No mate definitely arabs. What he said was it was possible to use a phrase which meant `with respect` but other than that there was no direct translation. I`m wondering if it was some particular tribe or sect but but he obviously couldn`t stand them. Called them demanders and takers. The example he gave was if someone here was handing out fliers they`d be largely ignored. Over there there`d be a queue down the street for the simple reason that, no matter what it was, if it was free they`d all want one.
When you work over there there's a few phrases you need to learn. Shukran, afwan are just a couple of the sensible ones. The rest are just Arabic terms of abuse when they piss you off!
Quite the extended vocabulary then. He`s a Saudi lad. Married to my mates daughter. They met up when she was teaching English over there. She has to wear the headscarf thingy (hajib is it?) other than that it seems fairly relaxed. He`s become somewhat `westernised` as they say. Enjoys a beer or two and definitely not into praying 5 times a day. Never seen him tuck into a bacon sarnie though.
No offence intended. --------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do you tell a Sunni from a Shiite? A: The Sunnis are the ones with the Shiite blown out of them. Q: Do you know what the secret of an islamic marriage is? A: The man get's to see a striptease every night. Q: How does every Islamic joke start? A: By looking over your shoulder. Q: What's the difference between a Muslim and a vampire? A: At some point the vampire will stop being bloodthirsty. Q: What's the difference between Mike Tyson and Osama Bin Laden? A: Mike Tyson can take a shot to the head. Q: Did you hear about the winner of the Middle Eastern beauty contest? A: Me neither. Q: How do you play Taliban bingo? A: B-52...F-16...B-1... Q: What do you call a drunken Muslim? A: Mohammered. Q: What do you call a Muslim on a toilet? A: Islamic Relief. Q: What is the most popular kids show in the Middle East? A: Dora the Exploder! Q: What do you call a Muslim stripper? A: youseen memuff Q: What do Muslim men do during foreplay? A: Tickle the goat under the chin. Q: What do you call a Muslim woman with an opinion? A: Anything you want she's already been stoned to death. Q: What do you call a Muslim alcoholic? A: Allah Vabeer Q: What do you call a terrorist attack in the Middle East? A: a Selfie! Q: Did you hear about the Muslim party? A: It was a blast. Q. What can the Palestinians do to raise the average IQ in the West Bank? A. Allow Jews to come in. Q: What should Iraq get for its air defense system? A: A refund. Q: Why don't they teach Driver's Ed and sex education on the same day in the Middle East? A: They don't want to wear out the camel. Q: What's the difference between a microwave and a Islamic extremist? A: A microwave doesn't blow up every time the timer goes off. Ramadan, putting the slim, back into Muslim.
Apparently the arabs invented contraception using goats intestines. The west refined the idea by taking it out of the goat first.
So he can drink beer but she can't take the hijab off. Not that equal when it comes to being fairly relaxed then.
Only in the privacy of his own home (I think she can take the hajib off there) but he might still be taking a bit of a risk. I`ve heard there are tourist places where alcohol is allowed. Don`t know how the locals cope with that when they refuse to serve it in supermarkets over here.
You can't buy alcohol anywhere in Saudi as far as I am aware. That's why you'll find loads of Saudi's in Bahrain, Egypt etc. When I was over there all the Brits, Yanks, Aussies and other expats used to brew their own beer and spirit, called Sid. The locals weren't allowed in the expat compounds so we were free to live our lifestyles. We used to go up to an American base every so often as one of my ex-wife's friends was going out with a U.S. marine. They had their own nightclub. Had a few great nights there. We were in a very conservative part of the country (there are conservative and really ****ing extremely conservative areas) and we hardly ever saw Saudi women on the streets. Out and about, our women had to wear abaya's, covering the body but not the head. In the major cities in Egypt you used to be able to buy alcohol on most main streets. There's a Christian population and obviously they can drink. Over the last few years though that's been changing and its disappearing in most places except big hotels and tourists areas, Sharm, Hurgada, etc. When we left Saudi we stopped off in Egypt on the way home. I remember being shocked at seeing women driving! Saudi is the last country on earth where women aren't allowed to drive.
Was the American base classed as being part of the US do you know? The reason I ask is because some years ago when I was in a band we played a few times at the US base in Mildenhall. It was a bit of a surprise the first time to be stopped and searched at the gate, given literature on US law and had to exchange currency for dollars. Apparently, even though it`s in England, it`s actually classed as American soil. Weird set up.
My first ex mate! Wouldn't have a bad word said against her. She's a beautiful, gracious and elegant lady. And a good Sunderland lass! Don't ask me about my second ex
I wouldn't know its diplomatic status pops. I doubt it's like an embassy. It was like a fortress, massive staggered concrete blocks to stop vehicles crashing in. Machine guns everywhere and highly visible! I know there's a few on here may disagree and I do get why many say that U.S. Marines are trigger happy, etc, but you don't **** with them! Mildenhall is massive mate. A mini America. They bring their own vehicles over so you drive on the right and spend in dollars like you said. Many local shops take dollars too.
You know? I thought when I was replying that that's what you'd baited your hook for! Happy to oblige mate!
Frontline fighting, channel 4, 10pm tonight. It's about the Brits who are leaving to fight against ISIS in Syria. There's a lad on there who was recruited by the Lions Of Rojava, be interesting to watch. I was talking to them for 14 months and at one point was literally a couple of days from flying out. Was told to travel to Sweden and then from Sweden to Sulaymaniyah which is the Kurdish region in Iraq, from there I was to be took to Syria to join up with the YPG. I will be very curious if the lads over there now, went through the same process as I did...
They get everywhere.... There is rumours that they have an entry in the Eurovision Contest? Jihadi-Waddy
