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Intercultural mixing in the city of oh-so-many-cultures


MaaaD We all live in a city where people from possibly every country in the world are represented. However i have noticed that all the cultures dont mix very well. Its understandable when people seek out there countrymen when they first arrive, however very few are those who gain the invaluable experience of reaching out to all the people who live in this wonderful city. Even if people do mix its just at the surface. Do you guys agree ? and if so , Why is that ? Ask yourself these questions .. Are the majority of my close friends of a smiliar cultural background as mine ? Did i date a girl/guy from a different culture while here ? lets hear it ..
BobbieMasoner brilliant point. I've noticed people seeking out individuals with similiar backgrounds a lot. Hell, maybe most people are just scared of coming to a new unfamiliar place and need some comfort in the familiar. Although i'm not local, i was born here, and lived here almost all my life and have known people from all over, including some Khaleeji friends. I have to say though- when I come across someone from Scotland, or maybe even the states, it does get me screaming 'oooooh scotland' or whatever- it's just someone to relate to. Funny thing is, i have more in common with people who have grown up here (no matter where they're from) than those from 'home'. I think a large factor though is whether or not you go to school here- you have no choice but to mix with people from other cultures, which is great. I've made friends from all over and I have (i hope) atleast some understanding for their cultures because I don't really have one of my own- my culture has been a mix of everyone elses that i've known here. I've celebrated Eid with friends, danced at Dvali (spelling?) and done the Hakka in a grass skirt. Although i can appreciate groups of people seeking each other- we should all try and have a taste of another culture- it's good for us! :) Pumpkin Escobar That seems very true. Where I'm from, it's gets broken down to color-white, black and mexican. But I can claim all three if I want, so it was never hard for me to meet other people from different backgrounds. Here, it seems to be more about where your from, which is new to me, because in the States, everyone is pretty much from the States(well, at least on the West side of Chicago and in Texas, I've grown up in both) I never had a problem hanging with other people because I fit in everywhere and nowhere at the same time :shock: Chocoholic I think many people here are superficial it's sad to say and they're not really up for looking underneath the surface. People will naturally search out others with similar backgrounds for starts, but it's definately a lot nicer when you have friends from people all over the place, it makes you a bit more worldly. It certainly makes the dating scene more interesting. I haven't been out with one Brit guy since I've been here, international dating is much more fun and you can certainly work your way round the world. vamps Well that does seem true around most of the hang-outs down here, but it has never been an issue for me- searching out for ppl from my own country or with a similar culture as mine. If anything, im not much of a traditional person myself, having lived in the UAE practically all my life i'v lost touch with what is really my country's culture. Hence, like others i've gained a bit from here & there to result with what i call my own traditions (i pity any future children of mine for the loss! there's nothing for me to pass on! lol)
As answers to the 2 questions u posted: No, there are only about 2 or 3 people who i consider close friends & who also happen to be from a similar background as mine...the rest of my pals are from a wide variety of culture and we all seem to find no problem with that...it's been real great mixing with all these ppl as we tend to grow in terms of personality & more when we get a wider coverage. Usually we have a common hobby or so that has brought us together, and so being from opposite sides of the globe doesn't really matter. Regarding the 2nd question- If u here the combination of a couple i'v made myself u'll have ur eyes poping out...i always received the 'oh-my-god-wat-a-wierd-match' comment every time someone found out our nationalities or saw us 2gether...but its cool & plus i dont know why but i somehow dig guyz from anywhere but where i'm from! :? Chocoholic HEy Guys, This topic brings to mind the 3 culture kids as they call it, where so many people now have a father of one nationality, mother of another and they've been brought in a country of neither, so how confusing is that going to be. I know so many people like this now, but they all seem to find some commen ground. BobbieMasoner
That's me my dear (: Pumpkin Escobar My mom's black and my dads white and I look arabic/spanish Chew on that one :wink: Chocoholic Wow, cool! I think it's a good thing. So question, where do you guys consider your 'roots' to be and do you embrace the different parts? I'm interested to hear your thoughts and how you deal with things. MaaaD if all races fu!#ed the shit out of each other it would end racism as we would all be brown :P

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Chocoholic You're not wrong! What's going to happen in countries like China, where they're only allowed 1 baby per family and the preference is for boys and many baby girls are abandoned or killed? Males already outnumber females so in a few years time, they will be forced to marry women from other nationalities, and eventually there'll be no what I'd call pure Chinese, how dumb can you be? BobbieMasoner
um...roots...hrmm.... suppose it depends on the situation. i know more about local (arab) culture than either of my own really secretdubai There isn't very much mixing, compared to the amount of multiculturalism here. Particularly between nationals and expats. L_pevensie
omgosh me too!!!!!!! sniper420
HAHHA gud ol Black and white = brown! :lol: symmetric Im local, but I'm not an Arab. I am Persian, and I know I have Turkish blood in me. It is not necessary for a local to be an Arab, because many of Dubai's original citizen are originally not Arabs, they are Persians, most of them are merchants.
