well Norf, Shefield's quite a place... I sell hotdogs and banners in front of Highbury stadium,,,try and beat that Shefield boy, with ur fancy pics and all!! lol London may not be an ideal place, but when taking a strol thro the city everything has a character and is now so multi-cultural,,,it's an amazing atmosphere,,, And not to mention the somali community and the snubbery!

Nuune, wann wir nach Somalie zuruck gehen, sollen wir internazional sein, weil wir sprachlich sind... (god did i say that right?!) lol, my German teacher would have a heart attack if she saw what i am doing to the German grammer! Nafta, sjonge jonge,,,,,,,is het AL WEER door een man verpest :mad: !...Ach ja, mischien moeten we met een Vlaamse accent schrijven ook al lopen we het risico om dom te klinken, mischien is dat het wel waard

//// To see is to believe my dear (at the risk of sounding like a proper dhuuni!) Moti, Moti, Moti...Hadaan kuu jawaabi lahaa,,,,oo si fiican kuugu jeeysteey lahaa,,,,awood baa jirin xageeygo, afkii baa juuqda gabay! That's what i get for appreciating your excentric ways eh,,,,ha i cayuumin lee yaah Akash, i suppose love is what each individual makes of it. For some it is wild romantic antics that they consider acts of love which shows them the love of others. For others it is sincere words and simple gestures that define true love. So what do YOU make of it? Jamaal,,,,I could say you are maskiin oo naxariis badan, but it just wouldn't sound, ehm, discriptive enough of ur many talents!

Abaayo, I don't know what subject you want to apply for. There have been several lectures at my school for Oxbridge. Applying there envolves several things that seem ridiculiusly thorough but that only need good organisation. Oxford and Cambridge have early closing date for their acceptance of application forms so you might need to get in touch with their addmissions office, which you can directly email. The application form can be downloaded from their site. As the uni consists of coligiate system you can either make an open application or choose a particular college. Many colleges require you to send two essays to show your skills as it were. They can be marked work, or u could contact the admissions office for topics to write about. The essays' deadline is usually a month later than the application form. You need two refferes to attest to your character and wit, i suppose. After that, its just wait to be invited for interview. Most applicants do get such invitations. Make sure you read around the subject that you wish to study, as mentioning names will get you a long way, along with a quick wit and charesmatic character. Good luck sister, i am sure if you do come for interview us nomads here would love to meet you!

Abaayo, I don't know what subject you want to apply for. There have been several lectures at my school for Oxbridge. Applying there envolves several things that seem ridiculiusly thorough but that only need good organisation. Oxford and Cambridge have early closing date for their acceptance of application forms so you might need to get in touch with their addmissions office, which you can directly email. The application form can be downloaded from their site. As the uni consists of coligiate system you can either make an open application or choose a particular college. Many colleges require you to send two essays to show your skills as it were. They can be marked work, or u could contact the admissions office for topics to write about. The essays' deadline is usually a month later than the application form. You need two refferes to attest to your character and wit, i suppose. After that, its just wait to be invited for interview. Most applicants do get such invitations. Make sure you read around the subject that you wish to study, as mentioning names will get you a long way, along with a quick wit and charesmatic character. Good luck sister, i am sure if you do come for interview us nomads here would love to meet you!

Tommasi, u have been sayin that for quit some time,,,Show me the xalwo! Xafsa, isn't that song just cute the change of names is confusing many people. As Xaliimo becomes Kutubeey and Faarax becomes Saalax over night. Even the aviators are no help to uncovering who a nomad once was,,,, Akash, adoo dumarka iya sheekadooda iska daaysay oo aad ilaawday, maa laguu heshiiyay? Rudy, your posts are quite enjoyable. Much like a puzzle, they are in many pieces that fit, but only a keen brain can work it out.Though i have yet to crack that code,,,, Such intruiging writing style bro!

White angel en Nafta, jullie zijn niet de enige. Goh ik dacht dat ik de enige hier was,,,Leuk om mede kaasjes te ontmoeten, kunnen we lekker roddelen he! Caramel kisses, nice topic abaayo, liked the "waxaad tiri lagu yiri" remark, isn't our language great? I speak fluent Dutch, reasonable German, English and Af Soomaali like ayeeyo koris! I used to be so fluent in Arabic when i was around six yrs old, but i can hardly make a sentance now much to my regret! Something to correct in the future insha allah..

