Tuesday 3 April 2007

what i like about..

What I like about ......bengalis:

Balla assoni?!

1. The clothes. I love saris. Very glamorous.
2. The food! Especially rice and fish. Very healthy.
3. The language. There is no “p”. I never did like plosive letters. Too harsh.
Someone teach me to say I love you in bangla.

What I like about ......Americans.

How you doin? (joey style)

I have too many American friends to indulge in any American bashing. Besides, we were reading this poem in class, and I found myself defending American foreign policy in an attempt to be diplomatic, because the students were being so anti American! Besides not everyone in America thinks in the same way.. (only just learnt how to do that without the messy url so will probably be doing it a lot)

Anyway, what I like about Americans then:
1. translations is showing in Broadway! If you live anywhere near new york, go and see it. Wanted to take my A2 students who are studying it but there is no where close by :(
2. the way they say leisure “leesure” tee hee hee hee. The first time Saudi stepford wife did it, I actually didn’t know what she was saying. But it sounds nifty that way. Don’t know why!
3. the cookies are bigger. Need I say more?


What I like about ......arabs

khayfal haal!?


1. the language!
2. I think it would be kind of cool to go out fully covered in the middle of summer, and not have people looking at you like you are an alien.
3. halal meat wherever you go


what I like about paki(stanis)

kese ho?

well come on I could’t leave it out now could i?
… but can’t seem to think of anything at the moment. No I’m kidding
1. the language. And mirpuri really does beat any other languages hands down! (samaose kaso, sesso)
2. whatever else you might think of extended familes, at least they are close knit and help each other out.
3. ?? any additions? My mind really has gone blank!

What I like about ......Chinese people

Le ho ma (is that right even!?)

1. everything! I’m not allowed to teach the Chinese students at college. They actually won’t let me! Well ok, they’re not allowed to do A Level English, but still..
2. I think I better stop this section, before people start getting worried about my obsession with the chinese. Really!

What I like about Danes

Hvarden har du det?

1. samia
2. gry
3. met two very sweet Danish girls, and it is no longer the ominous land with those cartoons. So yeh, all Danish boycotts shold be stopped now

and last but of course not least

what I like about Britain

aright mate? That was supposed to be cockney style. No? okay then

1. if you look and compare with other countries, I really do believe this is one of the most tolerant countries to be in at the moment.
2. the food- well it’s important!
3. the weather. I’m happier when it’s cold.

The north/ south divide deserves a post by itself, but I would just want to finish by saying the north west rocks! And London has no greenery. Right saabirah?

15 comments:

Min babys vej til verden... said...

May one of the danes say "jeg elsker dig... du er for sød."
im not an enemy of my own country, but i apploudded (probably not spelled correctly) the boycut of danish exports during the "cartoon crises".. cause it showed alot of people here, that what is said and done to hurt others in the media (where islam is more or less always made out to be the devils work) affects the rest of the world too. Here(DK) some really don't care how they insult the minority in the country, but what they do care about is boycuts and danish flags being burned... so insh'Allah if not for anything else, hopefully that will stop them from doing similar in the future... At first i feared that the situation between different cultures here... meening most the DANES and the "muslims" would get worse, but mash'Allah it helped more than anything else did in a long time. so thank you for the boycut and the huge reaction, that let hope back into my mind (that the world still cares)... at least the muslim world. :o)

Well that turned out to be more than the small comment that i had intended to write... as always i love reading your posts and cant wait to see you again.. insh'Allah very soon.
kys kys xxx

Saabirah said...

You forgot aussies! I love their accents. And the unique wildlife and landscapes. And of course, alkauthar! www.alkauthar.org

Anonymous said...