I am a little bit freaked out with the huge number of races over here in Dubai, and some how Im a little bit worried. At first I was already scared to see many of my Persian community members have vanished to some place I dont know, and thought Arabs might take over and be the majority in Dubai (in the 1960's, Persians represented more than 70% of Dubai's population!). But looking at today's situation, I guess it became a total mess.
I am one person who loves to know more about other cultures, well since I am already Persian/Turkish, my community celebrates Persian ceremonies and speak Farsi offcourse, along with a special dialect which is influenced with Turkish language a little bit, and guess what, our dances are -most of it- Turkish style, and not Persian! After moving to Dubai in the year 1886, and along with the big changes that took place, we became strongly influenced with the Arabic traditions, and today we were the Arabiic dress, speak Arabic, make Arabic food, and we almost lost most of our Persian culture! The only thing that keeps our culture all alive is our wedding, in our weddings our parents and relatives tend to speak Farsi, and all men, women, and kids together dance our folk dances!
I have lots of friends from different backgrounds here in Dubai. Spanish, Indians & Pakistanis, Italians, Africans from different countries in Africa, South Africans, Arabs, and Im very honoured to be a friend of them all.
Thats my pic... Do I look more Persian or more Turkish?
symmetric Btw .. its really a cool topic, thanks for sharing! sniper420
Good to post ur pic here but be WARNED. Be careful of Liban! :lol: Linda_Stuiv When I first came to Dubai on a visit to my fiance, I was impressed by the number of different colors/races/cultures that seemed to be present. Nevertheless, I sensed a sort of tension under the surface (refer to my "disgruntled dutch girl" thread). There seems to be three major groups of people in Dubai : 1-Arabs (any member of the 21 arab countries that have a population of about 300 million people). 2-South Asians, coming from India/Pakistan/Bangladesh/Srilanka ..etc. 3-Western Expats. (Western Europe and North American/Australia/NZ/South Africa) There are other groups of course, but they don't seem to be major "players" on the scene, like Africans (non-arab africans), or Eastern Europeans, or Asians. The persians have shown to be incredibly flexible, so you can find persians with Arabs/Westerners/south Asians. And I think that'd due to the fact of the many currents inside the Persian society as well. Some persians are extremely liberal and view the situation in Iran as catastrophic to the ancient Persian culture. Those would naturally mis with the westerners. The persians which are a bit conservative (not necessarily by religion but by identity) mix better with Arabs and South Asians. The problem that faces South Asians in Dubai isn't color or anything like that. Since it's evident that back in the day of colonialism and british rule in UAE (and other gulf states), and Indian was only second to the Brit. And a lot of locals marry/married indian ladies. So I'm more inclined to think of it as a socio-economic problem. The well-brought-up, financially-comfortable, and "cool" Indians seem to have no problem mixing with any group. Although the ones that have not been mesmerized by Western hegemony seem to prefer Arabs because of the common "East vs. West" background. So it boils down to Arabs (whether muslim or christian) and Westerners. And those don't seem to mix very well for many reasons. Yet I believe that it's a shame. Because it's a golden chance for both Arabs and Westerners to learn new things about eachother and dump the old stereotypes and bias. Both parties seem to do little about it. Yet it seems that Arabs are just passive about it. Westerners seem to be pro-active