As today is valentine's day. i thought we could do a little something to mark it.... Now i know it isn't a costum of ours and i am by no means trying to instigate some shukaansi on sol, though it would spice up the place I thought we could make this an oppertunity to show our appreciation for nomads of the opposite sex with whom we share a common ground. Or the other nomads who infuriate us, but who we still hold dear to us..... Feel free to nominate as many or as view as you like,,,, Continuing with my personal theme... adiigaa dagay qalbiigaa (sorry, this song is firmly in my head ).... shujui , Or Tommasi as he now calls himself is one of the sol treasures. I had the luck of meeting this nomad, and i can say that his wit is only exceded by his sweet nature. If only i could mass produce his character and sell it to all consumers i would be getting rich while makin the world a better place.. I also just want to remind him that he still owes me 1 kilo of xalwo..... And then there is our resident mr charmer jamaal-11...This guy can flatter, wether in the form of a poem or just a plain old compliment! I was lucky enough to meet this snake charmer as well, and girls, deffinately one nomad to keep ur eyes on! Just make sure you bring a chaperon to keep your toes firmly on the ground, if you ever are subjected to one of his attacks And last, but not least... OG Moti ..Now this guy isn't as appreciated as he should be. His sense of humor and unique way of replying always makes me smile, no matter how rediculous his point of view might seem. Although many girls have taken pleasure in attacking him in this forum, his spirit remains unbroken. I haven't met him yet, but feel like i have known him for years. I would here by like to say Moti, WE LIKE YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE That was my short list. Who will make it in yours?

Oh i enjoyed that, how creative! i liked the mere second from right and the horse on the left,,,,such harmony!

Sophist, my lad, the gossip mongers have placed you in youths delightful clutches,,,,don't rush me boy as you to will eventually grow old. lool, sorry, couldn't resist it bro. Anywayz, u r as young as you feel! As for shakespeare, if memory serves me right, he came to this earth in the 1560's,,,,it isn't actually determined when i suppose due to inaccurate record of births. qac qaac, i hope that was your question, as i didn't understand the link you made with writers now and "it", but shakespeare did come up with many phrases that were once unique and are now considered common eglish.

Gediid, my dear brother,,,i can tell you haven't had the pleasure of sampling calooleey oo maraq laga kariyay with muufo iyo bisbaas galabtii qoraxda hoosteeda kal iyo mooy lagu tumay ,,,,,for if you had, surely you wouldn't need a meager prawn coctail to provide a different taste for you bariis and basto dulled senses And don't let me start on soor with caano garoor and lots of sokor....and then casariye consisting of rooti baana ooliyo with xalwo and qaxwo qaraar, oh how delicious it is! bambina, abaayo i am like the chinese maid. -don't do floors -don't do windows -don't do dishes -don't do cooking lol, as incompitent as it may make me sound, i would probably food poison people if i had to cook for them Although i am a typical case of can't cook, won't cook ,,,,,i do know some basics. I have never been forced to cook because i am a girl, but i do know how to stay alive when hooyo macaan isn't around working her magic

Notherner, lug iyo gacan aan kuu taagay. You found a way to get the true year of birth out of unsuspecting nomads. In the guise of a fun lil' horoscope games, some nomads have placed themselves in a category of years which make it rather obvious which decade they were born in,,,,,,brava! how genius! lol, i always seem to notice these things,,,,,,northerner ur plan has worked mate! I hope u can understand that for some unknown reasons i cant reveal my sign!

I am sorry moti, it is a shocking news Ilahay intaxaanka ha u fududeeyo, janatul fardowsa neh allah ka waraabiyo.

