pushing in the q
I just arrived here, but hate shoping here even more than before. What's with this tall abaya dressed ladies pushing in front of me in the que? Is it because they are so tall? Or their feet are sore from wearing those high heels? Is it because they feel entitled? Is it because they are under the impression their time is more valuable than mine? How do you deal with that?
I don't think we're generalizing about all arabs. i think it's more about people who use their nationality and in this case national dress as some sort of passport for rudeness.
that's generally how it goes, right? I wouldn't think twice about telling off someone who cut in front of me or was rude, but if they're in abaya or thobe you starting thinking 'oh no, can't say anythign to them, it's their country, could get in trouble, and if I do say somethign I'll just hear about how I should get used to it or leave'.
Stop generalizing things. I'm not an arab, but any Arab that I met wasn't rude to anybody or so. It depends on person to person.
LP: Please before you start calling people egoistic, just look at your own comments and how ignorant and racist it make you look. Now I’d say that’s typical Anglo-Saxon behavior (:
They get away with EVERYTHING....totally sucks! No consideration for others. Wish these young boys would follow the teachings of their book for EVERYTHING too then they would behave properly and show other people respect.
at pticica - guess we share some points of personalities in common. to wear an abaya - welll i dont think its gonna be a good solution yet we have to speak out, but then again we are heard only a little. some women in abaya's are well mannered, polite & nice in behaviors & actions while some are totally B****. we live in a different part of the world, where things happen in a VERY DIFFERENT WAY. so most of the time we have to accept it & let it go!. & most of the women arent that tall, just that they are wearing high heals which hardly allows them even to walk properly & the best part is they open up half the Abaya, just to show off whats inside! shame on these kinda women! either a one should properly wear it or either they should give up on it.
the other day when me & my husband visited souq, there were two women walking all over the roads in abayas & high heals. diddnt understand what they were doing as at one point they walk from this side to the other side & from other side to this side again. Due to this situation we had to stop the car & watch them walking like flamingoes all over the road while it created traffic starting from our vehicle, other drivers started blinking head lights & tooting yet my husband is so quite, so i asked him why not you ask them to get away from the middle of the road & he said just wait & watch,we are not allowed to so those kinda things here & he respected them as they were women. yet finally he tooted his horn, the 2 women still being in the middle of the road, puts their hands up, say stuff in Arabic & showing us the road to leave. how are we to make our way on the road, do they want us to drive over them? they do not understand those points, neither they care. it was a friday & even the police was there, yet there was no one to talk about it.
2 weeks before we went to Habib restaurant to grab some Shawarma's as we stop the car at a vacant parking, a lady comes from the opposite side of the road & parked her jeep in front of our car (Vehicle number 266125). there were about 4other ladies in the vehicle, all dressed in abayas. the engine is on & she is on the wrong side of the road, she is in the middle of the road & she places her order to the staff who comes to the road . as we got our order we tried to leave, yet we cant as she is just in front of us & there was another car parked behind us. if we move we will knock on either of the vehicles. so we sat there, hoping that she would notice us, yet she grabs her handbag & keeps counting one riyal notes, a whole bunch of them, she counts then keep it on the dash board, then she takes another bunch, she counts & she goes on. after a while we started tooting our horn, signing with the head light, nop! she doesnt even care & neither does the others inside the vehicle even after seeing us.they just do their routine chit chat.
after a while the owner of the car parked behind us moved his vehicle we got our selves out of there.
so this is the system here, as we do not understand what they say in Arabic, we have only 2 options. either to learn or to bow down & let go. not all Arabic's are bad, yet the majority is. so lets forget the bad ones & praise the good ones.
HAHAHA I know, it's only a matter of time before someone invades this thread telling us all to suck it or leave.
I don't understand why you'd pay for a cinema ticket if you want to have a loud conversation with your friend while playing a buzzy loud game on your ipad? just go sit in the foodcourt!
