Quote of the Day: "You have to spend your husband's money so he can't afford a second wife!"

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Spend ALL your husband's MONEY so he can't AFFORD A SECOND WIFE!!!"

On a shopping trip in Dubai. OPNO's friend (we'll call her J) who is married to local man is shopping with her local sister-in-laws. Women are spending money like mad. J though, is walking away from the mall empty-handed. The women interrogate her.

SILs (sister in laws): "Why are you not buying anything?"

J: "I don't need anything."

SILs [look at eachother and laugh. They aren't the kind of women that 'need anything' either. That isn't exactly the point.].

J [helplessly]: "I didn't see anything that I liked."

SIL #1 [shakes her head, as if to say, that is not the point]: "You have to spend all your husband's money..."

J [looks confused]: "."

SIL #2: "...so he can't afford to take another wife!" [The SILs grin together in an assured manner].

J [raises her eyebrows, knowing her BILs lifestyles maybe better than her SILs]: "I just try to be a good and loving wife. Seems to have worked for me."

[The SILs gather together like a flock of graceful black swans and plump partridges with a peacock's fan of shopping bags fanned out around them and just smile together over the shoulders at J knowingly, shaking their heads in patronizing manner at this sweet (but what they percieve as stupid) child.]

****When I related this narative to M he laughed so hard***

Omani Moments: MfB and an Unlikely Bin Cat

I have a really nice taxi driver (1 out of 30 isn't a total creep) called M from B [and yes, he still does want to marry me [lol] but he doesn't phone stalk me or ask me continuously what I think about marrying an Omani, maybe only once a year, with a "OPNO, it is not good for you to be alone. You should have a husband to take care of you." ect.] Really he is a very nice guy. Wallah. LOL. Oh MfB, to this day, you make me laugh about the poor cat you bought from Dubai.

Here is that story:

I made the mistake of telling MfB (when I lived in shared house where not everyone liked cats) that I missed having a cat. This a is a guy that will buy you a Pepsi and water when you are thirsty and never deduct it from your cab fare, nor will he let you pay (if you happened to have converted to Islam, man or woman) for it yourself if you made the mistake of saying you are thirsty. If you compliment something that he owns, he will somehow find a way to give it to you. MfB is old school desert hospitality like that.

Anyways, so I told MfB when I had my own place, I was going to adopt a bin cat. This made him upset for some reason.

"OPNO! No! They are dirty and mean. I get you nice cat when I go to Bahrimi."

I though little of it. MfB goes back to his village ever two weeks for the weekend. Until two weeks later I get a call from MfB (he never calls me, I always give him a missed call when I want to call him for a ride somehwere) so I answer.

He is like "OPNO, am out your house now. I brought you a cat. Nice cat, good cat, from Dubai."

It is friday evening, and it takes me a minute to get dressed and meet him. His orange and white taxi is parked out side and sitting next to MfB is a very scared, very fluffy, very fancy Persian cat. Not like a bin cat at all.

I look at MfB and I look at the cat.

"MfB!" I exclaim. "Where did you get a cat?!" MfB isn't exactly the kind of person that keeps pets. I know that from how he keeps his taxi and from how he keeps his work uniform in the back for his other job (most taxis have two jobs).

"I buy her for you," MfB says proudly. "from Dubai. Nice cat. For nice [insert my nationality] Lady."

My mouth is probably open in surprise and a combo of what the hell should I do? My housemates peer out the door at what is going on, the girls puting their hijabs on to see what this crazy Western girl is doing with a taxi driver. I am already crazy to all the Omani families I know so that doesn't bother me, but the fact that the owner of where I am a guest is not exactly liking cats? That figures into my dumb-foundedness.

"MfB, I can't keep a cat! I don't have room for a cat yet. When I get my new apartment..."

MfB doesn't look bothered. He is like, oh well, and then opens the car door. The cat runs out and away into the night.

Yet again, I am like, WHAT THE HELL?! I look to MfB but there is not point explaining WHY you shouldn't just throw a pet store cat out onto the street.

Yeah, so if anyone in MQ has seen a very mangy purebred Persian wandering around the dumpsters, she was my present from MfB.

Designer Socks & Fish Hooks

Once upon a time OPNO was fishing with her first real Omani friend and his cousin. We'll call Omani friend K. Cousin A.

The following is a real life conversation narrated from a willayat far far away (nigh Qurayat, so not far then, really). It illustrates the shopping habitats of two sub species of Omanis in their different habitats:D

A is fishing and hands K the fish they've hooked. Hook is jammed in poor fishie's mouth. OPNO wants to save fishy, but then, A & K will abandon OPNO in the middle of nowhere so she watches the arabic argument that pursues.

A works for a company. He wears nice dress socks, often designer. K usually wears 50 baiza plastic flip-flops and owns no socks that didn't come with his ROP uniform. Usually we use a piece of carboard to hold the (usually bloody) fish to get the hook out of its mouth. K decides to use A's designer socks instead.

A: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!!! THOSE ARE EUROPEAN! AND COST EIGHT RIALS A PAIR!!!!!

K: [completely unfazed answers while blood and fish stench soak into the lovely sock] I can get you EIGHT PAIRS for THREE rial in Seeb.

[He means the Seeb Souq. Not exactly dealing in Gucci you know? But Chinese knock-offs]

A: [something rather rude in Arabic].

OPNO [to herself, cuz she is weird and talks to herself--not really, no one was listening because she didn't speak arabic then but that is for a different post--- and BTW, she isn't a name-brand snob, Prada was from a life far different than the one she preoccupies now]: Good thing we have a cooler. Hehehe. K might have stuffed my Prada handbag with ice. But then, LOL, he could have always GOT ME A NEW ONE FROM SEEB. LOL :XD