Yallah Middle East 2.0

[cbd2cai 0]

Hello Angel I am hanging in there.

Visa no news yet. I am gettting conflicting reports and contacted my congressman that would not help me earlier. I had to fax them a release letter and information on our case. Right now the embassy says the case is in the USA. When I call DOS they say it is at the embassy. I got up and called the embassy at 3 am and they will not tell me anything but he is in AP. So keeping my fingers crossed I can find out some news soon.

Congrats on your laptop purchase and sounds like you are enjoying youirselves. Take care.

Mary

Oh, Mary, they are certainly keeping you on the rollercoaster! I hope that your congressman can get a straight answer from ISL for you. your ride has been an interesting one with a few detours along the way. I hope you aren't waiting too much longer . . . i think you are up to around 4 months since the interview now although you did wait a lot longer to get an interview than some of us (just checking your timeline again, lol).

Whewwwwwwwwww, this is hard work . . . waiting for the answer we all want to hear . . . "I GOT THE VISA".

Catherine

Thanks for the welcome!! helloooooooooo to all!!! Heehee i dunno why i am in such a good mood but the past few days ive been feeling great........i am working out and tryin to lose some weight......and i am of course still counting down the days til i go home to visit....currently there are 206 more wake ups!!

I am really hoping that all of your journeys will be smooth!!

Way to go, Jess!! Keep working out and try not to think about the food (hard to do when you are worried about things back home . . well, for some of us). It is good to take advantage of the time to get yourself healthier and feeling better . . . that will make the time go faster and help you withstand the rollercoaster ride that you have boarded when you started this process!!

Take care,

Catherine

[AInfante-Saraireh 0]

Angel, we plan on using the internet when Faisal gets here too. Fun!

Nothing new on my end. Thanks Amal for the movie info.

[jordanianprincess 0]

Things here are great.. nothing much has changed.. New movie of the day is "the tunnel" about the Berlin wall construction and how it affected the people. Again, make sure it has subtitles, its in German. No, I'm not a foreign film nut, I promise I honestly thought it was in English when I rented it. I'll know to check better next time. My husband has informed me that he has now officially watched more movies than in his whole life combined. Now I know how truely boring my town is..

amal

By the way.. JP I LOVE YOUR AVATAR... Where did you find that????

Thanks Amal, My fiance made it for me I can e-mail it to you if you like..

[LebaneseMama 1]

Thanks for the welcome !

Nothing new here ... just missing Ali like crazy. I was reading everyones stories and CrazyinEgypts (I think .. sorry) made me laugh soo hard :

My fiance is alive !

That is soo hillarious. I cannot wait to tell Ali ... welcome back from the dead Mr. CrazyinEgypt.

AngelK,

When I go to Lebanon I take online classes so I don't miss out on school. Well we go to an internet cafe once a week so I can do my work. Ali sits on the computer next to me. I tell him he cannot talk, look, smile, nothing until I am done or we will be there all day. So what does he do ? IM me ! He acts like we don't know each other and hits on me ... it sooo funny . Or he'll keep IMing me saying "I'm bored can we go home now ?" and I'm like "NOOOO !" Ahhh the memories of everyone else in cafe wondering why the two of us were laughing so hard and not talking to each other One time he told me "Hey my wife is crazy she won't talk to me when she's doing homework so I'm looking for someone else" I about fell on the floor dying of laughter when I read that. Anyways thanks for the official welcome : )

Massouna

[Dixie_Peach 1]

Thanks for the welcome !

Nothing new here ... just missing Ali like crazy. I was reading everyones stories and CrazyinEgypts (I think .. sorry) made me laugh soo hard :

My fiance is alive !

That is soo hillarious. I cannot wait to tell Ali ... welcome back from the dead Mr. CrazyinEgypt.

AngelK,

When I go to Lebanon I take online classes so I don't miss out on school. Well we go to an internet cafe once a week so I can do my work. Ali sits on the computer next to me. I tell him he cannot talk, look, smile, nothing until I am done or we will be there all day. So what does he do ? IM me ! He acts like we don't know each other and hits on me ... it sooo funny . Or he'll keep IMing me saying "I'm bored can we go home now ?" and I'm like "NOOOO !" Ahhh the memories of everyone else in cafe wondering why the two of us were laughing so hard and not talking to each other One time he told me "Hey my wife is crazy she won't talk to me when she's doing homework so I'm looking for someone else" I about fell on the floor dying of laughter when I read that. Anyways thanks for the official welcome : )

Massouna

LB, your husband sounds like a riot!!! Those memories are so precious... the little laughs, touches, kisses... That is what gets me through... my memories of being with Jamal and his family... thank you for giving me a chuckle... and for bringing back my memories!

*hugs*

Lynne

[honeyblonde 0]

That is adorable!

[~Jess~ 0]

awwwwwwwww LB that is sooo cute lol!!!

[MaryandMian 1]

LB your husband has a great sense of humor. LOL when I read your little story.

