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Nazzadan
Jun 22, 2016



Okay this one is long
I (32 F, US National) live in the Middle East. My Muslim neighbor beats his wife, and I don't want to be her friend due to the violence in their marriage. Do I continue to make excuses or tell her directly?

quote:

My husband and I live in a large, mostly Western compound in the GCC. Within this very large "neighbourhood"-type community, there is a smaller, tight-knit network of families from the company my husband works for.
We all essentially live in the same neighborhood, many of them work together (those that work), sometimes our kids go to the same schools. This network comprises the primary source of our social connections; we raise our kids together, get together with people from this network for dinners, go on outings, etc. As a result, you naturally become very close to some people.
Within this network is a particular woman, "Charlotte". She has been with the company for a long time, and has since gotten married to "Bob" and had 2 kids during her time here. It is important and relevant to note that Charlotte is a US citizen of Pakistani heritage, Bob is Moroccan, and they are Muslim.

I was immediately warned about Charlotte because she tends to be very clingy, petty, immature, gossipy, and jealous. We did go to lunch a few times, but my spidey senses were heightened when she started going on about how our daughters were going to be "best friends" on like the 3rd time I'd ever seen her ever.
On one of our lunch dates, she divulged to me all of the myriad ugly details of her horribly abusive marriage (much of which happens in front of the housemaid and in front of their two children). Thinking that she was asking for help, and having been involved in a situation of domestic violence myself, I spent the afternoon with her essentially being her counselor: asking her what her resources are, reassuring her, going over all of her options to leave.
It became very clear to me over the course of this conversation that Charlotte has no intentions of leaving, nor does she seem overly concerned with the fact that her two year old had to witness things like Bob screaming with rage and threatening to kill Charlotte, for example. It was very weird and uncomfortable, but the well-being of her children was like an afterthought. It became very clear to me that really she was just using our lunch date as an excuse to unload her emotional baggage so she could return to her lovely marriage refreshed. It honestly weirded me out so much and I was so upset for the rest of the day.
So. Let's get something right off the bat: had we been in the US, I would have called CPS immediately after this conversation based on the crazy poo poo she was telling me. But I live in a Muslim country, and CPS does not exist here. You don't call the cops for domestic violence--in fact, YOU are liable to be arrested if you do!

I called a colleague who works in the medical field here to check and make sure there was no other way I could help her. There are no resources, and as a Westerner I was advised very strongly to stay out of it. My husband could be arrested if he were to make any accusations since interfering with marriage here is punishable by law.
Once I realized there were no ways I could help her indirectly, I talked with my husband for HOURS and decided, I can't be friends with this woman. She kept telling me how "You're the only one I can talk to," "Please don't tell anyone," "Next time you see Bob just pretend you don't know," and even "Can your husband take Bob to dinner and tell him that he has to deal with your emotional problems, too?" (WTF)
I asked around to see if anyone else knew what was up, and this has been common knowledge for YEARS. Their fights end up spilling into the hallway at all hours with her shrieking and him throwing things, she has run into peoples' houses (no knocking, just running in) while he is chasing her to beg coworkers to intervene or watch her kids until he calms down. One friend was so upset and frightened by their violence that at 2am she hid in the bathroom with her children and begged her husband to make a complaint to the building manager.
Charlotte then goes on with disadain about that woman who made the complaint: "UGH, don't be friends with HER--apparently if you make ANY noise she'll report you!"
So now, My problem:

