What were your SO's first thoughts of the US?

[doodlebug 3]

Ok so he/she has been in the US for say one or two days. What are the first comments that came out of their mouths? I'm asking this in the MENA area only because I think the culture shock is a heck of a lot more than say if one were from Canada or Europe. I could be wrong though. lol.

[lion_lioness 0]

Good post Henia!!!! I'd be curious to know also. My ex husband had no comments at all on the US it was disappointing...

[doodlebug 3]

Good post Henia!!!! I'd be curious to know also. My ex husband had no comments at all on the US it was disappointing...

it's d to da oodle but that's cool. lol

[M+S 0]

since Iam the non US citizen ..I was scared death I thought everything in US just like movies ..people being shot and killed in the middle of the street in the mid day ..so I scared to sit at home alone so I had to go with Mark every day to work ..one of the things I felt is the imprssive Traffic and the way cars stops aside whenever an ambulance walk though THIS IS AWESOME! Till now this is the mos impressive thing I have ever seen ..Traffic in Cairo is Pathedic!!!!and catastrophic really.

I liked how clean and organized everything in US too..one of the things I liked but hated in the same time is The DEAD CALM in the streets here ..Cairo is very noisy I was somehow used to it ..came here it's always calm..Husssssssssssssh

The thing I hate Cairo was always ACTIVE everything is open until 4 a.m in summer time and in winter till 1 A.M but here it closes at 9pm!!!!! HOW CRAZY IS THAT!!!!!!!!!

I miss Cairo ...I like US though

[doodlebug 3]

since Iam the non US citizen ..I was scared death I thought everything in US just like movies ..people being shot and killed in the middle of the street in the mid day ..so I scared to sit at home alone so I had to go with Mark every day to work ..one of the things I felt is the imprssive Traffic and the way cars stops aside whenever an ambulance walk though THIS IS AWESOME! Till now this is the mos impressive thing I have ever seen ..Traffic in Cairo is Pathedic!!!!and catastrophic really.

I liked how clean and organized everything in US too..one of the things I liked but hated in the same time is The DEAD CALM in the streets here ..Cairo is very noisy I was somehow used to it ..came here it's always calm..Husssssssssssssh

The thing I hate Cairo was always ACTIVE everything is open until 4 a.m in summer time and in winter till 1 A.M but here it closes at 9pm!!!!! HOW CRAZY IS THAT!!!!!!!!!

I miss Cairo ...I like US though

Awwww. You would love New York City!!!! You and Mark should try to make a visit before the baby is born. You'd feel right at home! I have talked to Usama about moving to NYC because there is an active Egyptian community there and because I think he wouldn't be so homesick there. He wants to wait one or two years before making any big changes in our house since he's afraid that my daughters would resent him for it. I agree about the traffic in Cairo btw!!!! I felt like I was taking my life in my hands by taking a cab everywhere but alhumdulilah I made it in one piece each time!

[Henia 11]

Good post Henia!!!! I'd be curious to know also. My ex husband had no comments at all on the US it was disappointing...

Henia?<snort>

Doodle: I guess we write alike or have similar online personalities > I donnow...

You crack me up Lionlioness

[Henia 11]

My husband is not here yet, but I spectulate he will be wowed by:

24 hour Super Wal-mart/K-mart shoppes

The Dollar Tree

As Salwa said, the calm traffic conditions

That people actually work long and hard 40+ hour weeks

You would see many people walking

Riding the bus is not hip

Car is a must not a luxury

You have ask questions about all things you would eat (What is it, where it came from, is it halal?)

The nearest mosque is not 10 yards away

People donnot hang out outside at 3 or 4am text messaging people

Police here do arrest and give tickets

You cannot bride your way out of a ticket

Credit credit and more credit (credit, debit cards, credit checks, credit ratings)

Weekend is Sat and Sun, not Thu- Fri

Most likely will not have Friday off

Might have to limit or whisper Allah

Not a good idea to just whip out your prayer in the middle of the street and pray

People do alot of small talk here

When they say work starts at 7am, they mean 7am...not wheneevr you feel like it

You cannot txt message your boss you will not come in to work today (actually call offs not good at all)

Less holiday days from work

Having a headache or stobbing your toe does not qualify for a sick day

Need insurance for most everything

Cleaner here (LOL even in Detroit LOL)

List goes on and on...

[MrsAmera 41]

"WOW there is a lot of glass here."

"What do you mean I can't kiss cute little kids"

- how expensive living here is, and that money does not grow on trees

- both parents working full time and paying for childcare

- the cold

- distance between places

----D to da doodle : It might be better if your SO was a little distanced from a large community. This is why I say that. My husband's brother lives in NYC in a very Arabic area of Queens, they watch moroccan tv, shop at moroccan stores, have moroccan friends, eat only moroccan food, speak only in arabic to each other etc. He's been here almost 10 years and when he came to our wedding it was very obvious how un-assimilated he was. Now my husband lives here with me obviously. We have a mosque and he has some moroccan/arab friends however he works and lives with americans and is MUCH more assimilated than his brother in just over a year. Really the differences are shocking. Just something to think about - there are pros and cons of both options.

