100% Al Ahly Fan

Just assume if the phrase "my queen" is ever uttered - you are a kersmillion percent likely being taken for a ride.
just being facetious of course, but ya know - when it's laid on that thick..

Please dont get my humor wrong but this post should now be called
Think Really Hard Before Marrying Someone from MENA...Beauty for Ashes did.
Girlfriend, I am very sorry about your situation but I dont quite understand why you are quoting my entry and then not addressing things I wrote.
I addressed my entry to

Tany because she apologized for her opinion (she is going through personal H E ~double hockey sticks for her Mena man) and she is entitled to voicing her opinion
then to the fact that it was good advice from OP if we take it or not...
Mrs Basta!! Just to let her know I am reading with interest in her input

But I am confused with your quoting????
So this is my input....Sorry OP and thank you for the post. I took it to heart and will watch out!!!
And good luck Beauty for Ashes...you can help people on her with you massive experience.

HAHAHA ain't that the truth! My point was that American men may not need a GC, but they are the ones who use their woman for money, or anything else they need. Users are everywhere, I just don't think it only pertains to MENA men.

Actually, let me say, it is a MENA warning - when I look at my friends who are married to MENA dudes, the only ones that seemed to have worked out are the ones where the couples are similar in age and are able to bear children. I only know of one couple on here that had an age difference but are still together. I remember Debbie and her posts, I thought she and her husband would make it - and here we are, another scammer.
And yes, Americans get divorced all the time, however, some poor chick doesn't have to spend thousands of dollars on the front end to bring her dude over here.
Please know, I'm not against immigration and foreign relationships. I have many friends with great relationships with their MENA dudes, but they are in an exclusive group. So yes, when it comes to those red flags take them seriously. Not every guy is an azzhole, but ask yourself this question: if you don't have men beating down your doors in the US, what makes you think they're going to beat down your doors from afar without something to benefit them?

I feel so sad for you Thank you for sharing your story. Although, I don't think this is just a "be weary of marrying from MENA" warning, it's a warning to ANYONE planning to marry. It is a risk, and plenty of American/American marriages end similarly. Good luck to you

Glad to hear our relationship is a fairly "typical" marriage.
Like everyone here we've had ups and downs with marriage. Most difficulties have been because of my husband having trouble with finding steady work. He's had quite a few jobs in the couple years that he's been here. When he hasnt worked he's stayed with our boys (one we have together and the other is from my previous marriage). He loves and adores both of them and he calls both boys his sons. He helps around the house (cleaning, yardwork, laundry..whatever is needed) although he's not much of a cook but he can make a mean Egyptian salad or eggs sunny-side-up in a flash.
Thankfully we are both Arabs and Muslim so that had never been an issue.
I can't say he had culture shock since he had lived in California for almost five years before I even met him. I think the shock for him was more the economy and how bad it was when he got here. He couldn't believe how much this country had changed from 2005 to 2010. I guess I, too, was surprised that work didn't come that easy for him initially since we live in a fairly large city with many many Muslims and immigrants from all over.
We got pregnant fairly soon after him getting here. We weren't really trying but we weren't not trying either. We left it in God's hands.
I am so blessed that God brought this man in my life. He's my best friend even though still get on each others nerves every once in a while

Glad to hear our relationship is a fairly "typical" marriage.
Like everyone here we've had ups and downs with marriage. Most difficulties have been because of my husband having trouble with finding steady work. He's had quite a few jobs in the couple years that he's been here. When he hasnt worked he's stayed with our boys (one we have together and the other is from my previous marriage). He loves and adores both of them and he calls both boys his sons. He helps around the house (cleaning, yardwork, laundry..whatever is needed) although he's not much of a cook but he can make a mean Egyptian salad or eggs sunny-side-up in a flash.
Thankfully we are both Arabs and Muslim so that had never been an issue.
I can't say he had culture shock since he had lived in California for almost five years before I even met him. I think the shock for him was more the economy and how bad it was when he got here. He couldn't believe how much this country had changed from 2005 to 2010. I guess I, too, was surprised that work didn't come that easy for him initially since we live in a fairly large city with many many Muslims and immigrants from all over.
We got pregnant fairly soon after him getting here. We weren't really trying but we weren't not trying either. We left it in God's hands.
I am so blessed that God brought this man in my life. He's my best friend even though still get on each others nerves every once in a while