I don't want to be friends with Charlotte. I don't want to talk to Charlotte or be associated with her. I don't want to attend her events and smile at her wife-beating husband and pretend that I don't think he's a piece of poo poo. I don't want to be her emotional dumpster for whatever dysfunctional reasons she has.
You can lead a horse to water and all that. I spent 3 hours counseling her, I researched agencies, I got sound advice. She does not want help. She is an emotional vampire who is unconcerned with the welfare of her children and expects everyone to be nice to her husband even after he keeps them up in the middle of the goddamned night, and expect everyone to go on as normal after she corners them into hearing about all her life problems.
The trouble is: she invites me to things. Constantly. For the past 6 months I've been able to just do short replies and convenient excuses. She gets so offended and puts on this big pity act when I can't come, and I poo poo you not, she corners me any time she sees me in public: "Why can't you come? Whyyy notttt?" It seriously raises my blood pressure just thinking about it.
It's pissing me off. You can ride the crazy train, but please do not expect me to be complicit. I think what her husband does is disgusting and I think her lack of concern for the welfare of her own children is deplorable. I'm getting tired of the excuses because she will just keep inviting me to things!!!
Do I just continue to say "no" politely indefinitely? Am I really expected to make a huge excuse every time I can't come to something? Would it be easier to just tell her, briefly and undramatically, why I can't be her friend?
The thing is, if I do tell her directly that I don't want to associate with her, she WILL NOT let it go. She will corner me when she sees me in public, talk about me behind my back (Which I'm fine with, but it makes other people--read: my friends--uncomfortable and involved which they don't want to be), and basically it will just be awkward no matter what.
What do I do here? How many excuses can I honestly come up with? She just sent me an invite to her 2 year old's birthday party like 8 weeks in advance, presumable to trap people into going and not able to cancel.
I will also see her at work-related events (people host events for the families of the company throughout the year), which EITHER WAY it makes so awkward and painful. "Hi, I had three dental procedures conveniently the same times as your events this past year, but OMG! SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!" I mean, what am I supposed to do? At this point all I do is pray, pray, pray, she is not at the grocery store the same time as me and run away if I see her.
I just want to be clear. This is the Middle East. I cannot make accusations about her husband. If he were to get mad, he could go to the police and cause trouble for me and/or my husband. The guy is crazy and unstable--he started to get pissy and confrontational about the husband who had his crying wife pleading with him to call the management because he was so rageful and violent WHILE HIS CHILDREN WERE HOME. Like, how dare someone call on him?

Guys, I'm at a loss. How do you shake someone who doesn't take a loving hint?
tl;dr: Muslim colleagues and their domestic violence issues. I don't want to be her friend because her husband is crazy--do I keep making excuses for the events I get invited to constantly, or do I tell her directly why we can't be friends? It will be awkward and awful either way.

So you are with this OP so far, right? That will probably change in the comments

quote:

You can't do anything as long as you're all in that hellhole of a country you're in right now. Really, for your own sake, don't stick out. Just the fact that they have laws preventing any kind of justice being brought into abusive marriages like this speaks of the populace mentality.
I'd get out of there as soon as I could if I were you. There's no way I could take being part of this...
OP

quote:

People are so weird. Have you ever been to the Middle East? Have you been anywhere outside of Europe or Mexican resort towns?
We would never venture out of our home country if we just refused to visit places that had a different cultural ideology we disagreed with, or a different concept of justice in the legal system. Sorry, but that's just no way to live for me.
We are happier here than we have been anywhere. There are some amazing experiences that we would not otherwise have here. I don't regret it at all. But it does come with a mental adjustment.
Must be nice to be so morally and ideologically superior isn't it? The world must be a super interesting place to you /s.

quote:

Did you just attempt to justify wife-beating and a piss-poor justice system that allows women to be systematically beaten?
OP

quote:

LOL what?
Where in my post did I justify wife beating?
So if I visit or live in Thailand, I must be justifying and minimizing human trafficking since it happens there right?
And if I live in Mexico it must mean I support corrupt police and political murders then?
And if I live in China it means I agree with killing and jailing people who voice their opinion?
Dude, the world must be a very small and narrow place to you and I feel sorry for you.
Just because I can mentally cope with the fact that GASP other people exist on this planet that have completely different values and ideas, and I can be tolerant of that idea, and coexist with them, does NOT mean I agree with them or think certain practices are okay.