[Together4ever 1]

Mohammed's first comment was "let's go home honey. I'm tired of airports." On the way home he said he felt so at home and at peace to be here. He commented on how clean everything is, how organized traffic is, and still comments on it ocassionally. Salwa, he also was extremely uncomfortable for about the first week because of the silence and the lack of people out wandering around. Now he seems to be used to it and when he wants to get that feeling of people around him, he comes downtown with me when he can and wanders with them down here. LOL

[Together4ever 1]

----D to da doodle : It might be better if your SO was a little distanced from a large community. This is why I say that. My husband's brother lives in NYC in a very Arabic area of Queens, they watch moroccan tv, shop at moroccan stores, have moroccan friends, eat only moroccan food, speak only in arabic to each other etc. He's been here almost 10 years and when he came to our wedding it was very obvious how un-assimilated he was. Now my husband lives here with me obviously. We have a mosque and he has some moroccan/arab friends however he works and lives with americans and is MUCH more assimilated than his brother in just over a year. Really the differences are shocking. Just something to think about - there are pros and cons of both options.

My Mohammed is the opposite of this. He wants to assimilate clear up to his hairline to the point he avoids situations as you mentioned above. He will be working with a lot of Arabs at his new job and he's not very happy about it. He says they make him feel very heavy now, and uncomfortable.

[M+S 0]

believe it or not when I first came here i missed the noise and the crowdness of Egypt "Cairo esp." very much ..now I am used to calmness and silence I like that now I don't know how I will sleep when I go to Cairo, I live in a main street "very noisy"

[Mrs. Forgetful 2]

I wasn't with Adil when he first came, but he told me the first story of when he landed at JFK.

He was hunrgy and went to the Mc D's. He ordered and the lady asked him if he wanted a straw he said no. because he didn't understand her. when he got his drink he didn't have a straw to use went back up to the lady and asked for something to drink with. She didn't understand what he meant and when someone was given a straw he took it and ran.

I don't know if all of that was true, but that's what he told me. He barely spoke any english when he first came.

When he went to school one of the professors told him that they shouldn't go any farther west than 40th st here in Philly. Well really you shouldn't go past 48th st., so for the first year they were afraid to go past there. so when his friend got a car they drove past 40th and found the Moroccan store. He went to his professor and told him that he made him miss the store and the Mosque across the street for a whole year because of all that he told him. Oh what a silly boy.

[Meriem_DZ 37]

My husband is not here yet, but I spectulate he will be wowed by:

24 hour Super Wal-mart/K-mart shoppes

The Dollar Tree

As Salwa said, the calm traffic conditions

That people actually work long and hard 40+ hour weeks

You would see many people walking

Riding the bus is not hip

Car is a must not a luxury

You have ask questions about all things you would eat (What is it, where it came from, is it halal?)

The nearest mosque is not 10 yards away

People donnot hang out outside at 3 or 4am text messaging people

Police here do arrest and give tickets

You cannot bride your way out of a ticket

Credit credit and more credit (credit, debit cards, credit checks, credit ratings)

Weekend is Sat and Sun, not Thu- Fri

Most likely will not have Friday off

Might have to limit or whisper Allah

Not a good idea to just whip out your prayer in the middle of the street and pray

People do alot of small talk here

When they say work starts at 7am, they mean 7am...not wheneevr you feel like it

You cannot txt message your boss you will not come in to work today (actually call offs not good at all)

Less holiday days from work

Having a headache or stobbing your toe does not qualify for a sick day

Need insurance for most everything

Cleaner here (LOL even in Detroit LOL)

List goes on and on...

LOL, Henia, good ones!!!

Oh, Amera, Hachemi loves little kids. He was talking to a little baby in a buggy at Wal mart. And he didnt actually kiss the baby, more like kissed at it. The mom had the funniest "what are you doing to my baby look" on her face. I just smiled and took Hachemi by the arm and walked off. I said "honey, in the usa, you dont kiss the babies of people you do not know."

On the way home from the airport, Hachemi could not get over the amount of trees and how everything was so green. There are not very many trees in Algeria. I dont even think I saw anything that looked like a forest while I was there. Only scattered trees here and there.

Meriem

[amal 4]

*it is so quiet*

*its not ok to kiss and tickle all children?*

*you can't punish your kids in public?*

*traffic is so easy*

*nobody walks here*

*drive thru banking, wow*

*america has everything..anything you can dream, you can find here*

*why can't i call in if my back hurts?*

*you only get 1 week vacation?? we got 1 month*

speaking to my mother the first time they met ..mom-noor what do you thiink of our homes? noor-your home is nice but too cluttered, you should clean it better

*why do people get angry when you speak the truth*

*why don't we have a better home, we live in america, we have money now*

*ohh, money isn't easy to save here if you can't find a good job?*

*why can't your family pay your bills for you? we do it in Jordan and we don't make as much as americans*

*they teach your kids to call the police if you beat (spank) them?*

these are only a few of the maaaaaaaany things that surprised him about the good ole usa

[MrsAmera 41]

Oh oooh my favorite comment was:

"In America if a scorpion was going to bite you, he would ask you first to pay for it." LOL That was his way of saying nothing here is free!

The kid punishing is another one -but he caught onto that one fast.