You are too long in the middle east when ....
You don't look twice when a $250,000 car drives by.
You know a friend who won a free car from the local mall. Twice.
You remember when 80*F was cold, 90*F was cool, 105*F was warm, and 115*F was hot.
Every fast food chain delivers until 4 in the morning.
You had to look both ways crossing a one-way street.
You run into someone you know at every airport.
Your wardrobe only has two seasons: hot and warm.
You got days off school for Christian and Muslim holidays.
You secretly wished the rulers of other Middle Eastern countries would die so that you'd get more days off school.
You are used to giving directions using landmarks; street names confuse the hell out of you.
It's normal to wake up and have four or more Pakistani men fixing your AC.
Police drove on the shoulder of the road and cut people off.
There was no such thing as a non-smoking section. Anywhere. Even airline flight crews smoked on airplanes. In the aisles. Beside the no-smoking sign.
People who DIDN’T bribe got into trouble.
Your parents told you it was too hot to go outside.
Most people on the road don't realize there is a speed limit. Neither do the police.
The movie "Back to the Future" was banned by the government. So was Pokemon.
You owned Titanic, Jurrasic Park, and Star Wars Episode 1 weeks before they were playing in the cinemas.
You currently own a cellphone that will be sold as the "latest technology" in the USA... in a year.
You or your friends went to the e-traffic-ticket booths just to check on how much license plate numbers one-to-fifteen owed just for fun.
You know that 'sand-skimming' involves rope, a biryani plate, a 4x4, gloves and sunglasses. At 70kph.
You've seen a sword dance. At a wedding.
You know that bedowins can make random, completely unsynched clapping into something that actually sounds like music. Especially if they are waving a sword around.
You know that monsters do exist. They are called camel spiders.
You rode ATVs, dirt bikes, and jet ski's... when you were 8 years old.
You know that just because guys are holding hands doesn't mean they're gay.
Security guards let you do whatever you want if you shouted at them in Arabic and told them you knew some Police brigadier's cousin.
Traffic accidents were the country's strongest tourist attraction and only entry in the Guinness Book of World Records
'Wasta' is the only solution for every problem.
You fell asleep in traffic for about 10 minutes and still didn't move
People refer to your nationality when they call you out.
mnabster yeah likey "
You know that 'sand-skimming' involves rope, a biryani plate, a 4x4, gloves and sunglasses. At 70kph."
Nice and old post from Novita77..:)
...
Interesting post. It has given me insights on how things go about in the middle east. I do hop I can get to ride atvs for cheap once I get there.
it wasnt to me, it was to Honey. Poor girl :-(
Who said that word and to whom? God my face turned into red when I saw that word. Can't even PM you the meaning of it, but as DaRuDe said .. it is a very very bad and nasty word :(
u've been in the middle east for too long when near death experiences on the road become a part of ur everyday life.
i wish i can do that..well novita thanks if you think im attractive :p i got a big head now..but no need to report to police..they just naughty kids.
wow nouf, u sure know how to deal with children. May a child never fall in ur hands lol.
DONOT SAY THAT WORD here again for such words just PM next time. bad bad bad bad no its not bad because its WOREST :|
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you are very attractive young lady :-) lol ... with the fancy car you drive around Doha.
You should asked somebody here to teach you to say something to say back to this kids in arabic.
I am rather concern that they throw stone at you though ... i think that tend to be criminal act. Do you think you should report to the police?
thats so funny novita. I was so polite that day with my decent shirt and jeans. Sharmuta meaning Ho*k*r
Those kids so rude..i would love to put thai chilli in their mouth. Hey thanks for the picture anyway. I saw also my face in remi's birthday :}
what is SHARMUTAAAAAA?
Honey ... probably because you are Beyonce look alike :P
when some kids throw you a stone in your back and scream Sharmutaaaaaaaaaaaaa
It just happened to me the other day, out from my jeep under the heat at the centre, group of young kids scream sharmutaaaaaaa to me and i didnt even turn my head to them, they got pissed off and throw me a stone.
the third time, i took the stone and threw it back to them. In my country i might be beat them up already..huh! naughty boys....
just through a glance / one look., you can say that he is an egyptian, he is a blah blah and most of all... if you look /want arabic / indian food in the menu...
""Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.-by Franklin D. Roosevelt""
I camel spider is a member of the arachnid family that bites humans and the wound necrefies and makes the victim very ill. Not a nice pet....
You really don't want to know iman. Honestly. You're better off remaining in blissful ignorance. Trust me.
WTF is a camel spider?!
serendipidy, the one about holding one nostril closed and blowing for all you are worth is.........
Is that bit true about smoking on airlines and everywhere?
Used to be an old saying in Indonesia
You know you've lived there too long when the footprints on the Western toilet seat are yours
when you laugh and drink bebsi, bebsi shoots out your nose.