about NOT wanting it. (Refer to my thread again lol). But all that seems to be melting away slowly, but surely, through schools. (Although, since I work in a school, it is not strange for a western parent to go for another school if he/she sees a lot of Arab or Non-western kids in the class). Let's hope for the best. Just for the record. If you're an Arab guy, hot, successful, and intelligent, trust me, the western girls might not chase after you (after the age of 21) in Dubai, but they'd happily indulge you if you approach. Do approach and be nice. And if you're a western girl. Beautiful, modest, and open-minded, and aware of the compromises you'll have to make , to get the relationship with an Arab to work. That Arab will pick you over any "cousin" or over any culture. Very little westerners know this. But Arab culture, taught in schools, is filled with poetry and stories of Arab men which chose their loved ones over the world. About altruism. About rebellion. So don't underestimate what that dark and handsome man with the beautiful puppy-brown eyes can do :oops: But that's just my opinion.
GAB Interesting. There aren't that many Emiratis compared with expats are there???-I have only knowingly met one Emirati and he was polite and well spoken. I find my friends are of varying nationalities and races here-how can they not be? and similarly at home. Why would it be any different here? Granted, here, I mix with people who speak English-that'd be the only common thread- culture, race, religion aren't an issue. I've only been here a short time and I find most people pretty friendly actually! kanelli I would love to make friends with people of different nationalities here. So far I have a few Polish, Finnish, German and Lebanese friends, but I've only been here just over a month. At a party I met nice Indian and Egyptian couples who I would like to meet again because they seemed really interesting and friendly. I'd love to make friends with some Emiratis or other Arabs, but only if they are truly open to making friends with a Westerner. In other countries where I have lived I had Lebanese and Iranian friends and they were great to hang out with. Any people like Liban would be dangerous to be around - a fake smile of friendship with hate lurking behind. Liban
Oh bite me you moron.
You don't know me, so shut the fcuk up. You will never get to know me because I don't befriend people below me. You feel me...
I dare you to speak to me like this in person. I dog dare you to even try and speak ill of me in person...
You want extemist? Heh! I'll whip you to the extreme. Then you'll know extremist... PUSSYYYYY!!!!! kanelli But you do hate Liban. You said in threads that you want the West to fall and Arab nation to rise and crush those who oppressed them. You also talk about how some Muslims aren't real Muslims (compared to you?). Why the defensiveness? You wouldn't be interested in making friends with me anyway. I'm not Muslim and I'm from the West. No, I don't care to get to know you because your words here on this forum have chased me and probably others away from making friends with you. Find some friends who are "real Muslims" like you, and who share equal loathing of the West. Liban
1) I hate those that hate me and my people. Notably Israel and its supporters. If you bear no ill towards me then I have none towards you. Unforttunately, many western governments are hated by me and 99.9% of all sane Arabs because of their policies. As per individuals from the West. Its a case by case.
2) I have many non-Muslim freinds from the West and the Arab world.
3) I have made good friends with many people on this list and I cherish their friendship.
4) I also have Muslim friends that do their prayers 5 times a day and won't even look directly into a woman's eyes (they lower their gaze to look elsewhere other than her).
