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If it seems weird it's only because you gave it to us!
And we both took what the Germans gave us, with it's nearly entirely consistent pronunciation and spelling, and messed that up along the way.
Wot!!!
yu loy darn't tork propper.
OMG....... we might as well send you a passport!
.... and you need to start drinking tea like this:-
I could never be a true Brit....I can't get interested enuf in soccerOMG....... we might as well send you a passport!
.... and you need to start drinking tea like this:-
Hmm...
First of all, I take that as a compliment
I've never been to any English speaking country in my life.
As for speakers (people, not car stereo speakers, hehe), I've been seeking opportunities to practice my English with those who can, so at restaurants for example I speak English if I find the attendant a non Arab (many Filipinos and Indians here). I then joined the English department and learned some more of the English language elements, but unfortunately no good practice was achieved from there. Then finally after graduation I joined a construction company where they needed someone with English skills because so many employees there can't speak Arabic, and to coordinate with external correspondence (suppliers, sub-contractors, etc.) that most of the time is in English. Been there for 8 years now, and that boosted my English skills greatly. And well, almost non of the above related people were actually native English speakers so I almost always stood out
Yeah, generally speaking, I learned English with personal efforts
I understand having so may stereotypes against Saudis, or Arabs and Muslims in general. One of the reasons, a major one if not the main reason, is the language. Saudis are really really bad in the multi-language department. There are so many Saudis that are even more reasonable than me, but they fail to share this with the rest of the world simply because they can't, and sometimes don't wanna
Language is the way of which (or is it "with or in which"?) people communicate and understand each other (oh really, smart @$$)
I think she likes you
Thank you for that info. Saudi Arabia is one place I have trouble visualizing how daily life works. Here are some embarrassingly naive questions.
Can a woman go walking about on her own?
Yes. But they generally don't unless they coverup transportation (taxis or private drivers) because the weather here is really bad that even men don't wanna walk out in. If they target in-doors places, they do go walk to it if it is near by. I sometimes drive my mother and sisters where they wont and come back to them later. Like a hired driver
What if someone does not want to be a Muslim?
Non Muslim residents/visitors are found around where I live, and no one gets in their way. I actually have some Christian co-workers and we get along very well. One of the big managers in my company is a Christian Palestinian.
I know there are millions of non-Saudi nationals there. Do the non-Saudi women have to follow the legal dress code for women?
I guess
I know there's no alcohol..Are tea houses common? Can women go to these or are they separate? What about a husband and wife? Are there family areas?
Yup, cafes are everywhere around here. There are singles and families divisions, the singles' div. is for men only and the families' is for either families or for women. Some places only have families' div., many actually if we include other public places, so it is kinda sexist against men. I face difficulties in this department
What's your opinion of the Saudi social conventions westerners find strange?
I think that Saudi Arabia is strict and I don't blame those criticizing it. Regulations here are kinda oppressive but not to the limit that makes it a living hell like people might think. I'd say that our culture and customs are so different in a way that others could find offensive, but they generally work just fine with me and other Saudis. The only problem is the radial actions from time to time but they don't usually affect our daily lives. Kinda like occasional accidents that happen in the West from time to time. I'd say it is not a fun place to live for those seeking absolute freedom, but to those modest and systematic, it is a good place.
You're welcome
Yup, I can imagine why. And no, those questions make complete sense asked about Saudi Arabia
Answers to your questions are in blue in the quote. Enjoy
. But I'm open to this, which is what matters now I believe Is the internet open to the average Saudi. Could just any Saudi get on RF and discuss with westerners? Does the government restrict or frown on it in some way?
Yes, the internet is generally allowed to everyone here. However, being a reserved and protective country, pornography is censored, plus some aggressive religious and political pages. RF is fully open here, although it is religious. I think this means it is not considered an aggressive religious website by the Saudi Gov. Well, some members are aggressive, heh :cover:. Just lately, they started to block torrent websites to protect copy rights. Acts that have the potential to hurt public security are warned about by the government, but I never experienced or heard of any results so far. I've been doing so many naughty stuff and nothing happened to me. I think they don't mind naughty acts done privately, and they never actually warned about it. But don't expect much Saudi to participate here, not because of the law, but because of the language. The Saudis I find know English, I find them so serious and devoted (not religiously) to their jobs and don't spend time having fun on the internet like I do.
What if a native Saudi person decided he does not want to be a Muslim but an Advaitan Hindu?
Never faced similar case, but from the looks of it I'm afraid it not accepted here
You spoke of how non-Saudi women often don't cover their heads or faces. Does it get touchy with how do people and police know if they are non-Saudi? Do police or any enforcing agency get involved with a woman's dress often or only on rare occasion? I'm guessing 99.9% of the time people are sensible to the culture so there's only rarely an issue.
I don't have enough experience in this to give a good answer. But I'll try to use my humble limited amount of experience in it. In shopping malls I see Westerners enjoying the place, loudly sometimes, and no one says anything to them. Two female guest in different times, or more if I remember correctly, visited my work place for meetings and it went just fine and they didn't seem troubled when they first came, which gave the impression they didn't face any problem coming all the way here. All of them had their faces uncovered and some of them just had covers just resting on their heads without wearing them like hijabs. And yeah, as I see it, I see they respect this culture and try to follow the customs as much as they can. I believe this is good enough to not have trouble with the police, eh?
OK, now you've got me interested.
But doesn't censoring pornography effectively remove 2/3 of the web content -- leaving only cat videos and a few, scattered chat sites remaining?
Cool
As in Saudis being over protective or something? Hmm... Maybe, not sure