Help, the country I am in prevents me from reporting my wife-beating neighbor or else the wife or even myself will be imprisoned. I am looking for advice on how to ghost on this abuse victim, but don't you DARE shittalk the country that enables this. I am a free spirited citizen of the WORLD and I embrace all cultures!

What an absolute CUUUUNT

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chitoryu12
Apr 24, 2014

Randomly generated word choices: "collectable" and "apparently".

My [28M] husband runs a large porn... thing.

quote:

I don't know where to start. A few months ago I had noticed something weird on my SO's computer, but I have a no-snooping policy so I didn't go down the rabbit hole. Plus, it was out in the open, on his desktop, so why even bother?
Well. It ate me up so I did my own research. It led me to a porn site. Huh, okay. Didn't know my husband downloaded his porn. Sounds normal but weird. I finally gave in to my instinct yesterday and snooped around his computer while he was at "work." He runs a porn torrent site. A really big one, from the looks of it. I don't really know the details nor do I feel comfortable exposing them here (my identity would be revealed) and I figure anyone who knows about this kind of stuff would easily be able to tell my husband. I don't know anything about this stuff and feel kind of stupid though.

I tried asking him about it this morning but he just brushed it off as "oh, it's where I used to go find porn." I told him that I saw his account and email exchanges and it looks like he has a huge role in running the drat thing and he brushed it off, and took his computer to work because "he needed it." I also brought up that he has a large collection but he said that it's just accumulated over time (which doesn't make any sense because I know for sure he's not into interracial gangbangs... I wish I was joking.)
Anyway, I don't believe him because that explains why our internet bill is always high (we pay it off so it's no problem) but also why he always has so much extra money. He's always been a "collector" of everything - kind of a hoarder (clothes, dvds, music, pictures, etc), so I would have brushed off a large collection if I hadn't found e-mails detailing a bunch of porn tracking language and his account and done other snooping.

I'm not sure what to do. I feel like this is probably illegal in our country but at the same time probably no one cares. But it's just kind of slightly unsettling to me, because who knows what else he is adamantly hiding from me? Plus, in recent years I've grown more and more uncomfortable with porn... I don't really mind if he watches, but porn itself makes me uncomfortable, especially mainstream porn. Is it bad that I would feel more comfortable if he was "dealing" amateur porn? Because mainstream porn (the majority of the site) is what skeeves me out. I didn't know there was such a huge demand for it... but I guess it makes sense.

I also noticed that he was involved in the section of the site that records live shows and redistributes them (in the e-mails he talked about it... at first I didn't understand and had to google a bunch of names, etc), which is probably definitely illegal and makes me even more uncomfortable because I have no way of knowing if he's the one recording these or if he's getting his "members" to do so...

Also, another thing that just came to mind is that we've made our personal, private videos in the past and he has... well, he has a large collection of... well... me. Like a fairly large collection (or so I think it's large, it could be small compared to what these porn-lovers collect...) and I'm kind of afraid of it being on there. Although I doubt he'd do that, but how am I supposed to know if he's blocking me out of this?

I don't know. I don't know how to get him to talk to me about this. I know he was involved with things like this (or at least I think he was, because he told me many years ago something about something like this minus the porn) in the past (like 6 years ago) but I haven't heard about it since then and he keeps going on as though he doesn't know what I'm talking about. Or am I crazy? I'm afraid he's deleted the e-mail and the information that I found or hid it so I can't see...

tl;dr: Husband runs some sort of porn site. It's really big. I don't really know if he has partners (probably does) but he vehemently denies it's existence even though I SAW and then I RESEARCHED. It's making me uncomfortable and I don't know how to get him to fess up. Also, he seems kind of mad at me after I brought it up and he took his computer away...
edited for clarity and additions

UPDATE

quote:

I did the petty thing and threatened my husband with the divorce and going to the authorities if he didn't tell me and eventually he gave in and told me a story. I don't know if it's true or not because it's hard for me to trust him.
He said that he "founded it" years ago (around the same time he told me that he was involved in torrenting communities as I highlighted in the previous post) and sold it to someone in the community for a little bit of money, that's obviously been spent by now. He says he doesn't profit off of it any more but sticks around the community because he is highly regarded there and he likes being able to download high quality porn on a whim. He says that in order to stay a member of the community, he's expected to be active around the forum, moderate it and contribute as well and that he DOES record and distribute live cam shows sometimes.

