On the other hand, there is a danger in bringing up one's origin in that America could not have got the way she is today unless there are unique contributions from one race/ethnic group that does not exist in other race/ethnic groups. That dangerous implication/insinuation is real and is a constant threat of division in America. Division in the social, legal, and political spheres.

For example, so what if I am an Asian-American ? Is there something 'Asian-ness' about me that does not exist in 'Italian-ness' ? Are Asians more hard working than Italians ? More physically beautiful ? More intelligent ? More of everything ? As an Asian-American, my favorite food is pizza and it is American style pizza at that. I have been to Italy and know Italian style pizza. I just like American style pizza better.

My point is that there should be a limit on how much significance one should place on one's origin. As Americans, we should all focus on what we are as Americans in general and that when a person brings up his/her origin, it should be to emphasize how America frees the person from the many types of shackles that origin may have had upon that person should he/she remains in his/her country/society of origin.

I find it easy to say 'Be proud of where you came from'. Every country and society have things they are not proud of, in history and current status. When you claim association, this is not a buffet table of things you can chose to be proud/ashamed of. The whole table is yours and you have to eat everything. Am not saying you should not be proud of your origin, but I am saying that origin's significance should be in the your current context.

Like it or not, the fact that you are here -- in America -- begs the question: 'If where you came from is so great, then why are you in the US and is a citizen ?'

And like it or not, the fact that you are here -- in America -- and is a citizen means that where you came from is not so great after all.

What make the US a great country in every sense, from geography to social to political, is the fact that we are free to discard our origins if we wanted to. Does not matter if you are proud or ashamed of where you came from. Proud or ashamed is your deeply personal freedom of choice and is as private or as public if you want. Just like your past association, if you want to associate yourself with America, you have to eat the whole table, from institutionalized slavery to emancipation, from a bare continent to a country that went to the Moon, everything good and bad about America is yours.

You do not like this table ? Go back to where you -- or your parents -- came from.

I agree. To me, the west is always the land of hyphens. African-American, Arab-German, or whatever. Anything before the hyphen should disappear.

One of the problems is that some countries accept dual or multiple citizenships, which has never really made any sense to me. Once a person has a citizenship from a country, that's it, he is starting from scratch, and he should become of that country. You can't claim to be A Pakistani with an English Citizenship. Makes no sense. You can be an Englishman with Pakistani parents, fine. Nor can you be an Iranian with a Canadian Passport and an Iranian Passport. What??

So, yeah, I agree, and good post.

 

[gambit]

I agree. To me, the west is always the land of hyphens. African-American, Arab-German, or whatever. Anything before the hyphen should disappear.

One of the problems is that some countries accept dual or multiple citizenships, which has never really made any sense to me. Once a person has a citizenship from a country, that's it, he is starting from scratch, and he should become of that country. You can't claim to be A Pakistani with an English Citizenship. Makes no sense. You can be an Englishman with Pakistani parents, fine. Nor can you be an Iranian with a Canadian Passport and an Iranian Passport. What??

So, yeah, I agree, and good post.

The US have no control over that. When a person is ready to be a US citizen, the oath of citizenship demands renunciation all past allegiances. But if the other country continues to view that person as a fellow citizen, what can the US do ?

It is kinda odd that -- dual citizenship.

If Uncle Sam want to be a d!ckhead about it, we can make it very difficult for anyone to be a US citizen unless he/she can prove beyond any reasonable doubt that his/her parent country have effectively void all privileges associated with citizenship. But I think the moral compulsions for that person is more important than any physical proofs he/she can come up with to prove he/she no longer have any allegiances to the parent country. If you are really serious about your US citizenship, it would be irrelevant what your parent country may say or even do about your relationship to the parent country.

 

[XenoEnsi-14]

Shukran akhi. Would like to try to know diff between kabsa and mandi.

Mandi is a variation of kabsa, the meat is probably cooked differently but the dish is served the same.

Whyyyy u like ice skating. Oh man once i badly badly slipped on the ice floor and fell down with everything iheld going tossing up in the air. And the support stand iwas using as i am a noob went up in air and landed right next to me luckily missing me as the target

Were you using roller skates or blades? Skating is really fun once you get the hang of, almost feels like you're floating or flying over the ground.

He's right, winter is $hit.

What is wrong with you guys? Never understood people who enjoyed hot weather sweating buckets, with BO x 100.

Oh well, more snow for me.

 

[Shamain]

Mandi is a variation of kabsa, the meat is probably cooked differently but the dish is served the same.


Were you using roller skates or blades? Skating is really fun once you get the hang of, almost feels like you're floating or flying over the ground.


What is wrong with you guys? Never understood people who enjoyed hot weather sweating buckets, with BO x 100.

Oh well, more snow for me.

Oh ok so mandi and kabsa are same.

Oh and skating blades. Ice skating it was. Bad experience.

And no idont like winters they are umm painful, very painful.

 

[Ahmed Jo]

My friend @Saif al-Arab, one of my closest friend was a Pakistani descent American. I just wanted to share to all that years ago when we were in the Army, He gave me a copy of the Holy Koran, and before giving it, he told me, "Your God is the God of Musa (Moses) and Ibrahim (Abraham), My God is also the the God of Musa and Ibrahim. You are an educated man I know you will understand." . That gift has become one of my most treasured possessions.
Now going back to topic, AMERICA is built on the back of millions and millions of immigrants with hard work, sweat and unimaginable sacrifices.. That is gentlemen our humble origins and that is what makes us great!!!




ohhhh buddy don't let me hate you!!!!

I have seen the error of my ways. I love America and all of its universities and vast cornfields