Melbourne - Australia. The most dangerous things in Melbourne are asian drivers and groups of youngish males from the suburbs that flock into the city from the suburbs on weekends. Ohhh and the ongoing underworld war (most recently involving two warring Lebanese families) , but thats more for our collective entertainment than any threat to anyone innocent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_gangland_killings
As with damn near everything here you have to split the country in half, the north and the south. In the south, the country is pretty conservative. We're not talking Saudi strict but there's some shit you just don't do because they'll go off on you. Personally, I don't go south too often. Comparing the mentality of northern Lebanon to the rest of the Middle East though, is like someone with Downs comparing apples to a rock. Anything goes, especially if you have money. Anything. I have seen some of the most fucked up and incredible shit you can dream of here. In some towns in the South it's almost there where the Quran rules. Up here though, not even close. It's mostly Christians (Catholics known as Maronites and Orthodox). There is a good percentage of Muslims up here but they know they can't push their faith on the Christians and vice versa in the south. As for separation of church and state, I can only speak for the north , but it’s a fucked up system where in some aspects of town laws the church is involved but doesn’t get in the way because they use common sense. Yeah... There's a noticeable difference in dialects between most towns never mind different countries. For example, the town I live in is known for their thick accent and excessive cursing. Once you move on to different countries the difference in dialects is huge, the Egyptian dialect notoriously so. Thankfully there are two forms of arabic, wherever-the-fuck-you're-from arabic and formal arabic which is used in every arabic speaking country so we can understand each other without any problems. I'm not sure if I'd say she's the rule but she sure as fuck is not the exception. Trust me on that one.
Unfortunately, too much of Lebanon is currently present in Melbourne and Sydney; if you know what I mean.
Unfortunatley I know exactly what you mean. Most of them were too retarded even for Lebanon. A few who I've met from there are cool but the rest should be put on some island in the middle of nowhere. If only we could find such a place.
I think Melbourne still has the biggest Greek population outside of Athens (which includes the rest of Greece). It definitely did at one stage. The Lebanese gangs came up to the Gold Coast all the time, especially around peak tourism periods. All the bikers run the clubs, so they're relegated to the streets to make absolute fucking nuisances of themselves.
I spent 3 months in Morocco recently. Granted, that's not a long time, but in that time I literally only met one other traveler who spent as long as that. Most people can't seem to hack more than two or three weeks. And, I had the advantage of speaking Arabic, so I felt like I knew the country pretty well by the end. Right now I live in Washington, DC. It's a pretty unique place to live.
Most of you know I'm from the Criminal Republic of South Africa, that shitty country that just hosted the Soccer World Cup. Feel free to ask whatever you want about the place, but also remember I may not be able to answer everything. S.A. is still home to the largest population of ethnic Portuguese people outside of Portugal itself. No, we don't ride lions and elephants to work. Most Black people, however, use the minibus taxis. Quite frankly, you're safer taking the Lion.
What was the single most influential factor that caused you to pursue a career as a male prostitute? Absentee father? Alcohol? Growing up in Tijuana you received a lot of pressure from your dad to take over the family business? Just curious.
Is it true the Ayran race originated from there? Also, why does your language and Basque have the same origins? Cheers
No, the origin of them was in the Georgian steppes. Also they are a part of the language Finno-Ugric language group, so they are a language isolate separate from the other indo-european languages, but basque is a much more distinct, western isolate.
I'm from the United States of America. Ask me anything. I wont' respond. Because I'm American, and you're not important.
Without getting too political personally, you'll be just fine. I lived in Austin for a year and I'd move back there in a heartbeat if it weren't for about 200 different things keeping my roots a bit farther south. But in Austin, yeah, you'd be right at home (provided you can stand the hippies). Elsewhere, the whole Republican thing is a bit overplayed. We don't (all) ride to work on horseback, and we don't all suck the nuts of the Republican party. I always say "I make fun of both parties equally" and I've yet to get into an article for my slight lean left. In my experience, it's mainly the old grumpy people that stay at home (and are presidents of home owner associations and shit) that are the card-carrying stereotype you are referring to. That being said, Texans are VERY patriotic, to the point where basically all of our "local" country music is about how awesome and strong America is despite the fact that we're in the worse economic depressions since the Great Depression. Well America, and beer/sangria wine. Beer, guns, meat, sangria wine, huntin' dogs, country music and America -- FUCK YEAH!!! Here's what we listen to:
I'm from Pakistan. I'm a little afraid of what you guys will come up with, but ask away. I also lived in New York City for quite a while so I can field questions about that too.
Honest question, if a bit generic (I know you've heard it before): Have you been treated differently -- especially in NY, just given the location -- after 9/11? If so, how? How does it make you feel? Do you do anything in response? And on the other side of that, what, in your opinion/experience, in Pakistan is the perception/reaction to how Americans stereotype Pakistani people (especially post-9/11) I'm sure this is probably the last question you want to field, but I travel a lot and I can't help but feel genuinely bad for (pardon the political correctness) basically anyone with brown skin that "looks like a terrorist." It must be a completely unreal level of suck.