I am not sure how I feel about this. First, I don't know if he's lying or not. Second, I find it disgusted. I have no problems with porn but treating it as freaking collectable cards, really? He called it a hobby. A freaking hobby. I asked him if he'd ever stop and he said it was a very controlling thing for me to ask of him, and very unreasonable/irrational, and that I was making him feel controlled.

tl;dr: husband is very involved in a porn sharing site, thought that he owned it but apparently he is just a high ranking monitor, this doesnt make me feel any better because he treats it as some sort of hobby and considering the content (which is both illegal and gross) i am uncomfortable. Says I'm being controlling. Halp.

Play
Apr 25, 2006

Strong stroll for a mangy stray
At least if he owned it there might be some ad revenue coming in

Pick
Jul 19, 2009
Nap Ghost

Play posted:

At least if he owned it there might be some ad revenue coming in

yeah what kind of fool mods for free?? :v:

Tolkien minority
Feb 14, 2012


im a few pages back but holy poo poo please stop posting in this thread mirthless

flick my Mr. Bean
Nov 18, 2014

Nazzadan posted:

Well, gently caress. Just read my girlfriend's messages.



Reddit is more concerned that he snooped than the fact that she is garbage

You could suspect your SO is serial killer, find evidence on their phone, and reddit would still focus on your invasion of their privacy.

boner confessor
Apr 25, 2013

by R. Guyovich

A Wizard of Goatse posted:

yes, definitely

it was absolutely horrifying that a business like that exists, not surprising in the least who works there, and I really, really want a complete list of their customers

probably for export. i know a guy who made his fortune as an optometrist buying and refurbishing outdated glasses manufacturing machines and selling them dirt cheap to latin america

Dienes
Nov 4, 2009

dee
doot doot dee
doot doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot


College Slice

Mirthless posted:

She knows thigh highs are sexy and the way she is playing dumb about it makes me dislike her

Boyfriend is being (very) unreasonable but come on now


I'm not looking for an excuse to see my ex! He might need this sock!!!!!

I'm surprised it wasn't "My boyfriend is mad that I didn't wear any pants around his new roommate." That'd be more understandable.

Mirthless
Mar 27, 2011

by the sex ghost

Nazzadan posted:

Okay this one is long
I (32 F, US National) live in the Middle East. My Muslim neighbor beats his wife, and I don't want to be her friend due to the violence in their marriage. Do I continue to make excuses or tell her directly?

Help, the country I am in prevents me from reporting my wife-beating neighbor or else the wife or even myself will be imprisoned. I am looking for advice on how to ghost on this abuse victim, but don't you DARE shittalk the country that enables this. I am a free spirited citizen of the WORLD and I embrace all cultures!

What an absolute CUUUUNT

it's possible she's just afraid of getting caught badmouthing her host country

I've heard some real horror stories of people getting trapped in UAE for months over poo poo they said on social media

then again, she's probably just terrible

A Wizard of Goatse
Dec 14, 2014

flick my Mr. Bean posted:

You could suspect your SO is serial killer, find evidence on their phone, and reddit would still focus on your invasion of their privacy.

Correctly.

