by Cindy
One of the things that is quite different here is that many of our friends do not have family pictures visible in their home. In our home and offices, we have pictures everywhere so people are always amazed when they come into our living room or see our fridge full of pictures.
In my office at work I have several pictures of family, trips we've taken and other fun things. The students are always looking at them, wanting to know who is in the picture, where it was taken, etc. They are curious in the same way an American would be if we saw someone else's pictures but they approach the pictures with much more enthusiasm. They are especially amazed at my niece Reagan's big blue eyes and everyone with blond hair.
Our local / regional friends here certainly take photos but they would not be put on display for the world to see. My students have thousands of photos on their phone but they are for personal viewing, not public viewing. Jeff has a photo of me in his office and he's had a female comment and say, "Arabs don't show off their women."
There are numerous reasons why they don't have pictures out in the open but mostly it is that families here are very private. Seeing members of the family in pictures is just for the family. Many of my local friends are on Facebook but they have images rather than photos as their profile picture and just wouldn't post many photos on the internet. Some of the common questions in America like "how is your family" or "how many kids do you have" or "do you have boys or girls" would be totally inappropriate here. Information about your family is information for your family.
One of the things that is quite different here is that many of our friends do not have family pictures visible in their home. In our home and offices, we have pictures everywhere so people are always amazed when they come into our living room or see our fridge full of pictures.
In my office at work I have several pictures of family, trips we've taken and other fun things. The students are always looking at them, wanting to know who is in the picture, where it was taken, etc. They are curious in the same way an American would be if we saw someone else's pictures but they approach the pictures with much more enthusiasm. They are especially amazed at my niece Reagan's big blue eyes and everyone with blond hair.
Our local / regional friends here certainly take photos but they would not be put on display for the world to see. My students have thousands of photos on their phone but they are for personal viewing, not public viewing. Jeff has a photo of me in his office and he's had a female comment and say, "Arabs don't show off their women."
There are numerous reasons why they don't have pictures out in the open but mostly it is that families here are very private. Seeing members of the family in pictures is just for the family. Many of my local friends are on Facebook but they have images rather than photos as their profile picture and just wouldn't post many photos on the internet. Some of the common questions in America like "how is your family" or "how many kids do you have" or "do you have boys or girls" would be totally inappropriate here. Information about your family is information for your family.
No comments:
Post a Comment