MENA in NOLA area

[mspain 1]

Hi everyone,

My fiance is from Tangier, Morocco and will be in the US probably sometime around August or September. Are there any Moroccans or Muslims out there in the NOLA area? I live across the lake from New Orleans, but commute everyday to NOLA. I would love for him to be able to network here and get to know people!

[illnevergetthis 5]

My husband isn't here yet, but I know that there are plenty of Muslims that live in the area. I have some Muslim friends that live in Slidell (I don't know what part of the Northshore you live in) , but they are not Moroccan. There are a few mosques in the area, but I don't know of any on the Northshore. There is one on the corner of David Drive and West Esplanade in Metairie. It is the largest mosque in the area, but they speak a lot of English there. There are one or two in the city and there is one in Gretna on the Westbank.

[mspain 1]

Thanks for the tip. That´s great. Are you from here? I am right by the Causeway in Mandeville, but I teach across the lake. Slidell is not far at all.

We are also still waiting for him to get here. We will be getting our interview date this week or next week from Madrid, but they are backed up till at least August with interviews, so it will be awhile till he arrives. I do want to help him navigate here and it would be great if there was a community he could plug into while he is waiting for his EAD and transitioning in to life here while I am working. He is so anxious to begin working- unfortunately this has been the same story for the last several years because of the high unemployment rate.

I would like to find some English classes for him or some program for him to get his GED. Do you know of any ESL programs that are local?

[illnevergetthis 5]

UNO has an excellent ESL program, but it's expensive and 4 1/2 days a week. Jefferson parish also has several that are free, but most of them are only a couple hours a day and not every day. Are you teaching in Jefferson or NOLA? I can send phone numbers for Jefferson tomorrow.

I live in Metairie and am studying elem Ed at UNO.

I don't think that he'll have any problems making friends here.

Edited May 24, 2010 by illnevergetthis

[momof1 205]

My husband isn't here yet, but I know that there are plenty of Muslims that live in the area. I have some Muslim friends that live in Slidell (I don't know what part of the Northshore you live in) , but they are not Moroccan. There are a few mosques in the area, but I don't know of any on the Northshore. There is one on the corner of David Drive and West Esplanade in Metairie. It is the largest mosque in the area, but they speak a lot of English there. There are one or two in the city and there is one in Gretna on the Westbank.

I thought masjid abu bakr was on the corner of power and west esplanade.....well i guess if you're on I-10 you get off on power. Long time since I've been there.

I'll actually be in NOLA in August to visit family for the first time in 4 years and I'm so excited. Most of the muslims I have encountered in the Metairie/kenner area are Indian or Pakistani while most of the muslims on the westbank are Palestinian. There's a VERY small group of Algerians in Metairie, but I don't know of any moroccans.

[illnevergetthis 5]

Yes, you are right...technically it is Power. Power and David are actually the same street depending on which side of Veterans you are on. There are plenty of Arab Muslims living in Metairie. I'm actually at a friends house right now. I asked her husband about Morrocans and he said there aren't a lot of Morrocans in the area.

[caybee 21]

Wafin.com is a good networking resource for Moroccans in the U.S. as well as a resource for cultural events, etc., of interest to Moroccan expats. On the upper left of the page, put "New Orleans" in the "find a Moroccan" search box and you get 19 hits with links to e-mail each one. There is also one Moroccan-owned business listed for NOLA.

These are only the Moroccans who have taken the time to register on the site. My husband started meeting Moroccans when he happened to wear a national soccer team shirt to a cafe downtown. Once he was on the radar, he met a lot more. Good luck.

[illnevergetthis 5]

Wafin.com is a good networking resource for Moroccans in the U.S. as well as a resource for cultural events, etc., of interest to Moroccan expats. On the upper left of the page, put "New Orleans" in the "find a Moroccan" search box and you get 19 hits with links to e-mail each one. There is also one Moroccan-owned business listed for NOLA.

These are only the Moroccans who have taken the time to register on the site. My husband started meeting Moroccans when he happened to wear a national soccer team shirt to a cafe downtown. Once he was on the radar, he met a lot more. Good luck.

What a great website. You have someone close... right there in Covington.

[mspain 1]

What a great website. You have someone close... right there in Covington.

There´s someone from Covington, KY on there but not Covington, LA. Where are you from?

[illnevergetthis 5]

There´s someone from Covington, KY on there but not Covington, LA. Where are you from?

sorry! I obviously didn't pay enough attention. I was talking on the phone while I was looking at the site and didn't catch the KY.

[mspain 1]

sorry! I obviously didn't pay enough attention. I was talking on the phone while I was looking at the site and didn't catch the KY.

No prob!

I did get pretty excited there for a minute....thinking that they actually might have Muslims in Covington. Heaven forbid, the locals would not be able to handle this!

[RAKASA 0]

Hi Meghan & INGT - I'm Noura from BR, LA and my husband is from Casablanca. He's been here 3 1/2 yrs. I'd love to have a little meetup for the locals sometime. Maybe we could meet in NOLA or I'd even be happy to host a little dinner or something at our home in BR. Message me privately if you're interested. There are a few others in BR that I know of, but we don't see them regularly. When all your hubbies get here, we can have a little celebration or some thing.

[mspain 1]

Hi Meghan & INGT - I'm Noura from BR, LA and my husband is from Casablanca. He's been here 3 1/2 yrs. I'd love to have a little meetup for the locals sometime. Maybe we could meet in NOLA or I'd even be happy to host a little dinner or something at our home in BR. Message me privately if you're interested. There are a few others in BR that I know of, but we don't see them regularly. When all your hubbies get here, we can have a little celebration or some thing.

That sounds really nice Noura. My fiance is still not in the US yet, but I´ll give you a holla about that when he gets here!