Bluebeard Did Nothing Wrong

Nazzadan
Jun 22, 2016



Mirthless posted:

it's possible she's just afraid of getting caught badmouthing her host country

I've heard some real horror stories of people getting trapped in UAE for months over poo poo they said on social media

then again, she's probably just terrible

She's in Qatar, which she claims is better than like every ME country and shouldn't be judged because it's just a different culture. Despite the fact that shes asking for help on how to ghost a victim of abuse because the country literally wont do anything about it

Lonely Virgil
Oct 9, 2012

Nazzadan posted:

She's in Qatar, which she claims is better than like every ME country and shouldn't be judged because it's just a different culture. Despite the fact that shes asking for help on how to ghost a victim of abuse because the country literally wont do anything about it

Isn't Qatar currently building a soccer stadium on the backs of literal slaves?

VanSandman
Feb 16, 2011
SWAP.AVI EXCHANGER

Lonely Virgil posted:

Isn't Qatar currently building a soccer stadium on the backs of literal slaves?

YUP

Gumbel2Gumbel
Apr 28, 2010

Lonely Virgil posted:

Isn't Qatar currently building a soccer stadium on the bones of literal slaves?

Nazzadan
Jun 22, 2016



Lonely Virgil posted:

Isn't Qatar currently building a soccer stadium on the backs of literal slaves?

Ugh, typical American not accepting another culture!!

Also yeah its going to be like 120 degrees during the next world cup and it will be an open stadium with no AC.

Subjunctive
Sep 12, 2006

✨sparkle and shine✨

Drunk Nerds posted:

The most offensive thing, for me, in this entire thread, is that someone has 1 million+ just sitting in their savings account and not being invested

Especially because if you have that kind of money in a savings account, the bank is going to harass you endlessly to meet with a financial advisor and do something else with it.

P-Mack
Nov 10, 2007

Subjunctive posted:

Especially because if you have that kind of money in a savings account, the bank is going to harass you endlessly to meet with a financial advisor and do something else with it.

Hell, keeping it in a single savings account is another level of stupid beyond not investing, since FDIC insurance caps at $250,000.

Subjunctive
Sep 12, 2006

✨sparkle and shine✨

P-Mack posted:

Hell, keeping it in a single savings account is another level of stupid beyond not investing, since FDIC insurance caps at $250,000.

Yeah, for anything longer than a week or so before wiring it out somewhere else, it's a bad plan. FDIC is per-institution, per-account-holder I thought.

Pick
Jul 19, 2009
Nap Ghost

Subjunctive posted:

Especially because if you have that kind of money in a savings account, the bank is going to harass you endlessly to meet with a financial advisor and do something else with it.

I know we hate the "I'm skeptical, but.." but I'm skeptical of that story. I mean, did he inherit it in cash and not stocks and bonds? If so, what the eff? And if not, what, did he cash them out? That would require a financial adviser who would have told him how stupid that was.

Also the additional details are like, yes he was an ~engineer~ (not, say, a real estate agent), oh and I hate Vegas because I am a more refined gentle man, and oh she's also a spoiled rich bitch too unlike me :qq: (after people called him out that if he had that much money maybe he could help her out)

I don't know, the big tipoff to me is... cash? In one account? whaaaa??

The other similar story, where the woman had a lot of money, it was clearly a portfolio of real estate, which makes far more sense.

Subjunctive
Sep 12, 2006

✨sparkle and shine✨

Pick posted:

I don't know, the big tipoff to me is... cash? In one account? whaaaa??

I don't want to derail badly, but it wouldn't be unprecedented. If you vest and sell a chunk worth $1M it sits in your savings account on the way between the brokerage that runs the RSU plan and wherever you're investing it next. Between wire and ACH latency, or just last-minute account setup, that can be a couple of weeks.

E: just because you're lucky and get a lot of money doesn't mean you're smart with it

E2: I missed that he inherited it. Unless the will specifies that it's to be distributed in kind, the executor will liquidate everything and divide it.