It would seem that i can't point it out often enough. This topic is not one based on gender issues and no retaliation is necessary. Ijabo, sis i am sorry you perceive it as such. It is about our traditions. How we, those who are abroad, are adapting our culture to the new invironment. It is not about religion, because i think that is rather a given fact and needs no mentioning, it is quite obvious that it plays the lead role in this play that is life. How ever, if you have a topic more worthy of discussing, please do share it with us uninformed nomads, i'm sure it will make an intresting read sister. I think it is strange that some sisters are ready to jump the gun when ever anything remotely gender related is mentioned. It is like many wish to counter attack before they themselves are attacked. That is all well when faced with bad intentions. But in a general discussion isn't it far better to optain an iota of objectivity? Sirrus, how can one have understanding for one culture while dabling in the other? It would seem obvious i suppose, knowing the rules but not playing the game. But the problem is that it raises many confusion as to what is right and what isn't. Let us say that religion is still on the top list of priorities. Can one do as the romans do when in Rome while perserving one's self? So assuming that you and your better half have a great understanding for the new culture you have found yourself with. And that both of you still harbor great affection for your own culture, since it is the way you were raised, the way your partner was raised. This understanding of the new culture combined with your own cultural identity ensures that you and your other half raise your own children to succeed in the "new world" as it were. This is were it gets tricky. While you can teach your off springs the religion, which they can practise anywhere. You can't teach them the traditions of the old land, as they lack the means to put those traditions to good use. They go to school in the new invironment, they make friends that are off the new invironment and they interact with others in the new invironment using norms and values that are considered essential in that new invironment. This not only creates a new generation that has no grasp of it's parents' upbringing, it creates a gap between the well meaning parents' that understand one culture and practise another and their offsprings that have only seen one major culture in practise. Of course there are many that actually develop a curiosity for their back ground and learn the old ways through this. But some are lost because of circumstances that made profiding crusial guidance impossible. I mean, can a parent practise one tradition while bringing up a child in another tradition? Can that child take his parent's tradition on face value while he only sees the other tradition in true form?

wa caleeykum salaam wr wb..... Welcome aboard abaayo, gambaar soo qaado....Shaahi aan dabka kuu sareeynaa. Ha is martiyeen. Mininka waa mininkaadi

Well Haniif,,,The point, as you so eloquently put it, is that any culture is what it's people make of it. I believe that because human beings are so imperfect, many traditions have some kind of a flaw. It all depends on how the people to whom the tradition belongs adapt it to modern day society. So instead of rejecting a tradition because some costumes raise hackles in many, if it is taken on and improved to fit the new generation, a tradition takes on a new meaning and reflects on those who have made it their own in a positive way. Or at least, that is my take on the whole phenomena that is tradition....

Caramel kisses, xaal qaado walaaleey gacaliso, abkoow moti ha igu soo deeyn ....Walaashaa u naxariiso When i stated this topic it wasn't directed at any gender but was mainly an observation of how we enteract with one another. My main goal was to start a discussion between the nomads and maybe share a view or two. I am sorry that some people considered this a gender related topic,,,, Many thanks to those who have shared their opinions on the subject, it's nice to have an open discussion without any one feeling personally attacked... Sophist, as it is with any tradition, ours is an ever evolving one. For example those of us who are abroad might be holding on to traditions that were valid in Somalia when we left it, but that aren't in practice there any more. So we might actually be cnsidered old fahioned by those who have remained in Somalia and have moved on with the times. Baashi, you have simply take the words out of my mind. Each individual might define being "wesrenized" in their own way. I believe there is a difference between integrating into a society for one's own gains, ku meel gaar, like education etc. And actualy trying to fit into a society and being brain washed into taking their values and norms. Some things which should be irrelivant, such as the way we dress, are populair example which are used whenever possible to incriminate those considered "westernized" I think there are practial reasons why such examples shouldn't be taken into account. If a man argues that the women have become westernizd because of the way they dress, a woman can argue that men have been corrupted and the fact that the don't were macawiis in an open and proud desply of nationality,is because weey iskala weyn yihiin. And then there is the youth.... "af soomaali waa laga faanaa eey iskoolka ka soo barteen ilmaheeyni" Such accusations are impractical as certain integration are crusial, like learning the languag so that one can obtain an education and through that education get a job trough which one can acccumilate enough wealth to return back home and start improving the living standards there. But there is a difference between using the "western" way of life to achieve certain goals and becoming obsorbed by that system and losing your way. As the two are so similar, they seem to be hard to distinguish between. Can we succesfully pull of dual lifestyles without becoming confused and losing our path? Do we even want to do so?

All I can say is mac sokor caleen shaah... These animals are creatures that weren't created for our entertaintment, and that man is lucky i wasn't the lion, cause he would have more than mere wounds!

////// That's good, macaanto....But could you perhaps elaborate on that? And maybe you could even add a personal view or two.....It kinda work's wonders for discussions to do so, and x-quisite did make several points....So which parts worked for ya? Wildcat, i have two words for ya,,,, dhaqan celis ....i'm being shipped off soon,Wanna come?

