Little Things

So, I am still amused at small differences here. Most of these things consist of the fact that this country caters to English speakers but is still Arabic to the core. Things that seem like they should be English... especially American things.... still throw me at first. For example: It also opens on the opposite side, since Arabic is read from right to left! (During my cultural training, I passed by referring to this as the opposite of Western reading, as opposed to the "wrong direction" - a common mistake of Western business persons!!) Now, I will be getting my Rosetta Stone for Arabic at the end of this week. I am hoping that magazines are still written at a 4th grade level so I can read the article with such inflammatory pictures below (also the reason that this entry does not have child-friendly **s): I would not presume to understand the politics of this region fully but I would think that they would hire a PR rep to help them understand what images would get a reaction out of people. Any American living in the Middle East is not going to be super happy with this. The cover story is about the gun problem in Iraq so I would be interested to see how this is tied into burning the American flag. I will keep you updated as I get the article translated!