Subjunctive fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Feb 4, 2017

Pick
Jul 19, 2009
Nap Ghost

Nazzadan posted:

More vaguely horse related content
Me (30/F) with my boyfriend (33/M) of 6 years, he lost his temper and took off on my birthday


Oh honey...

:murder:

Gaunab
Feb 13, 2012
LUFTHANSA YOU FUCKING DICKWEASEL
Please don't open a can of worms with Muslim/Middle Eastern stories.

Pick
Jul 19, 2009
Nap Ghost

Gaunab posted:

Please don't open a can of worms with Muslim/Middle Eastern stories.

are worms not halal?

Gaunab
Feb 13, 2012
LUFTHANSA YOU FUCKING DICKWEASEL
It's all fun and games until there's a derail with posters calling them savages and this thread gets shut down.

cyberia
Jun 24, 2011

Do not call me that!
Snuffles was my slave name.
You shall now call me Snowball; because my fur is pretty and white.

A Wizard of Goatse posted:

gently caress I just ran into a series of updates that ended with a suicide note :smith:

:justpost:

subhuman filth
Nov 1, 2006

Gaunab posted:

It's all fun and games until there's a derail with posters calling them savages and this thread gets shut down.

Domestic violence is savage and people who engage in and support it are savages

Zzulu
May 15, 2009

(▰˘v˘▰)
Suicide is good, imo

there are far too many people in this world as it is

Pick
Jul 19, 2009
Nap Ghost
Breakfast food sucks

Gadzuko
Feb 14, 2005

Pick posted:

are worms not halal?

Apparently yes, worms are haraam. "Halal" is also a pretty clutch search term.

Here's an uplifting story of cultural exchange involving no domestic violence:

quote:

My [25M] new friend [22M] just gave me a watch worth more money than I have ever owned.
I apologize for leaving some of the details vague but I am not sure if my friend reads this subreddit and I would rather he did not find it before I have a chance to talk to him.

About a month ago, I met a foreign student at a local coffee shop. He is studying English at the local university. He is still a fairly low level English student but we managed to have a great conversation with the help of gestures, drawings, and smart phone translators for the bigger words. We ended up talking for a few hours while listening to a band. At the end of the night we exchanged numbers and planned on meeting up again soon.

Things got busy for Christmas and New Years and he spent the break in his home country. When he got back to the states, we texted back and forth every few days and tonight he took my wife and I out for dinner.

I happen to be a jeweler and wanted to make him something for Christmas, despite my lack of faith and him being a Muslim. I explained to him that here in the states, many people treat Christmas as a time to celebrate friends and family, and not just as a religious holiday. I did some research and found the requirements for making a Halal ring for a man (silver, under 4 grams weight, not gaudy, worn on the pinky finger). I used a fairly high quality Carnelian stone that I had been saving for a special occasion. It was mined in Saudi Arabia, somewhere near Mecca (or so I was told), and cut in Afghanistan. When I presented it, I told him what I had learned and checked to see if I had missed anything. I wanted him to have a souvenir of a traditional Islamic men's ring, made in a very american style.

He was very touched that I had thought of him and thanked me many times through out the night. My friend, my wife, and I had a great conversation over dinner and things started to flow much easier as I got a handle on his fluency level and as he asked and learned a few key words. At the end of the night, he came back to my house so I could adjust the ring size a bit and make it really fit him well.

I drove him home (my wife stayed at our house) and when we got there, he asked me to wait a minute. He ran inside and returned with a fancy box containing a brand new Ulysse Nardin watch. I had no idea this was such an expensive gift at the time, but I recognized that it was very nice. I told him it was too much and that he did not need to give me anything in return for the ring, especially after buying us a nice dinner. He insisted so I accepted the watch and thanked him. We shhok hands and made plans to grab breakfast tomorrow morning (he has the day off of school due to Martin Luther King day).

