Alismum

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 01 October 2012 - 07:36

I thought this was interesting, the lady who wrote this is in Saudi, but I guess (some of it) could apply to us over here in Dubai. [u'>The Five Stages of Culture shock[/u'> Stage 1-the Honeymoon stage This is when you first arrive and everything seems so wonderfully different, exotic even, and you want to experience and explore your surroundings. It’s the same feeling people have when they are on vacation. This phase usually lasts up to 2 months. Stage 2- the Distress stage You start feeling confused, and things don’t seem exciting and new anymore. You start to miss home and familiar things. The new culture starts to feel frustrating. Stage 3- Withdrawal stage In this stage you start feeling more hostile toward the new culture, the people and the environment. You see faults everywhere; you criticize and mock everything. People start comparing everything to their own “superior” culture, refusing to accept the differences they encounter. One might find the behavior of the locals “backward”, and unpredictable. At this stage you start to feel anxious and withdraw and isolate yourself. Stage 4-Autonomy stage You start coping better with the culture and problems you face, it has become more understandable and tolerable. You feel less isolated because you have started interacting more with locals. This is the first step to acceptance. Stage 5- Independence stage You start to feel comfortable and confident in your surroundings. You embrace the culture and even start preferring some traits from it rather than your own. You might have adapted some of the local traditions, while still feeling yourself. It feels like this is your new home away from home. From here (actually this blog is fascinating if you get chance to read it) http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2010/04/culture-shock.html edited by Alismum on 01/10/2012

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 29 September 2012 - 14:05

Ladies I saw this yesterday and the publication had a picture, which will stay with me for a long time. Please do not look further than this yahoo link. God bless the little girl and her parents.

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 27 September 2012 - 00:07

Nina, I do a combination of slow and fast sometimes, I pressure cook the meat for a while until almost tender and then sometimes leave the stew on low for a while for all the flavours to come together. Abgoosht in the pressure cooker (45 mins for this recipe) [url=http://www.persian-recipes.com/persianrecipes/2009/09/15/abgoosht-made-in-a-pressure-cooker/'>link[/url'> ETA I never use cinnamon myself in abgoosht, but notice it's in this recipe edited by Alismum on 27/09/2012

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 26 September 2012 - 22:27

This is getting a little worrying. Apparently 5 more people (including 2 children) admitted to hospital in Denmark with suspected SARS like virus after visiting Qatar and Saudi. It's just been reported that the 6 in Denmark don't have it, they have flu.

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 26 September 2012 - 20:51

Oh my!!! My abgoosht is on a small flame for about 12 hours! I think thwt is absolutely amazing! Irooni, The guests that come here always go back with a pressure cooker after they've seen me cook with one, saves time and effort, cos as you know persian cuisine is time consuming. I even showed my MIL bless her when she was alive, and from then on she cooked with one as well. My hubby introduced me to the pressure cooker when he was a student 30 years ago (Id never heard of one before then), as well as his way of washing up ;) I eat with my family, but I have to confess that my festenjoon is awful, can't cook it properly and am not in love with the sweet taste, everything else I cook fine, since I've been doing it for 30 years now..... lol :)

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 26 September 2012 - 18:52

I have a prestige, I bought it from Home Centre 5 years ago and I have used it thousands of times ;) Abgoosht takes me about half hour with a leg of lamb, same for the other meals with lamb. Off the bone about 20 mins.

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 26 September 2012 - 18:47

Just seen one in the Geant magazine, Prestige 6Ltr for 99.95 Dirhams ETA oops just seen that you bought a Tefal one in the end. edited by Alismum on 26/09/2012

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 26 September 2012 - 18:45

What do you cook in pressure cookers? Surely just dishes with beef, yes? Cause chicken and fish are cooked in 10 min anyway! Would love to know. Irooni I cook Ghormeh Sabzi,, Ghemeh Bademjoon, Festenjoon and Abgoosht in my pressure cooker. In fact I use it for everything, it's like my best friend in the kitchen :)

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 25 September 2012 - 13:37

Puddleducks. When we first came here, my eldest (now 15) was under the 'radar' (schools words) for his lack of attention/writing skills. I had him assessed under the schools recommendations at BILD and they gave me a report saying that he had some issue with fine motor skills and required OT, which he had for a year. He spent 3 years in this school (IB) but had to repeat a year later on, so I changed schools and he repeated the year in a BC school. This is what might happen with you, you will get your son assessed and perhaps they will request that he needs speech and/or OT. Or like Amy said they may say that it would be better of he goes into Grade 1 as he's not mature enough or academically advanced enough for Grade 2. My youngest, just turned 6, is in Grade 1 (BC). He started school in FS2 age 5. I preferred him to be a year back (he's one of the oldest in his class), because my eldest struggled a bit and I didn't want this with my youngest as well. Although my LO is bright as a button (and cheeky with it), I am happy with the decision I made.

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 24 September 2012 - 23:12

I posted about this earlier. A fellow from Qatar, who had travelled to Saudi, had it. I believe it's the first time that SARS has originated in the Middle East. A bit of a concern because I doubt the health systems here could cope with a major outbreak. Also it's Haj next month. Yet another thing to add to the [i'>'what do you worry about'[/i'> list posted earlier on here [img'>http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/images/smilies/scared.gif[/img'>

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 24 September 2012 - 22:00

Gorobattie, I am so glad to hear that the school have taken action. One has to wonder if the threat of filing a police report might have spurred them on a wee bit, but like Marroosh said it was your persistence and determination that got the results. Hope those boys have had a good telling off from both the school and their parents, and that you and your little boy sleep better tonight.

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 24 September 2012 - 21:37

Also, take him to the bookstore and let him pick hs books. Another thing was getting easier books then letting him read it simply so he feels really confident then slipping in a higher level one [b'>One more thing I did is get a movie that has a book, we used the Grinch, but Lorax would be great, and connect the interest without connecting the memorizing.[/b'> This is what I did over the summer, Cat in the Hat is a good one as well.

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