sereia

I'll be there!

I came back to check the boards (do this every few months or so now) and saw this. OMG THANK YOU for posting this, Olivia!!!!!!!! I would have been so sad if I missed out on seeing Khaled and Assala in Vegas!

I'm definitely going and would love to meet up with whoever goes. I will book this weekend for sure! Yay! Glad I logged in today

Hello, old friends! I came back to eye the sultan's kitchen and thought I'd throw my opinion out. The argan oil you buy packaged here (and even in Morocco) is mixed and is not pure argan oil. My husband's family owns a large area of argan trees and last summer I learned about the process from tree to argan oil. Unfortunately t tastes VERY different from what you get for $40 in a bottle here. It has a distinct luxurious nutty taste. My in laws use it plain to dip bread in, make a lamb or rabbit tagine, with eggs, or mix it with honey and ground almonds (called amlou) to make a paste like peanut butter to dip bread in. They also rub in on their skin, nails, and hair but the smell of pure argan is pretty strong if you don't mind your skin smelling like nuts.

Thanks for the heads up. I won't be going with my SO.... I wonder if a Moroccan passport holder could even get a visa to go there anyway?

Excellent replies! Thank you so much! We both do not speak Russian and basically will only have about five days to see St. Petersburg and it's surroundings and be off again! So I definitely want to stay in a nicer hotel in a central location IN St. Petersburg. I don't have any friends or family there so a hotel is a must.

Thanks so much! Do I need to know the hotel I am staying at if I use the gotorussia service? I'm so excited to be going! I only wish I could see more of Russia but I can go back someday!

Hello old friends...stopping by to say hi! It's been many months since I've read/posted, but have been thinking about you all and hope you're all happy and healthy.

I haven't read most of the replies, so sorry if I repeat what others are saying, but I've been there too, confused. My husband used to threaten to return to Morocco many times and it is SO WRONG! Everytime he did that, it took away a piece of me. I believe strongly that yelling divorce everytime something goes wrong is so damaging to a marriage! It is not something that should be thrown around and taken back over and over! I know he's homesick, he's culture shocked, he's having a hard time with the economy, yada, yada, excuses, excuses. But seriously it's no excuse for treating your wife that way! Cultural differences or not....I certainly don't want to be a part of a culture that a SO threatens divorce constantly (not saying that's what Moroccans do but some reply here I read spoke of cultural differences)! I think you should make it clear to him how much it hurts you and your marriage and that next time he treatens it, he better have that plane ticket ready and bag packed!

Good luck. PM me anytime if you want to talk about it. I haven't been around VJ in months (came back after an old friend prompted me to) but I can receive PM's.

Hi fellow VJ'ers! I am considering a short vacation to St Petersburg since I will be in nearby countries. I thought taking a train ride over for a five day stay would be wonderful but am curious about the whole tourist visa process. I heard I must get my visa before I depart the US? Is that true? What if I don't know the exact dates of when I will be going? That seems to be a problem. Any recommendations on the best way to get my visa in the US? (I am not in DC where the embassy is) Any other advice you can offer?

Thanks so much!

Sandrila I'm sure a lot of us can relate. In Morocco the mom's usually don't work and they spend their days cooking and cleaning. My husband's home in Morocco is SPOTLESS. His mom washes the floor, bathrooms, dusts, changes the couch cushions, laundry, makes the beds, etc everyday! AND makes a fresh, home cooked meal with multiple courses. I don't see why our husband's should expect that of a working wife here in America but most of them grew up with that as their example of what a wife should be.

I suggest you try to make some simple things like others have said. Plan your meals ahead, pick easy to do/quick meals, freezable, crockpot types, etc. There are lots of resources online for those kinds of meals. If he expects tagines and such everyday well.......that's just too bad!

Honestly I think it will just get better over time. He hasn't been here that long right? Eventually he'll have to get used to it that life is just different here!

Well that would mean about 90% of the ppl who live here where I do wouldn't be in a home. It's hard to grapple paying $1500 month rent for a 2 bdr 900 sq ft apartment, and trying to save THAT much money. We dont' even make that much in one year combined.....