I don't care about where you come from or what you worship as long as you bear to ill will. If you want to learn about Islam (no I am not an extremist at all), I will be happy to teach. If you want to learn of the injustice of the west to the Arabs, then I would love to discuss this over coffee... :wink: arniegang [quote="Liban 1) I hate those that hate me and my people. Notably Israel and its supporters. If you bear no ill towards me then I have none towards you. Unforttunately, many western governments are hated by me and 99.9% of all sane Arabs because of their policies. As per individuals from the West. Its a case by case. 2) I have many non-Muslim freinds from the West and the Arab world. 3) I have made good friends with many people on this list and I cherish their friendship. 4) I also have Muslim friends that do their prayers 5 times a day and won't even look directly into a woman's eyes (they lower their gaze to look elsewhere other than her). I don't care about where you come from or what you worship as long as you bear to ill will. If you want to learn about Islam (no I am not an extremist at all), I will be happy to teach. If you want to learn of the injustice of the west to the Arabs, then I would love to discuss this over coffee... :wink:[/quote Liban You are an embarrassment to your Nation :roll: :roll: :roll: sniper420
Oh buddy u would betta lock the thread than replying with offensive tone. :x Liban
Dude, I am not a mod here so I cannot lock this thread.
Besides, our jobs as mods cannot just revolve around locking threads because at the rate we pick up trolls and flamers on this forum (arniegang), we would end up locking the entire forum!!! :shock: sree This is not a peculiarity of this city . I think this is a problem you see in most of the places . Everyone wants to preserve their identity in the form their belif ,customs and culture . And they prefer to live in herds . This was one of the reason for the problems ,we saw in France recently , in UK , in US and in many other parts . We prefer to belive our belives are the absolute truth and never bother to learn and understand other cultures . Its our basic nature . If this has to be changed our children has to be thought like that . regds Sreedhar Chocoholic
Emiratis are in a minority, they only constitute a small percentage of the over all population. You be surprised whoever at how many people from other GCC countries try to pass themselves off as locals - makes me laugh! A friend saw one woman giving hell to a shop worker stating she was a national should get this and that blah blah blah, but my mate spotted she actually Iranian and slagged her off in Farsi, she said she'd never seen someone get so embarrassed and run away so quickly - honestly.
The majority of locals are very nice indeed. Liban Gotta admit that on occasion I pass myself off as a local.... Somehow, you get treated so much better :? Chocoholic Now why doesn't that surprise me! Ashamed to be who you really are? Emiratis are wiping themselves out on the roads. Liban
1) No, it just happens sometimes and not on purpose... BECAUSE I AM ARAB PERHAPES!!!!!! DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
2) Are you that ugly??? hashman
Come on Liban, u can't be that harsh. MaaaD so back to the topic. I have noticed a really bad habit with most people who live in Dubai. Is stereotyping. I know this is not only a Dubai problem but a world wide issue. But i feel like its worse here. Has anyone experienced that ? share your expereinces sniper420
True they do stereotype more than in North America. ross392 we are all racist! it comes in different forms but we all are admit it or not! sniper420
u r not moi. MaaaD ya seriously ross if you are dont generalize. I surely can look to a person without considering his race/religion/color .. just because you are doesnt make everyone :) Chocoholic
Yeah right whatever!
I just have an aversion to really, really fat people - nobody forced them to eat the burger - eeewwwww. ross392
I wish it could be that easy but the fact is anywhere you go, specially in a foreign country (such as this one!) you can feel "ex: at work" that somehow you are better or lesser than that "other group" of people because of what they can do or cant do (due to their culture w/c is different from your own). Again it could be shown in any form but the fact remains that if you do think less or more of that person you are considered a racist! unless you both have the same color/nationality of course!
I know I know it is hard to accept these statements but we all are.. MaaaD ofcourse a person will always assess people and look up or down to them its just human nature. BUT its the criteria that matters. professionaly for example if you look up to Bob because he does such a great job. and you look down on Alice because she is a slacker. Thats perfectly fine ! but if you look down on Bob because he is indian , and respect Alice because she is caucasian THATS racsim. ofcourse racism and stereotyping are easier for the lazy/stupid/idiotic mind since it makes the criteria much easier and faster to be determined. ross392 and my point was well taken! fayz
But they taste so damn good :lol: :lol: :lol: Chocoholic Yeah but dude, have you seen what happens when an overly large person loses all that weight - flabby, hanging skin. It all has to be surgically cut off, now that's just nasty and people don't realise it. MaaaD
The fat people or the burgers ? :P Chocoholic Both!



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