There seems to be a common concensus amongs the sisters that have replied.... Brothas be losing their 'somalianism'too, it is very sad that some people consider being independent and educated as a sign of being westernized Many didnt chose to come here, and now that we are, I for one i am glad that I am here p.s.-being educated, forward thinking, etc...can all benefit ur ppl in the end, when u raise young ones and send the message back home, that u need to accept urselves and not worry about qabil, which is the real cause of the downfall of somalia and until that is rectified, it will remain a rubble. I hope the sisters' who i have taken the liberty to quouth won't mind.... It seems as if our culture is stiffling the girls who want to move forward. Most of the guys seem to have the freedom to integrate, just as they had the freedom to go out back home. Now that they are here they can mingle and "date" and sample all kinds of lifestyles, if they choose to. Though they have evolved to fit into the current mainstream society, it looks like some want to keep the master status they had at home. Are our men discouraging hard working females in order to maintain the patriarchal set up of the family with them as providers? As lucky said, "aint nothing InsuLting about being caLLed UntraditionaL." My question would be what do my fellow sisters consider traditional? and is it because of the men that our girls seem to have such revultion for the tradition?

I fall under the "considers herself serious with a proffesional future, possibly in Somali politics, wants to be entertained but is ofeten too dazed and confused, when not thinking she's smarter than the rest and looking her nose down at them" group... Awuulankeey,,,,, you r always trying to categorize people, Ma Hitler baa wax kuu galeen? "war anagaa wax aragnay"

It is said....if you want to learn something about a person's character, look at the friends of that person....Let's adapt that a bit and say, "If you want to see why Somalia is in ruins, look at the behaviour of a group of Somali people in peaceful interactions" or in this case, use the nomads in SOL's behaviour towards each other to understand the Somali nation better".... I think this is most prominant in the women's section which is the playground for many good natured and sometimes outright aggresive discussions between the nomads. It's this section that show's the outline of the decay of Somali traditions and views. Many things have been adapted to fit the "western civilized" formula and as a result many things are Somali orientated but very western. Most sisters and brothers are proud of being Somali, but what does that actually involve? How does one become a member of the nomad tribe? Is having Somali parents enough? Or does one have to be born in Somalia? Does the fact that some nomads haven't tasted camel milk alter their status as nomads? This must come across very confused rampeling on my part, but most nomads can now duscuss things that were once taboo openly.......wax ceeb la dhoho ma leh meeshaan... And yet when it comes to personal traditions like arranged marriages and something as trivial as baraanbur some views have become radically right winged while others are very liberated. The men seem to be set in maintaining the traditional roles of females, but never complain about the fact that women tend to discuss things that are considered bad in Somalia. And as for the women, we nomad sisters have become demanding. We don't want to settle for basic goodness, but rather want it all just like any western woman. The brothers are no more better. They want a good muslim nomad, i mean who doesn't? But they want a good educated, motherly, modern, house wively, good looking, out going women... The contradictions in that can be easily picked out and no one posseses it. So what's the point of this topic? Well, it's quite simple....Dhulkii waan ka tagnay, cirka neh ma gaarin. Unless there is some kind of argument and disagreement going on, we nomads seem to drift around purpose less....It seems as if we have nothing to say, unless we are attacking or counter attacking. If we can't be objective and agreeable SOMETIMES in this forum, how can we achieve that in our country?

///// maandhoow aan kuu duceeyee dhakhtar warkiisa ha igu soo qaadin ...maanakoobiyo hadeey wax tareeyso waan ku soo rafaaday....hada self medication waxaan eheen maba rabo....vitaminlee igu ogtahay .... lol@ PsYcHo_SuE you people are more crazier than I thought! Everyone has a crazy side ....but it's funny that us nomads surprised u psycho

lol, u just happen to be well informed what are u tryin to imply here? why? what have u heard? who told ya? lool...i'm gettin a tad bit paranoid i guess...time to take my vitamins!

Big eedo is watchin ya! Psycho, or should i adress ya as Ms Sue? Being nomads we automatically have people watchin us. From sisters and brothers, abti, adeer, n habiyar too, to heblaayo the friend of magaceedi's cousin's sister's old best friends enemy who once saw you at hebeloow's party....So don't worry about the eyes of the world...worry about the eyes of the somali community... You might be walking along with school friends, and by the time you get home every body knows that you were hanging around with ciyaal suuq and doing god knows what "in broad day light, she didn't even have the decency to hide it"....Obviously this has never happened to me but be ware, il fuur is standing in all corners, n she aint white!