SomaliPhilosopher;981349 wrote: I see. Do gcse grades matter for uni or is it mainly a levels that r factored. Thanks haatu Why so curious about requirements for enrolling in British universities SP? *raises eyebrow*

SomaliPhilosopher;981334 wrote: :eek: *Gasp*.... you invited me to Toronto, but I guess that was the past...duly noted I suppose meeting you in Asmara or Djibouti is the same idea, isn't it? Fair enough

SomaliPhilosopher;981324 wrote: ^^travel buddies How do I know you're not some crazy axe murderer-rapist?

I'd love to see Asmara too.

SomaliPhilosopher;981314 wrote: ^idk a tiny little french speaking Somali state with bars and clubs and hasn't gone through war . just very strange to grasp, especially with never seeing it. That's why I think Djibouti is awesome

SomaliPhilosopher;981311 wrote: Djibouti has always been an enigma to me... Why is that? I love Djibouti, a huge chunk of my extended family is from there and I'd love to visit. I've only ever been to their airport.

Alpha Blondy;981294 wrote: do we have to congratulate you for living, too? That would be nice, yes.

Safferz;981261 wrote: I'm stressed Dragging my feet to get started on a really important application, I need to have a draft proposal out of the way by tonight so I can get things moving. I don't know why I procrastinate on the things that matter, it's like an anxiety response for me lol Wooo DONE!

I'm stressed Dragging my feet to get started on a really important application, I need to have a draft proposal out of the way by tonight so I can get things moving. I don't know why I procrastinate on the things that matter, it's like an anxiety response for me lol

^

Good morning y'all (I know it's not morning for most of you in this thread, but it's morning in the best time zone ever, and that's all that matters)

Who said you're a cultural critic Alpha? Where do you write besides SOL?

Alpha Blondy;981185 wrote: ^ you've got more hair on your arms than on Haglatosiye's head.... :D :D

Safferz;981166 wrote: Someone tell me to GTFO and go work out! I thought getting changed would get me out the door but I've been lying on the couch for two hours now Didn't need any of you :mad:

Someone tell me to GTFO and go work out! I thought getting changed would get me out the door but I've been lying on the couch for two hours now

SomaliPhilosopher;981164 wrote: DAMMIT!!! I torrented Uzak and it has no subtitles!!!!!!! I can't let 2GB of internet go to waste, in such case I must learn Turkish!!! We all know who to blame for that.

Alpha, don't politicize this with SL/Somalia BS, there's no SL exceptionalism for mental health issues affecting Somalis and we both know places like Hargeisa have seen much more violence and warfare in the last generation than many cities in the south. But I'll admit I loled at "Tintinian"

Wadani;981157 wrote: I think it's the opposite actually. They it take soo seriously that they go into denial when one of their family members is afflicted with a mental illness, and they'll give silly rationalizations to friends and neighbours like 'he's/she's been staying up too late, he/she just needs more sleep' or 'there's a jinn in him/her'...etc. Anything to avoid the stigma of mental illness, which in their eyes seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist would be part and parcel of. That's my theory anyways. That's what I consider not taking mental illness seriously lol, so we're not in disagreement.

SomaliPhilosopher;981154 wrote: I recall reading a report a while back that stated about "1 in 3 Somalis (in Mogadishu at least)" suffer from a mental illness... Looking back at my trips in the scope of that report, either I was in the 'right' circles in Mogadishu, I got to know people superficially, or that report was greatly exaggerated. While I began to write this little commentary, I was sold on answer #3- exaggeration. Perhaps its a blend of all three... It's not always easy to identify mental illness though, and culturally we keep the truly unhinged tied up somewhere and out of sight. I'd imagine for many Somalis it may be something like depression or PTSD, which is more difficult to see. And there are also people who have manic episodes but otherwise appear to be fine, I met a number of people back home who seem normal to me but I later learned have "gone crazy" in the past. I had a man like this come to visit me quite a few times this summer (he spoke English and wanted to talk to me), and no one thought anything of leaving me alone in my room with a known insane person I found out he "used to be crazy" later.

Wadani;981153 wrote: Saffz, I haven't watched this doc yet, but how receptive do you think Somalis are to psychological interventions? I get the feeling that they believe therapy based on psychological methods to either be a pseudoscience or even worse a 'gaalo' field/treatment. I really don't know, Somalis are not hostile to Western medicine and treatment overall, it just seems that our folks don't take mental illness seriously and don't see mental health as something that needs real treatment. The documentary shows the prevalence of mental health issues back home (UN says as many as 1 in 3 Somalis has a mental illness), but doesn't go much into the barriers facing the mentally ill.

I listen to this song every morning to mentally prepare for my day

Why so down Alpha? I prefer listening to happy pop songs in the morning dee

Continued... Malcolm Gladwell is Canadian So is today's Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Alice Munro And architect Frank Gehry Even Americans recognize our awesome We're home to one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world Where else can you find ketchup chips We invest in arts and culture A Canadian invented worldwide standard time We have more donut shops per capita than anywhere else in the world You can write a letter to Santa addressed to the North Pole, Canada (postal code H0H 0H0) and get a letter back

Safferz;979493 wrote: Canadian literature is the bomb The Nobel committee only confirmed today what I told y'all last month.