[AInfante-Saraireh 0]

Ok, my husband is making me nervous today. He is talking to so many people lately. They are telling him to have his wife (me) to write at least one letter a month starting now. Well, I mean I have so much proof, like monthly and regular phone calls to him by my home phone. Valentine cards I have sent him. So much. Isn't this enough with the chat records? Well, to be on the safe side, I will start to write letters to him. And, I am going in August for his interview date before he makes me have a nervous breakdown here.

Andrea

[cbd2cai 0]

Ok, my husband is making me nervous today. He is talking to so many people lately. They are telling him to have his wife (me) to write at least one letter a month starting now. Well, I mean I have so much proof, like monthly and regular phone calls to him by my home phone. Valentine cards I have sent him. So much. Isn't this enough with the chat records? Well, to be on the safe side, I will start to write letters to him. And, I am going in August for his interview date before he makes me have a nervous breakdown here.

Andrea

I did start sending cards to Ahmed on a regular basis . . . and just barraged him on his birthday (maybe 5 cards then, LOL). Not only did it help to establish proof, it helped to make me feel better (when I picked them out AND when I mailed them) and it improved his mood tremendously . . . who doesn't like getting mail??? And a nice funny or loving card is even better!! I also sent b'day cards to his sister and brother, who had their b'days before his interview (not sure he bothered to take any of them, but he had them if needed). . . AND now I must go write up a card to send his mother, whose b'day is in April (and maybe I should send one to my niece, whom I totally forgot in my rush of travel at the end of Feb???).

[kerewin21 2]

Ok, my husband is making me nervous today. He is talking to so many people lately. They are telling him to have his wife (me) to write at least one letter a month starting now. Well, I mean I have so much proof, like monthly and regular phone calls to him by my home phone. Valentine cards I have sent him. So much. Isn't this enough with the chat records? Well, to be on the safe side, I will start to write letters to him. And, I am going in August for his interview date before he makes me have a nervous breakdown here.

Andrea

You might find you enjoy writing real letters. Majid loved the letters I sent him, because he could look at them any time, as opposed to having to go to a cybercafe. It's a dying form of communication, but you can really think about how you feel and what you want to say to him. Letters are more special than emails too. You can go to a paper store and buy some pretty paper, or buy cards that say something special. I would do it just to allay your anxiety, and it might be fun for you too.

[honeyblonde 0]

I hope the mail to there is better than Morocco! I sent Abdel cards with letters in them and he got about every other one, about a month after I sent it. We always got a good laugh out of how old any news in it was by the time he got it.

I found that cute cards generated such hilarious conversations. Once I sent him a card of a cat hanging onto a tree limb on the side of a cliff, with the cats body stretched over about 3 folding pages of card. He didn't understand our phrase, "Hang in there" and thought the card meant something about holding on tight to me. I sent it right after his brother was attacked and had to have brain surgery, so it was meant more for what he was going through at the time than even our relationship.

Abdel's latest thing he is doing after "talking to people" is finally studying for his driving permit. I think he was a bit embarrassed that the Chinese girl in his class that is pregnant and barely speaks any English got hers and her driving license already, and he hasn't even gotten his permit. He is continually shocked that people in his class who don't even speak English are getting drivers licenses. I'd sure hate to be the cop that tries to pull one of them over and explain to them what they did wrong. Actually, that would probably make some pretty funny video footage.

[kerewin21 2]

Abdel's latest thing he is doing after "talking to people" is finally studying for his driving permit. I think he was a bit embarrassed that the Chinese girl in his class that is pregnant and barely speaks any English got hers and her driving license already, and he hasn't even gotten his permit. He is continually shocked that people in his class who don't even speak English are getting drivers licenses. I'd sure hate to be the cop that tries to pull one of them over and explain to them what they did wrong. Actually, that would probably make some pretty funny video footage.

In MA you can take the test in many different languages, including French and Arabic. Of course the instruction book only comes in English Maybe you guys can look into taking it in another language?

We are going to work on this now that Majid finally has gotten his glasses; he wouldn't have passed the eye exam before!!!

[honeyblonde 0]

OMG, I didn't even think about the eye exam. Oh well, Abdel still has to get his permit and start learning how to drive first. I had actually made eye exam appointments for us but had to cancel because I had the flu that week.

Yeah, he can take it in French here too. The only part he has to know in English is the signs. He had his book out in the car this morning asking me about the blinking yellow lights. We live right in the middle of a school zone so he sees them every morning. Last night he had me explain the "right on red unless there's a sign" rule. I'm glad he's starting to take it serious.

I'm even more glad his buddy from Honduras has offered to teach him how to drive. That was one task I was really dreading. Both of my sons told me that they could drive in any circumstances now since they had to learn with me screaming in the passenger seat or gripping the door handle so tightly my knuckles were white. I really tried to be calm with my youngest son, but he'd look at me faking a smile through gritted teeth and ask me why I was digging holes in my armrest with my fingernails.

[AInfante-Saraireh 0]

Thanks all. I just don't want to look suspicious, only sen dcard on valentines day and bdays. Now all of a sudden, a year and a half later, Im sending letters and cards? But I do have so many phone bills with his number on it.