Well look at it this way... how could you buy a $400,000 townhome with zero money down? You wouldn't be able to afford the monthly payments anyway!

I think I have. Have to go click on netflix to refresh my memory what it's about.

I just saw "The Bubble" last night. I kinda liked it! It's about a gay Israeli Jew and Palestinian couple falling in love among other issues. There are a few kinda graphic gay sex scenes just fyi.

A friend of mine looked to do this - the downside to this is that the deposit you are required to put down is between 10 -20% of the price of the home. So in a market here - where a simply little 2-3 brd townhouse home sells for 400,000 - the downpayment is 80,000!!! (@ 20%) yikes!!

Well when buying a home you should be putting at least 10% down!

check it!

http://www.moroccanamericansforfritchey.co...lcome/home.html

Got this bulletin in email and thought I would pass it onto my religious Muslim friends here on VJ!

FANNIE MAE PRESS RELEASE

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA -- Islamic finance institution American

Finance House LARIBA has entered into a partnership with Fannie Mae

(FNM/NYSE), the nation's largest source of financing for home

mortgages, to enable more American-Muslim families to purchase a home

in the U.S. while abiding by the Islamic religious prohibition against

usury. Fannie Mae has committed to invest $10 million in home

financings originated by American Finance House LARIBA.

The patented LARIBA home financing model, which is available in 29

states, enables observant Muslims to purchase a home while recognizing

the prohibition of Islamic Law on paying or collecting interest on

mortgages and other types of debt. The LARIBA model is based on the

actual market rent of a similar property in the neighborhood. The amount

of the monthly payments by homeowners under the LARIBA home

financing model is made to be very comparable to a conventional, market-

rate, fully amortizing mortgage.

"Fannie Mae recognizes the growing needs of observant American

Muslims who want to achieve the dream of homeownership and the

unique religious sensitivities that, in the past, have kept so many from

being able to own a home of their own," said Julie Gould, vice president

for community lending at Fannie Mae.

-4-

"The flexibility of the unique Islamic home financing model created by

American Finance House LARIBA allows a faithful and observant

Muslim to purchase a home in accordance with the precepts of Islamic

law," said Gould. "We will assist by providing much needed liquidity to

make sure that the Islamic lender can meet the demands of the growing

Muslim community in the U.S."

"Today's news is another historic step in the development of non-interest-

based financing. Our new partnership with Fannie Mae adds more energy

to the quest of trying to meet the demand of those Americans who want to

abide by the prohibition of interest laws that were ordained in Judaism,

Christianity and Islam," said Dr. Yahia Abdul-Rahman, founder and Shari'

a (Islamic Law) supervisor of American Finance House LARIBA. "Many

American-Muslim families have stayed out of the housing market for

years because they are not allowed by Islamic law to pay, receive, or be

charged interest."

Under the LARIBA model, an agreement is made between American

Finance House LARIBA and the prospective homeowner that establishes

jointly negotiated maximum monthly payments based on the property's

sale price and fair rental value that serves as marking the property to the

market. Using that agreed upon payment, LARIBA calculates the "implied

interest rate" which represents the rate of return on the transaction. The

transactions use standard real estate financing documents and are serviced

like conventional Fannie Mae mortgages, which make them comply with

U.S. real estate laws and suitable for mortgage markets.

The American Finance House LARIBA mortgage is currently available in

the following states: Alaska; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Florida;

Georgia; Kentucky; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kentucky; Maryland;

Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Nebraska; Nevada; New

Jersey; New Mexico; North Carolina; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; South

Carolina; Texas; Virginia; Washington; and Wyoming.

For more information on American Finance House LARIBA, prospective

home buyers can contact 1-888-LARIBA-1 (888-527-4221), or go to

http://www.LARIBA.com.

Fannie Mae's participation with American Finance House LARIBA's

Islamic home financing model is part of the company's American Dream

Commitment® to provide $2 trillion in affordable mortgage financing to

increase homeownership nationwide among minorities, low- and

moderate-income families, women-headed households, and others whose

homeownership rates lag the general population by the end of the decade.

