It sucks when you meet a guy you really like but have to nip it in the bud right there because he happens to be agnostic/atheist or even a-religious and you know your family would just die at the thought. It looks like you've encountered - like you said - a really conservative family or side of the country and I'd like to talk to you about the whole thing it's not like that in a lot of families and regions. When I told my boyfriend that my parents are religious and don't believe in premarital sex, he thought I was joking. I completely understand about expressing feelings to a foreigner. He really looks a devoted person and very family oriented. Her peers and friends also backed up this belief. The terms of endearment are important when conflicts arise, she says, allowing a natural recourse to humor and playfulness when things get rough. it can happen online too). Egyptian men are simps who only want a female. I have to admit that with all the library reading that I do, I generally just read egyptology.blogspot.com which usefully collects all the latest best/noteworthy Egyptology news stories and blogposts. This custom exists in the United States, Asia, India, the Middle East, and all over the world. i'm an Egyptian girl and my fiance lives in america, when he came to propose my parents didn't talk about his financial status just few chatting over his work and his family, which is only to make them know him better after all they should feel comfortable as they are giving him there daughter (me). It really hit home with me as an Egyptian. BUT I certainly have learned more in my life since meeting my wife's family than ever before, and have come to the conclusion that there is a much higher percentage of open armed Egyptian families than I could ever imagine. he was lucky I was residing in the US. I'm not here to debate the merits of tons of gold, gold, gold, presents, dowries, and the paragraph upon paragraph that you wrote about the importance of these customs. Love your story, the video was heartfelt ..Im considering going Cairo to learn Arabic..hoping for a love story with a good ending. Lesson learned: Egyptian women are high maintenance Be prepared to shower them with expensive gifts. my family didn't discuss marriage with him. However, I was very immersed in Egyptian culture, as my parents did their best to make sure my siblings and I had similar religious and cultural upbringing to what we would have had in Egypt. Take a look at my other site: TalkInArabic.com. Thanks for your experience,Now I fall in love with 1 Egyptian guy,,of course he can't speak English,,This is big problem for communicate ..I am Thailandia and also I cant speak English well.Our relation ship only He will hold my hand and hug me some timeeven kiss we are nevermostly we met each other in Shopping mall and talking by 25 percent of IEnglish and 10 percent in Arabic.What's going on?? You have reached the end of the main content. I'm an Egyptian girl, knowing the girl doesn't mean kissing or touching her, we have an engagement period in which we can get to understand each other. Mi rey / Mi reina . The writing surface for Egyptian scribes. The Cairo population is as modern as any major city in the states. I'm an Egyptian Muslim girl and I can definitely say that most (if not all) of what's mentioned here is true! I studied Arabic in Jordan for 2 months this past summer. It frustrates both of us. Sure my husband as real Egyptian man is trying to cover all our expenses on his own but we got married before we got an apartment, I refused to get any gold except wedding ring plus he doesn't feel that we have to visit his family members on every occasion. This kind of relationship does wonders for your target language skills. hey there, honestly i am gonna say that you are really brave to date arabian girl, i am an arabian girl but not an egyptian, i am a yemeni. But really, it's so difficult for west men to get engaged to women from middle east countries. His family is from Beirut, they're all Muslim and when we were just friends I noticed how conservative his mom was. Grammatically its directed towards men but culturally it indicates a group. I feel like our love for each other has been a vehicle for breaking down cultural barriers that often stand in the way of young couples in love. I paid out nearly 100k usd and we loved each other. In any country, in any part of the world, you will encounter assholes. I do not mean liberal in sense of an easing in moral and religious standards. In all honesty, I think that some of the traditions are simply practical (eg 'guy should have a job and a home of some sort), but the fact that you had to have the 'agreement' talk after having met her only twice is a bit extreme on the conservative side. You lived in here -Egypt-, almost got married to a FAMILY which you've nothing in common with, and you're still breathing with a heart still beating, with no curses and so.. yet :D! He is the time she spent alive. Go for independent and older women. Come and explore what our researchers, curators and education programs have to offer. Theyre very narrow-minded which makes me hate living in this country! Most of the time they just have you over for dinner to see what you're about, but literally putting pen to paper on your finances is a bit invasive. That doesn't mean that Egyptian parents aren't ridiculously strict and there is no such thing as for example; a muslim dating a christian! Hi. The only thing he is sacrificing is leaving Algeria (family). I realize that there may be slight differences depending on how conservative the family is, whether theyre Coptic or Muslim and what area theyre from. Join us, volunteer and be a part of our journey of discovery! Your article was very interesting to read. *You have to give her all your money" wealth" or you will accused by being selfish stingy man. The work of he who refuses to follow the Way of faith will go to waste, and he will be among the utter losers in the Hereafter.} In Egypt this might be done by peasants, not by wealthy, well-educated and prominent folks like hers, and it's nowhere near as common. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience onourwebsite. Other English words that people use to express their adoration for someone include babe, baby, beautiful, buddy, cupcake, cutie-pie, , dear, , honey, pet, princess, sugar, sweet pea, sweetie, or sweetie-pie. Lesson learned: Guys need a serious set of balls if they want to pursue a girl in the Middle East and a good story to back themselves up when being interviewed by the father. and I can tell that from the way you talk about your girl and how respectful you were to her traditions.. Did she call you batta hhh , its like calling you (sweetie) so don't worry she loved you! Join 8,027 readers in helping fund MetaFilter. Egyptians often used the words brother and sister as terms of endearment when addressing their spouses, leading some early nineteenth century Egyptologists to speak of brother-sister marriages. Being a Muslim, I found it a nice place to live. One of their favorite things to ask me was how I like the Jordanian guys, but I always told them that I didn't know-- girls aren't supposed to talk to guys or it's bad for the girl's reputation and the guys will get the wrong idea. I read this and despite of being Egyptian but you opened my eyes to things I haven't faced yet but thank god you described them :) relationships in egypt is so complicated and this is just frustrating. My name is Hassan and my email is hassan.nur@live.co.uk. Yea thats right. I guess you have heard this Arabic saying before " " means if there isn't different tastes so goods won't be sold.so every society have it's characteristics, negative and positive sides and it's you who decide whether it is suitable for you or not. I had made my intention known that I wanted us to stay in Egypt and she was fine with doing that. After that he asked for add me in skype, somethings e talked about engineer stuff, but some days the bizarre things began, cause he said he has no sound, was very common to call me at midnight or pretty early in the moorning in egypt (3 am) with a poor light, so he was like a shadow and without sound, enjoying showing himself in boxer and exposing him on camera. W hen I think of Paul Hollywood, TV's floury-haired fox and staunch upholder of a strong crumb, I think of a man who only ever seems to be one pint of bitter away from turning into your dad . Well, "ra" may be Tahitian for "sun," but it is not Ancient Egyptian." So you can't just pop in "habibi/habibti" into an online hieroglyph converter and get anything really useful. True we are very strict with our religious beliefs and with good reason so premartial relations are non negotiable to a " good woman from a good family" , bnt nas y3ni .. People arent materialistic but i dare you to find a girl who's willing to sacrifice her status for any guy while that's philosophically romantic it's rarely seen in REAL life .. Everything about privacy and marrying an entire family is true though .. You dont just pick a girl or a guy for that matter , you pick a family because as family goes here they're usually very close .. Let me tell you something in poorer parts of world it can be just as much of a problem as it is in wealthier nations (sometimes much worse). Bunga (Boong-ah) / Flower. Cast this magical spell for one evening only. frequently). Men harassing is on a date? Meeting my wifes childhood friends and families reinforced this over and over. (i-a3b il-maSri l-ba3D minhom Hinayyin wa'albu kbiir, wa-matinfa3 ma3aahom illa l-hadaawa wil-kalaam il-Hinayyin, wil-ba3D maygii illa bil-3ein il-Hamra.) This meant everything about my mother and father, what they do and whether or not theyre together, as well as the extent of my religious commitment. I'm currently dating an Hungarian girl and things are a lot smoother. Egypt is diverse community , so u cant generalize that way. Pumpkin - A cute term of endearment for a sister who is sweet. Pumpkin is a Term of Endearment In English, the word pumpkin is often used as a term of endearment. As a general rule, for both Muslims and Christians in Egypt any kind of intimate contact before marriage is a big no no. I love being different from her, and she loves being different from me. Its also a very catchy song! Hello my baby. For those of you that have found someone that is worth keeping, I encourage you to stand up for yourself. and as you know that being a divorced lady in Egypt means she is dead or rarely when she gets an other chance. First reason is that she is 10 years younger than me (she is 25) we are really good friends and talk everyday even take lunch together everyday and I have given her some gifts like on Christmas I give her chocolate all the time and all but do u guys think if there's lot of age difference it will work? It is as if you have people belonging to different cultures..so, again it depends on who and where you are with. I think you got involved with a very conservative Egyptian family, but that's not at all how it usually is. However, there's a good chance that more people would use something unique if they could only think of something good: 63% of those surveyed admit that they've had trouble in the past with thinking up a suitably distinctive nickname . Here are just a handful of common Egyptian Arabic expressions that we used to say to each other a lot: (Note: The numbers used in the transliterations represent sounds in Arabic that have no English equivalent. But there are many interestingly local and culture-specific terms. Even when we were having a fight, 'cause that could never have happened if I didn't know how to reply. Here in USA people are materialistic too they judged you based on what brand name are you wearing, which car you drive, Etc I really think it's disrupted world, sadly! well, your post is about right by 85% I think. Theres also quite a lot of negativity toward other polytheistic religions (e.g. Funerary jars containing organs removed from the mummy. How long does it take to learn Arabic if let's say I don't know anything about it, So I can hold a decent conversation with her. Just don't let them run your life. This was one of my biggest concerns while I was planning to get married to this girl neither she nor her family spoke a word of English and my family