Glad to hear our relationship is a fairly "typical" marriage.
Like everyone here we've had ups and downs with marriage. Most difficulties have been because of my husband having trouble with finding steady work. He's had quite a few jobs in the couple years that he's been here. When he hasnt worked he's stayed with our boys (one we have together and the other is from my previous marriage). He loves and adores both of them and he calls both boys his sons. He helps around the house (cleaning, yardwork, laundry..whatever is needed) although he's not much of a cook but he can make a mean Egyptian salad or eggs sunny-side-up in a flash.
Thankfully we are both Arabs and Muslim so that had never been an issue.
I can't say he had culture shock since he had lived in California for almost five years before I even met him. I think the shock for him was more the economy and how bad it was when he got here. He couldn't believe how much this country had changed from 2005 to 2010. I guess I, too, was surprised that work didn't come that easy for him initially since we live in a fairly large city with many many Muslims and immigrants from all over.
We got pregnant fairly soon after him getting here. We weren't really trying but we weren't not trying either. We left it in God's hands.
I am so blessed that God brought this man in my life. He's my best friend even though still get on each others nerves every once in a while

So I have really enjoyed reading these forums! Its just nice to see other people in similar situations
Although I have been married less than a year, I have had some funny experiences and one just yesterday that made me laugh. My husband was born a nomad....lived in a tent until he was 10, his father was head of a camel caravan that transported spices etc. Well, for the most part, he is pretty "worldly" now. He went to school, studied biology, speaks 7 languages, has a successful tour business, and is very intelligent. But yesterday I cam home to the overwhelming smell of burnt plastic and found a large circular burn mark in the center of the dining room floor. My sweet nomad had been cooking with a tagine (a ceramic Moroccan crock pot basically) and it was so hot, he decided to open the door and set the tagine on the floor to let it cool. Which of course would had been perfectly fine in the sand or a desert tent, or even the cement or tile floors of Morocco...but not on lanoliem. When I explained to him the floor was essentially plastic he could hardly believe it! "Why would you make a plastic floor, it makes no sense, really they are a little crazy here in America!"
There are definitely some unexpected funny things, but I love being married to my nomad! (L)

Great topic We have been married 3 years this past January, today is his 2 year anniversary here, and married life has been better than I expected, I'm so thankful for that. We met in 2008 when I worked in Dubai and he worked in Qatar. We met when he traveled to Dubai for business.......we both knew pretty quickly that we were what the other always wished for in a lifetime mate.
We are both Muslim and that is very important to us.
We honeymooned in Egypt near his family and they are all very sweet and I love them. He still goes on skype every week to talk with everyone back home.
He already was used to living away from Egypt for several years working in the Gulf, so he adjusted to living in the US very easily. We live in a pretty large suburban area and he started driving and found his way around right away. He found his first job in his field only 9 weeks after he arrived and has worked ever since. He is still the same after all this time, no unpleasant suprises, so we are very fortunate.
He is very very affectionate with I love you's and helpful, around the house and with my 7 year old daughter......he helps her with homework and treats her like his own. My daughter's name is the same as his mother's name....we always laugh about that....that it was a good sign for us I even put in her baby book that if she was a boy, that I would have named her Ahmed (his name).
He's also very ambitious career-wise, does yardwork for my mom (my father passed away many years ago). He also helped my much older sister re-landscape her backyard and does yardwork for their older neighbors as well.
We are in the process of buying our first house together and planning a baby, so we are very excited about all of that. All in all, he's the best husband I could ever ask for and we feel we are a perfect match for each other. We look forward to growing very very old together