I'm going to Broadway to see...THE LION KING!!! I kid you not =D

On a slightly random note, a lot of people think I'm Bengali. I'm not.

hema said...

samia- thanks for those insightful comments from an insider's point of view. i am sure that the the whole cartoon issue got a lot of people interested and thinking about islam, and i'm sure that the boycott did some good in deterring such atrocious things from happening in the future, but i just think maybe it is not a good idea to boycott goods indefinitely, as some people think should be the case.
saabirah.. oh, so when i get called "faskitani" that's just slang? anyway as my first ever bengali friend, any misconceptions i have about the language are due to you. so there. but please teach me "i love you" one more time. when it's written down i remmebr it, i promise.
as for your brother, i'm quite shocked. is it the younger one? hhm i don't think i wanna coem to your house anymore:( there is still a lot of hostility between bengalis and pakistanis in your area isn't there? especially the boys. what is that about??
mishy, really are you not bengali? i'm shocked;)

Anonymous said...

ammi tumahare balo bashey... (but i dont btw- well not that much)
bengalis have better weddings- that taal dish is a skill no-one else has... and they implement sunnah by eating with their hands...
but kashmir has the BEST scenery...

YMiss said...

Mishy: your seeing lion king......without me???!!?

When did u turn in to this backstabbing traitor huh I can't belive u didnt even tell me!!

Umm Maymoonah said...

What I love about Bengali's? They add chilli to almost everything. Even Fruit. My husband found it bizarre when my mum gave him apple with chilli. "You Bengali's add chilli to everything!!!!" He exclaimed

Gry said...

May the other dane say: Jeg elsker dig også! May Angels surround you and may Allah always bless you. Thank thank you for being my friend and for your guidance and helping me on my beautiful journey towards The Most High. You are always in my thoughts, heart and prayers.

hema said...

umm maymoonah- my mum adds salt to fruit but i've never heard of people adding spices to apples! and my uncles add salt. pepper and spices to their tea. strange!

gry- :) i see you managed to locate your password.
the rest of you guys can visit:
grynathan.blogspot.com
samiabahri.blogspot.com (or just click on their names)
and leave some welcoming messages and advice for two recently reverted muslims

Saudi Stepford Wife-Daisy said...

During my Leeeeeeeeee-sure time I read your blog.

Besides, we're right, you're all wrong. We american accented English speakers improved the language legacy left to us by the Cockney colonists.

And while we're at it, were's the "R" at the end of Australia. The way you lot say it sounds like Australier. Cinema/Cinemar! Need I go on.

hema said...

saudi stepford wife- "we're right, you're all wrong?" those words sound like war! so while we're at it:
spelling- why do americans feel the need to simplify everything. examples
colour becomes color
centre becomes center
programme becomes program
favourite becomes favorite
i mean come on, do the extra letters scare you or something:)

Saabirah said...

"why do americans feel the need to simplify everything."
Cos they're darrrrn stupid!!! Hey that was too easy. I don't understand why all types of biscuits are cookies (I discovered this when SSW's youngest daughter used to call those cheddar biscuits we gave out during break times cookies), why handbags are "purses", why bathrooms are restrooms.... sigh. The list is endless.

Anonymous said...

Hema, as an A-Level English teacher you should either know better or you're a purist. I'll say it straight out, I can be a Language snob. I prefer archaic terms (however only in writing, I have never felt the urge to use the words inculcate or syncope in my speech...you know who you are). When I did the evolution of Language in college I learnt that English from say the 1600s to today is very different because Language evolves. It changes and adapts to your surroundings. For some reason this stopped happening in the UK however in the US they continued and simplified it, for example "ou" has now become obsolete as has using "s" in verbs ending "ise" such as utilise etc. So you see, technically the Americans are right. Also, remember that it was in actual fact Brits who coined these new terms, the US is nothing but a former colony - the next step in the evolution of the English Language is to simplify it...but don't let the damn Yanks know that =D

Ymiss - we finally booked our tickets, yay! But I'm having trouble convincing my sisters to watch the Lion King, they wanna see Chicago :(

hema said...

mishy, are you kidding me, whose side are you on??!!
as for simplifying langauge, i do not see it happening in the uk, because there are too many differences between accents. should laugh be simplified to "larf" or "laff" for example. you need a standard in written english so people can understand each other.
but lets leave ssw alone for now. she's all alone in representing her country! although expereince has proven she can hold her own..

Gry said...

no i could not figure out my password, so i made a new blog, its www.dawn-gry.blogspot.com
check it out love.
Salaam