are monolingual English speakers with no interest in foreign cultures or travel. I mean I hardly know Arabic people and I don't know what her family will think and I am not worried about a house or gold I have that to give to her and my second reason was that I don't know Arabic but I am willing to learn. there are other places, decent restaurants in Zamalek, clubs in Mohandesin and Ma3adi and other places in New Cairo. Here are just a handful of common Egyptian Arabic expressions that we used to say to each other a lot: I told them that it wouldn't bother me at all, but if religion really mattered, I don't think he'd be interested in dating me anyway. I thought that when I move here in California that my family would learn to be liberal and open minded but that didnt happen; instead they arrange for me to get married right after I moved to California. And that's why the number of Egyptian men getting married to foreigner women, even from other Arab countries such as Morocco and Syria, has been skyrocketing in recent years. I must say though that, in my situation, it was better to be of NO religion and agnostic in attitude, than be a die-hard christian who will not budge on his beliefs. Of course, she's miserable now. As an Egyptian, I want to tell you that it's too bad even for us Egyptians. But tell you what, the girl was playing you from Day 1 when she told you to meet her parents to have their permission. You can describe a man as a beautiful man but you would be thinking of his inner beauty. We now know that while first cousin marriages were not uncommon, anything closer was as unacceptable then as . I'm an American guy who married my Egyptian wife at the age of 23, we're just coming up on our 3rd year anniversary in a few months. hop u found love and happens some where else. This was actually a word for a young fish, but it could also be a term of endearment for a girl or young woman. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Premarital sex does happen in Egypt and across the Arab world in secret (sadly this puts girls reputations and even lives in danger). I'm agnostic, I wonder if it would be feasible at all to date a Lebanese girl Wow, just wow. !, actually not all Egyptian girls like that . don't generalize that man -_-. The light of their eyes. This is also one of my favorites because its very difficult to translate to English. In day to day conversations, your best friend is your habibi, the friendly cashier at the store is your habibi, it is very lax in usage. We did not want to be pushed into marriage just because the culture does not allow "dating without engaged parties". Family Guy Season 8 Episode 21 Partial Terms of Endearment. Small funerary statuette placed in tombs to perform labour for the dead person in the afterlife. Loved it. it maybe rude for me to say this but good for you that that didn't work. First of all , I'm really amazed about the level you've reached in learning Arabic , I really hope that one day I could be fluent in English like you did in Arabic , that "Ba66a" part made me laugh a lot , that's the exact term that me and my fiancee call each other :) The second thing I noticed is that you are an accurate observer , what you wrote pretty much sums up the deal about relationships in Egypt , for example I'm a 24 years old Egyptian and I'm engaged , the only thing that helped me to be engaged in such young age is the support I got from my father , and by support I'm talking of course about financial support , either for the "Shabka" or buying an apartment for me , or even for the future arrangements for the wedding . Overall though, I think the chastity is a great thing here. Advertisement Zhizn Moya ( ) This phrase translates to my life. To put it simply, you can describe someone as being sweet and that could be considered platonic, but if you call them sweetie that is definitely non-platonic. yet, the poorer the families are, the more (relative here) they will ask. Baby - A common term of endearment for a cute guy. He has never met me, I dropped her off home one night after a night out drinking at the bar, her brother got very mad and told her parents about that. She just mentioned recently she's getting divorced and I congratulated her. but as an egyptian girl who suffered from these rules as well. Our relationship was filled with laughter, but our relationship was DIFFICULT AS HELL. Being a foreigners made things even worse for you. Both parties have to be open-minded, willing to compromise, and strong enough to stand up for each other in face of any social or cultural pressure. Brother Waleed Ahmed Najmeddine, a consultant at Ask About Islam, added: Interfaith marriages are generally not allowed in Islam except under certain conditions: {Do not marry unbelieving women (idolaters), until they believe: A slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman, even though she allures you. Every language is full of pet names people give to one another when theyre in love. Her name was Fathiya Ahmed Galeb. My own experience is that Egypt is a miserable place for anyone who's out of the norm coming to Canada was like breathing for the first time. If you expect people should accept and respect your views whatever it is, so I think you should be ready to give the same. they only care about making the most of the marriage deal by asking for money , gold , car , apartment etc. Hi really interesting article. We are getting married (8 years after we met). What makes a great difference though is the social background. You can call your friends or family members so, because Habib(a) literally means the one who is loved. So, you can say for example: Baba Habibi or Mama Habibti. Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger are at their absolute best, with terrific support from Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, and John Lithgow. Bad Kitty - A cute nickname for a naughty but adorable guy. Its worth noting that new generations dont really use this expression as much. His responsibility for writing was shared with the goddess Seshat. Unbelievers do (but) beckon you to the Fire. but, since u knw arabic now, have u heard of the word "TADBISA"?