Met Wael almost 8 yrs ago and have been married almost 6 yrs. He arrived in the states Dec 07, so
it's almost 5 yrs since he left Egypt. We certainly were very fortunate to not have any adjustment problems.
He has loved the states since his arrival, worked for a few months and decided to go back to school. He has
a BA in Accounting, obtained his BS in Economics, and now will graduate with his MBA (Finance) May 11.
Last year he went home for the first time since arriving here. He had just graduated from the University of Arizona
and was a new American citizen. The first week he was back in Egypt, he couldn't wait to come "home"! So much
had changed. Of course he misses his family and speaks with them a couple times a week. He's just been so busy
studying and it has consumed so much of his time. I love and have always loved his independent nature and his
love for learning. He's still the same kind and gentle man I met and married. We have no problems with him being
Muslim and me Catholic. I learn and he learns. My family just adores him!
Tammy, replying to your topic of has it been what I expected....it has been more than that. I count my blessings
everyday and could not imagine myself without my sweetheart. He's such a good guy!!

My husband and I have been married for one year. The relationship part of our marriage is pretty much as I expected. The only thing that is a little different from what I expected, is how we communicate our feelings. Being as we had almost entirely an internet relationship while dating, we did alot of talking about our feelings. Now that he is here we don't do that as often, and I have to admit that I miss it a bit. I ask Hamza often, tell me how your feeling ? We used to talk for hours about an endless love He does tell me he loves me often, he is just not quite as romantic as he was via the net. He says this is because he is here now, and he can show me he loves me in his actions, and doesn't feel like its necessary to talk about it all day. He does show me he loves me in his actions. He Cooks dinner most nights, and if we are all home he does lunch too, he cleans the house, does the dishes, if I am working, or if he notices something needs taken care of he does it. He does the laundry, when I'm slacking. He takes care of my daughter when I'm at work, or sleeping during the day (cause I work night shift) He loves my daughter, and really treats her like she is his. That is the most important thing.He loves my family, and really fits right in with everyone. He is always making me special goodies, cakes, flan, other pastry experiments. He values my opinion, and asks me advice. So I guess maybe its a women's thing to find it necessary to talk about feelings, or maybe I just became accustomed to it because it was our only form of communication for a long time. However this is the only things that is lacking from our relationship.... and truthfully it is not a big deal, and I only ever bring it up with him, when I am PMSing
Other things that I wasn't expecting, outside of our relationship is the length of time it took him to find a job. It was almost the entire year before he could find a job. Part of this is because of transportation. I live in a small town, where job opportunities are non existent. He can not drive yet either, so he really couldn't look to far out of town, otherwise no one would be able to drive him to and from. Finally he found a job where he is able to walk to. Another thing is that he still does not have his drivers license. He doesn't really mind not driving, until special occasions come along, where he would like to drive to the stores (all 15 min drives or more away) to buy me or my daughter something special , and he is unable to. However he is always able to find a way to get something, or do something special anyway. These are things neither of us expected, and he did get a little frustrated about not finding a job quickly, but he kept himself busy renovating our house, and volunteering at the YMCA, going to school at the community college.... and golfing with my dad.
We have different religions, and I was a little worried if this was going to cause problems once he got to America... but it hasn't at all. Occasionally we have a disagreement about something, and usually its over a misunderstanding. Most things in religion we agree about.We are still working out the kinks, in how we will raise any children we will have religiosity wise. We are going to have a planned pregnancy, once we feels its the right time, and we can come to a complete plan/compromise on the religion issue. We do have an idea of how we are going to do this, just haven't talked about the details in a while, as we r not planning on a child right now.
Hamza has adjusted to life in America, really without any kind of culture shock, home sickness, or any other problems. He talks to his family daily, on skype... this has helped a lot. We are making plans to visit this fall, and that's something we are both looking forward too. He is family guy, and would rather spend time with me, my daughter, and my family then go out with friends, so meeting other guys to hang out with hasn't been an issue. However I do hope he finds some guys he can spend time with , when he wants to. The closest Mosque is about 1 1/2 hours away, so he rarely gets the chance to go. He does hang out with me and my friends and their husbands, and gets along with them very well.
Overall life is what I expected, hoped, and prayed for. I thank god everyday, for all the blessings that came into my life, when I met Hamza.