For more information on Fannie Mae's American Dream Commitment or a

list of local lenders, consumers may call Fannie Mae's Consumer Resource

Center at 1-800-7FANNIE (1-800-732-6643), Monday through Friday,

6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PST.

-5-

Fannie Mae is a New York Stock Exchange company and the largest non-

bank financial services company in the world. It operates pursuant to a

federal charter and is the nation's largest source of financing for home

mortgages. Fannie Mae is working to shrink the nation's "homeownership

gaps" through a $2 trillion "American Dream Commitment" to increase

homeownership rates and serve 18 million targeted American families by

the end of the decade. Since 1968, Fannie Mae has provided over $4

trillion of mortgage financing for 47 million families.

The American Dream Commitment is a registered mark of Fannie Mae.

Unauthorized use of this mark is prohibited.

Style Usage: Fannie Mae's Board of Directors has authorized the company

to operate as "Fannie Mae," and the company's stock is now listed on the

NYSE as "Fannie Mae." In order to facilitate clarity and avoid confusion,

news organizations are asked to refer to the company exclusively as

"Fannie Mae."

Note: Lariba, American Finance House: After 8 years of being a voice in

the wilderness and almost closing up shop got a call out of the blue from

Freddie Mac a year and a half ago. They decided to fund LARIBA/AFH

along Islamic lines to boost home ownership among American Muslims.

And here we have just at the end of Ramadan, news that FANNIE MAE,

the other source of major house financing money in the U.S. is also

funding LARIBA/AFH. InshAllah, this will become the norm among the

ever-growing list of IFIs in the United States.

Fannie Mae To Invest $10 Million In Unique Islamic Home Financing

Model With American Finance House LARIBA; Islamic Mortgages

Recognize Qur'an's Restrictions Against Interest Payments

For More information on Islamic Banking go to:

http://www.americanfinance.com/Introduction.htm

That's been in my queue for a while. Let me know how you like it!

I just checked for you.... no sim card!

I was reading about professional blogging today actually. Only a small percentage of people actually make any money doing it. I wouldn't try to make it my career but I would do it to see what happens while doing something else!

PS. Olivia I saw something else today about getting extra work in films in Cairo. Have you thought about that? I read they are always looking for Western type extras for their movies. Just a though!

I think you mean that the keypad itself is in Arabic, right? If so, you could find them at various places online, but they're going to be shipped to you from over there, and you'll end up paying a lot more than if you bought it there.

If you don't need an arabic keypad, then like Shyflower said, you could install programs that would convert the language. We just got the Blackberry Storm, and I'm pretty sure there is an easy way to "Arabize" it with the software that it comes with - I can check it out and let you know.

As long as the phone is GSM and unlocked it will work there - you'd just need to slip in the Egyptian Vodafone SIM card.

Do you know if my LG Envy II will work over there like that? I have no idea about these things.

Does it have a sim card? If so, you can get it unlocked before you go. Then buy a sim card in Egypt and put it in there!

ha! I'm getting started packing nearly 3 months ahead! When is your upcoming trip and where ya heading?

I'm leaving Thursday for an East Coast trip! Going from sunny CA to snow!!! Can't wait though!

I'm glad your mom got answers and can be on her way to recovery! *hugs*

Good morning everyone! I'm just procrastinating packing for my upcoming trip by posting online! YAY!

LOL @ Amanda and other people with Moroccan SO's...where the heck were your in law's shopping for their stuff? My inlaws have fitted sheets (that are soft!), top sheets, american style pillows, and soft bath towels!

Don't tell me! I am waiting to see that as well.

I've got a movie that I think is coming in the mail today that was on our Netflix MENA list, but I can't remember it now.

I doubt I'll be able to watch it. My fav show comes on..."Intervention" on A&E and then I'm going to BED! I've been like a walking zombie today.

Geez can you believe that lady stole $900,000 from her own church?! Terrible!!!!

Happy Anniversary Maggie! xoxo

Call me when you get back, D!!!!