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luvly jubbly
10th Oct 1999, 09:26
Senrt to me by a pal in Muscat:

You know you have lived in the Gulf too long when. ..

You enjoy camping in the sand
You're not surprised to see a goat in the passenger seat
You think the uncut version of "Little House on the Prairie" is provocative
You serve coffee in a thimble
You think everyone's first name is Al
You don't expect to eat dinner until 10:30 PM
You need a sweater when it's 80 degrees Fahrenheit
You expect everyone to own a mobile phone
Your idea of housework is leaving a list for the houseboy
You think that skis were developed for use on sand dunes
You believe that speed limits are only advisory
You expect to see tractors driving at 40 kilometres/hour on a super highway
You expect police to drive BMWs
You know whether you are within missile range of Iraq
You think it's normal to play golf on the sand, and putt on the browns
You refuse to go swimming in the Gulf unless the water temperature is in the
mid-90's Fahrenheit
You wear a jacket inside and take it off when you go out
You think carpets belong on the wall
You turn up the air conditioning to write Christmas Cards
You know which end of a shwarma to unwrap first
You believe that it is normal for the same section of road to be dug up
three times by contractors in the space of a few weeks
You believe that the definition of a nanosecond is the time interval between
the time the light turns green and the time that the guy behind you begins
to blow his horn
You think all gas stations are made of marble
You can receive every television station except the local station
You believe that football and baseball are meant to be played at 3 in the
morning
You yearn to see American/English commercials on TV
You get used to using the cold water tap to get hot water during summer
You think being liberated means sitting in the family-section
You think a red light means run it
You can't buy anything without asking for a discount
You have more carpets than floor space
You expect all stores to stay open till midnight
You understand that 'wadi bashing' isn't a criminal act
You make left turns from the far right lane
You expect gold for every birthday
You send friends a map instead of your address
You expect a palace on every corner
You think Kleenex belongs on the dinner table
You think the biggest event of the year is the camel races

And a few personal observations...

You understand why huge 4x4s must slow down to a snail's pace whilst
crossing a speed bump yet hurtle through a wadi at 100kph
You would rather use a bush 5km out of town than use a small town restaurant
toilet
You think that howareyou is one word
You think it perfectly normal to have a picnic in the middle of a roundabout
at 11pm
You name the gekkos that live in your house
You know exactly how much alcohol allowance you have left for the month
You have a moon phase predictor on your computer
You never say Saturday instead of Thursday or Sunday instead of Friday
You accept that there is no point in asking why you are not allowed to do
something
You understand that it takes one driver, three firemen, two supervisors and
a 10 tonne fire truck to remove a racing snake from the house

faheel
10th Oct 1999, 11:15
Love it :)
I agree onehunneredpercent.
But I thought everyones name was hammed

ironbutt57
10th Oct 1999, 17:51
you get confused at all those white lines painted on the road

whenever you accidently bump the small lever on the side of your steering column, this confusing blinking light comes on

you think flashin your lights gives you the right-ofway at an intersection regardless of the color of the traffic signal

you get a parking ticket when your meter expires, but the person double-parked outside your car doesn't because he's not at a meter

rocketman
29th Oct 1999, 13:56
tester

rocketman
29th Oct 1999, 14:03
Too long in the gulf when


you here the call to prayer at 5am and think it normal.

you overtake a police car at 130KM/HR

you cant sleep without the noise of the A/C unit.

Hummous becomes part of your staple diet.

You think it normal to see an arab in dish dash with a nike cap and raybans.

the horn is the most important part of your car, next to the A/C

you become annoyed when there are no loungers at the pool.

You think it normal to carry thousands of dollars in your wallet.

dicko
31st Oct 1999, 06:43
Insha'allah really means highly unlikely.
Citizens of countries that prohibit alcohol drink the most.
Underwear is an option.

autobrake_2000
1st Nov 1999, 11:42
I am not goining to comment on what have been said but would like to correct "dicko"'s statement regarding (Insha'allah).
Any Muslim regardless where he come from must say Insha'allah for any statement related to the future. Insha'allah means [If GOD wills]. This message is misunderstood by non Muslims which is pity.

catwoman
2nd Nov 1999, 13:55
Just love it...

- Habibi isn't just the ex-president of Indonesia
- You answer your phone with "H'ullo, H'ullo"

dicko
13th Nov 1999, 11:41
dear autobrake_2000, while I don't live in the Middle East anymore, in the 18 years that I did, I assure you everytime I heard Insha'allah it meant NO! No matter what it means in any language, the end result was NO.

BLUFFinn
25th Nov 1999, 11:12
Dicko and Autobrake_2000 your kinda both right in a way. Autobrake_2000 is pointing out the literal meaning of the words Insha’allah which has a translation meaning in English as hope or hopfully. Sometimes when people are asked to have something done or when asked is something going to be done? the reply is ‘Insha’ allah’ or ‘I hope’ but it can mean ‘no’ If the person is just saying it to passify whoever. The true result of what Dicko experiences after he hears these words is nothing gets done. So he takes the meaning is no.
Its difficult to translate directly sometimes from Arabic to English because often there is a certain meaning behind the words themselves that is not simply literal.

ExSimGuy
29th Nov 1999, 18:20
. . . when you believe that putting your headlights on high beam entitles you to require that everyone else move out of the fast lane to make room for you -- or if they don't, you pass on the hard shoulder

CLmaximum
29th Nov 1999, 23:48
You don't understand why offices in the UK do not have tea boys.

You are not expecting the police to arrest you for smoking a shisha in public.

You are not surprised when at the start of the news on the radio, "Sheikh xxxx is visiting a toliet ceramic factory" and important world news is last on the agenda.

When Sheikhs meet foreign dignitaries they only seem to discuss fraternal ties and bilateral relations.

It costs less for laundry then soap powder.

You see adverts for unwanted Porsches.

Speed humps in the middle of the Abu Dhabi - Dubai highway do not irritate you.

Men kissing noses is not poofy.

You put on aftershave by the gallon.

You only buy suits made to measure from Mr Terry The Tailor From Trivanduram.

You think 10 Dirhams is grossly expensive for the latest Playstation game.

I am sure there are more

Captain Zimmerman
30th Nov 1999, 12:43
I was always brought up in Goofair to believe that Ins'Allah was like Manana but without the sense of urgency ;)

ironbutt57
30th Nov 1999, 15:34
you think monty python music in the background during the tv news is normal

you eat curry to AVOID bombay-belly

you think 70f is cold outside

you drive the same roads for years and still have no idea what the name is

Kaptin M
4th Dec 1999, 17:01
I've n e v e r lived in your part of the world, but spent numerous o/nites there [DXB,DHA,JED], love the interpretation,can appreciate a lot of it, and it made me smile.
No place like home, but no money like o/s.

[This message has been edited by Kaptin M (edited 04 December 1999).]

Kaptin M
5th Dec 1999, 16:36
Asalumalykim [arsolesandilikem]...whatever it takes to get THIS post back on top.

yakkity
6th Dec 1999, 23:35
Kaptin M......inshallah

ma sallama

imr_nh
9th Dec 1999, 04:02
ha ha ha....here are some more


when not in the gulf...
-you ask for "bebzi" in restaurants
-you find, to your dismay, that you can't find any Arabic music stations on your car's radio
-you set out to buy your fruits and vegetables in the suq, only to find there are none

more to come........

ironbutt57
9th Dec 1999, 16:24
you think kleenex tissues belong on the dinner table

you understand your waiter when he bobbles his head side to side in response to your query