Well got updated USCIS status saying Farid's oath ceremony letter on its way. We are excited about this. He truly deserves being a naturalized citizen, I am so very proud of him. He just bought me some sugar wafers. Good man.
And I just got my house rented again to new people. God is great, we are truly blessed.

Well not quite incredible. We just don't want to bother them with our petty issues. I suppose if something huge came up, they'd be involved somehow.

Hey guys hope you are having a great evening. We are waiting on Farid's oath ceremony letter so he can get his certificate and apply for a US passport. Then God willing we can go on vacation to Morocco. Wohoo :thumbs:

Happy March Fellow Mena's!! Today marks out 4 month wait AOS. My hubby is growing inpatient of this wait. He has his EAD and AP but he says is not the same. I told him it will be here shortly and it's the government nothing is every speedy with it.

Happy March everyone

I think March is gonna be AWESOME!!! I'm hoping to hear something soon!!!

Good thoughts to all in MENA forum ...March does feel hopeful.
My daughter just asked me how to spell epiphany ...what a great word!!!
Just thought I would share
Thank you to all that help on here.

LOL

You are such a lil sunspot

So I never start anything and thought maybe I should.
Hope this month is a good one!

Happy March MENA Folks!
Hope everyone is well. Been a while so thought I'd stop by and say hello to all
I don't remember when I posted last in MENA but lots has happened for us and thought I'd share. 2011 was a good year, thank God.
The best was our son was born in 2011. Actually last month he turned one years old. The other great news is that we bought a house together. We go back and forth on whether we should stay in Minnesota or move to a warmer city but for now Minnesota is where we call home. We've had ups and down with work for my husband but thank God he is working again and is starting school this month as well.
We filed for the ROC in January. Biometrics is in a couple of weeks. Probably won't hear anything about it until the middle of summer.
So anyhow, I'll be popping in, usually over in the ROC section ,so I'll try and stop by over here as well to say hi.
I wish everyone well on this journey we call life. Take care all!

Happy March MENA Folks!
Hope everyone is well. Been a while so thought I'd stop by and say hello to all
I don't remember when I posted last in MENA but lots has happened for us and thought I'd share. 2011 was a good year, thank God.
The best was our son was born in 2011. Actually last month he turned one years old. The other great news is that we bought a house together. We go back and forth on whether we should stay in Minnesota or move to a warmer city but for now Minnesota is where we call home. We've had ups and down with work for my husband but thank God he is working again and is starting school this month as well.
We filed for the ROC in January. Biometrics is in a couple of weeks. Probably won't hear anything about it until the middle of summer.
So anyhow, I'll be popping in, usually over in the ROC section ,so I'll try and stop by over here as well to say hi.
I wish everyone well on this journey we call life. Take care all!

Happy March MENA Folks!
Hope everyone is well. Been a while so thought I'd stop by and say hello to all
I don't remember when I posted last in MENA but lots has happened for us and thought I'd share. 2011 was a good year, thank God.
The best was our son was born in 2011. Actually last month he turned one years old. The other great news is that we bought a house together. We go back and forth on whether we should stay in Minnesota or move to a warmer city but for now Minnesota is where we call home. We've had ups and down with work for my husband but thank God he is working again and is starting school this month as well.
We filed for the ROC in January. Biometrics is in a couple of weeks. Probably won't hear anything about it until the middle of summer.
So anyhow, I'll be popping in, usually over in the ROC section ,so I'll try and stop by over here as well to say hi.
I wish everyone well on this journey we call life. Take care all!