I was once in front of a crowd of these guys-- they were talking, laughing, using their phones, etc. It was a quite movie and I really couldn't hear, so i did what I'd do at home: I turned around, and shushed them. Politely, but I still asked them to be quiet.
They laughed. And continued on. So I turned around and asked them to please be quiet as others were trying to watch. they shut up for a few minutes, then started giggling as their friend started kicking the back of my and my friends chair. I finally asked them to stop, and they just got up and left. Security saw this all happen and did NOTHING: no wonder 14 year old idiots in thobes think they can get away with anything.
and then they become 30 year old men in thobes running the country. . . shudder.
OMG ...dont get me started on the teenage boys in the cinema! phones going off, talking, standing up, leaving every 2 minutes....Its like sitting in the cinema with my year 3's!!
So annoying!
(oh i cant wait for the; dont like it go home, its their country, bla bla bla bla bla)....
Missteacher that happened to me too! This lady in full niquab waltzes in with several maids in tow, and butts ahead of all of us.
You really do have to speak up and stand your ground: i know, I know, loads of expats will tell you just ignore it and don't cause trouble, lest you annoy someone with wasta, but really: it's 2012. Time to learn some manners.
What gets me most is the teenagers. yes, the abaya ladies who seem to have no idea what a que is (what? you were waiting for a taxi for 20 minutes? Well I must never be allowed to wait, I'll just butt ahead of you! *evil cackle behind face veil*) annoy me, but the teens are worse. I was in line at the cinema one friday and a group of teenage boys in thobes tried to cut the line in front of me-- and the poor server behind the counter was just going to wait on them, after all, what could she do? i loudly told them the line started back there, but they just wedged themselves infront of the person behind me. In my home country, those kids would have been shamed to the very back of the line, but here? Everyone just allows the bad behaviour.
End of rant :)
"Ana" means "I", "Anta" means "You".
What is Ana / Anta?
And, yes, Fathima, I agree, and will speak up.
Couple of encounters like this and one may get the wrong idea that all the locals are like this.
In the Middle East the inhabitants are egoistic. The word you hear the most is "Ana"! They do not care much about "Anta"!
aww I had a horrible time when I went to get my medical when i first moved here. We are all waiting in this massive que that was half seated as it was that long, and these local woman would just come and skip the que.
When I was finally near the front and was standing behind 3 other woman this local woman just blatantly went to push her and her daughter in front of me. So I said to her eh NO!!, there is a que and pointed to everyone waiting and stood in front of her. She eventually shook her head and went to skip someone else at the next counter. Ridiculous!
next time speak up. And I don't agree it's only and always the local ladies who do this. Many times I've seen this terribly ill mannered behavior by expats as well. So put them all in their place and be firm! Being nice guy will never work with these people.
LincolnPirate,
Actually abaya mede sense yesterday, as the sand storm was on. I'm afread that my green eyes would give me away, so despite all the pros of wearing it, like not having to brush one's hair, it wouldn't work for me.
Zingle... I think you are right, I was just so stunned by this behaviour, that I was left speachless.
coz you allow them to do so... you should say, "hey im here!! cant you notice?"
Its not only the Queue that u have live with, some rash driving, preference every where ......... the list goes on
yesterday i was so angry at a guy stopping his vehicle in the middle of the road talking to another. had long stare and a beep at him, who cares
Why don't you wear an abaya too, and do the same. Nobody will dare to say anything to you!
A good loud voice always help.. EXCUSE ME THE QUE STARTS HERE!!
Way too old for Horlicks to work!
I know it's their own country, but I lived in 4 different countries, visited many more and never had this issue with any of the other local people. And in my limited experience, it's just those tall ladies. Maybe when they see me, a short-to-medium sized female, they feel they can push me around.
Sorry to hear about this. Well I think they have some kind of superior complex issue where they think they can do what ever they want as it is their country!
My advice is either you confront them in that Que or just ignore them as there are less that 25% of the population in their own country.
drink Horlicks or Bournvita daily in the night before going to sleep, you too will get taller soon.....:)
Welcome to Qatar where u can expect the unexpected ! :)