When I got home, I took a closer look at the watch and looked up the manufacturer out of curiosity. I was not able to find an exact match on their website but similar watches were selling for between $7000 and $35,000. I was absolutely blown away. That is worth the equivalent of between a years rent and a small house. I am still swamped with college debt and this watch surpasses my entire net worth a few times over. I have never even had enough money in my bank account to buy one of these.

I am not sure exactly how to move ahead with this. Right now, I would like to talk to him at breakfast and would appreciate some advice. I have no idea how well off his family is, but I have gotten the impression that they are quite wealthy. I do not know however and I am worried that he has given me a gift that was meant for him. I do not want to get him in trouble with his family or friends back home. Also, I am worried that he felt obligated to give me something in return for the ring I made him. Even though I tried to explain that it was not necessary, I am not sure the meaning made it all the way through the language and culture barriers.

If I were to keep the watch, I would never consider selling it. If I were to return the watch, I am afraid I would greatly offend him. My plan right now is to discuss this with him over breakfast. I want to make sure that he is very clear that I did not expect him to compensate me for the ring. Even though it took me a while to make, my cost of materials was embarrassingly low. I also would like to ask him if giving me the watch would put him or his family in any sort of financial hardship, or would get him in trouble, but I am not sure how to breach the topic. I enjoy his company regardless of his personal income and since he has never mentioned one way or another, I am afraid that he is uncomfortable talking about it.

However, I could be over thinking this entirely. Assuming he was fully clear on what he was giving me and that he did so fully knowing that it was not required or even expected, this is a gift that I would highly treasure for the rest of my life. My new friend is a great and interesting person and I am very touched that he would even consider giving me a gift like this.

Anyway, I would really appreciate some feedback before I talk to him tomorrow. Any insight would help, especially about Muslim culture. I am not as well versed in the customs of Islam as I should be. Thank you.

Edit: Thank you for all of the responses. After hearing your advice and sleeping on it for far too few hours, I have decided that I will still talk to my friend, but I will not bring up the price. As a jeweler, it would not have been a stretch for me to at least recognize the brand name on the watch. It was presented to me in low-light conditions and I honestly did not get a good look at it until we got home. I would like to make sure that he understands the gift giving customs of this country as well as my own personal beliefs on the matter. I would also like to learn more about his. I will not offer to return the watch in any way unless I really get the impression that he is regretting giving the gift.

I will post some pictures to r/watches later tonight. I do not plan on asking him if it is real or not. Either way, it is a very meaningful gift to me. However, I am fairly sure that I need to know one way or another for piece of mind. Again, not something ill bring up with him ever again. I have a feeling that if it is an imitation piece, he assumed that I would have known. If it is real I assume it would be beyond offensive to even ask.

Also, I did my apprenticeship in the rural south. When your teacher repeatedly insists that you call it a "lop" instead of a loupe, you tend to forget how to spell at 3 in the morning. Also, yes it was auto-correct.

Anyway, thank you for all of the support, advice, and compliments. I grew up very poor so I sometimes forget that it is not common to make gifts like this on a casual basis.

EDIT 2: I did not end up meeting with my friend this morning as we both ended up being busy. You have convinced me not to bring it up as it seems to be a much more disrespectful gesture in Middle Eastern culture than it is in the environment in which I grew up. I am glad that this has gotten such a positive response and I thank you all for the advice and help. I still plan on getting it appraised for insurance purposes but I would be lying if I pretended not to want to know anyway. Again, I don't plan on mentioning anything about this and I feel like although I eventually want to discuss gift giving customs with him, I will let it wait and come up naturally.

I will xpost to r/watches tonight but I do not have time at the moment.

tl;dr: I made my new, foreign friend a ring as a Christmas present and souvenir. He was very touched and at the end of the night gave me a watch worth somewhere between a years rent and a 2 bedroom house. I am not entirely sure that he understood my gift given the language barrier and I was neither requiring nor expecting anything in return.

The Lone Badger
Sep 24, 2007

Nazzadan posted:

Also yeah its going to be like 120 degrees during the next world cup and it will be an open stadium with no AC.

They've promised that they'll invent magic open-air AC.

BOOTY-ADE
Aug 30, 2006

BIG KOOL TELLIN' Y'ALL TO KEEP IT TIGHT

flick my Mr. Bean posted:

You could suspect your SO is serial killer, find evidence on their phone, and reddit would still focus on your invasion of their privacy.

OP: I looked through my girlfriend's phone and found pictures of several people who went missing lately. I recognized her clothes in one photo and think she's dangerous.
Reddit: WAY TO VIOLATE HER PRIVACY YOU CONTROLLING NAZI

Khazar-khum
Oct 22, 2008

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
2nd Battalion

Gadzuko posted:

Apparently yes, worms are haraam. "Halal" is also a pretty clutch search term.

Here's an uplifting story of cultural exchange involving no domestic violence:

When my Egyptian friend gave me a little gold necklace, I said "Thank you" and was always sure to wear it around him. It's not that hard.

Khazar-khum
Oct 22, 2008

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
2nd Battalion

The Lone Badger posted:

They've promised that they'll invent magic open-air AC.

Maybe they'll just have slaves waving giant fans over the stadiums.

Gerblyn
Apr 4, 2007

"TO BATTLE!"
Fun Shoe

Gadzuko posted:

Apparently yes, worms are haraam. "Halal" is also a pretty clutch search term.

Here's an uplifting story of cultural exchange involving no domestic violence:

I wonder if the friend thought the silver ring was worth a lot more than it actually is. If someone had given me a hand made silver ring with a precious stone set into it, I would probably have assumed it was worth a lot, though google tells me you can get 4g of pure silver and a carnelian for about $4.

54 40 or fuck
Jan 4, 2012

No Yanda's allowed

Gadzuko posted:

Apparently yes, worms are haraam. "Halal" is also a pretty clutch search term.

Here's an uplifting story of cultural exchange involving no domestic violence:

That guys friend is probably rich as fuuuuuck and the watch is chump change to him. I can't speak for the states but Canadian universities make a poo poo load of money on international students. One girl I met was from Saudi Arabia and she had the fanciest iPhone case for the newest iPhone (at the time), Prada eyeglasses, oh, and a diamond the size of my thumbnail on her ring. You know, typical Tuesday accessories.

A Wizard of Goatse
Dec 14, 2014

My [19F] sister [16F] got pregnant last spring break had a baby and now wants to go again and our parents are letting her.

quote:

My sister is a 16 year old mother, I don't even know if I can call her a mother. Our older brother and his wife are raising my nephew. She got pregnant last spring break and now they wan't to let her go again. They told me it's 2017 and we need to give teenagers more freedom. She rabid, she does not even know the fathers name of the child or what he looked like.

Barudak
May 7, 2007

If she is truly rabid, she needs to go on spring break again so somebody can put her down.

54 40 or fuck
Jan 4, 2012

No Yanda's allowed
Yeah they're gonna have to cut her head off to know for sure

sephiRoth IRA
Jun 13, 2007

"Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality."

-Carl Sagan

54 40 or gently caress posted:

Yeah they're gonna have to cut her head off to know for sure

Actually the CDC is developing biopsy methods for human patients right now! They sample several locations (skin from the neck and hands, saliva, etc.) and run the florescent assay to attempt a complete picture of whether the patient is infected. :science:

It still isn't nearly as effective as sampling the brain stem and cerebellum, though :eng99:

So yeah, :sever: is probably a good plan

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The_Franz
Aug 8, 2003

A Wizard of Goatse posted:

My [19F] sister [16F] got pregnant last spring break had a baby and now wants to go again and our parents are letting her.

You would think that her lovely, hippy parents would have at least gotten their dumbass hippy daughter some birth control before sending her to a drunken college orgy so she wouldn't get pregnant when she is statutory raped by college guys.

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