#foreign country

[mydarlingdahlia]

To all of my European/foreign friends, followers and moots out there: first off, hello :D

Second, I got a question for you guys :3

As some of you may know, I live in the states, more specifically gator land galore. And I’m not dogging on Europeans or anything, but most (this is just from my experience don’t come for me 😭) of the foreign people I’ve talked to tend to…how should I say this? Make America reallyyyyy small. Like, teeennyyy tiny. No shade tho to yall 🙏

Idk if some people realize, but in some states it could take 24 hours or more to drive from one end of a state to another. And I consider a 5 hour drive to be relatively short.

I had someone argument with someone because they tried to convince me that they could drive from Disney World to Disney Land and to the Grand Canyon in four days.

Bestie it takes four days to travel four states 😭

LET ALONE ACROSS THE COUNTRY BABES

anyways back to my OG question

Do y’all think you could survive what’s considered a *short* drive in America?

Hint : for most people a short drive would be considered 2+ hours that would cap at like maybe 10 hours. Just a heads up :3

[mental-health-advice]

hi

im currently going through some things and i wanted to have someone else's pov/opinion on it, so thank you in advance for taking the time to read this

im the eldest daughter of a sea household in a foreign country. its just me, my mom and my sister who is 10 years younger than me. i was supposed to go to college last september but unfortunately i did not pass the entrance exam and was not accepted and therefore had to take a gap year (however am set to go to college this fall).

my sister isnt doing well in school mostly because of the language here. we speak in english at home but she was a baby when we came to this country so we expected her to learn it as she grew up. all her friends speak it but since she goes to a bilingual school she does not speak it unless she has to and even when her friends talk to her, she responds in english. so unfortunately until now her proficiency in this language is even worse than mine (which i barely passed my finals with) and she struggles a lot because of it.

shes off to middle school next year and we just learned that she might not be accepted into the school she and my mother wants because of her lack of proficiency in the language and because of other factors like disorganization, not turning homework on time or at all and etc despite the way both my mom and i push and guide her.

my mother has always blamed me for my sisters shortcomings but i feel that it shouldnt be so. throughout our life here i never had support when i struggled through school despite the language difference and the lack of help. on the other hand, i feel i have done a lot of things for my sister regarding school even when i was struggling thru mine as well. though not consistently, when she comes home from school, i sit with her and help her with her homework when she has questions, teach her in different ways, tell her how i did things in school to pass and to study but she never really internalizes them and is still very disordered and easily distracted. she prefers to watch and play on her ipad instead of studying and when she reads she always prefers easier books instead of recommendations i give to her. whenever they have tests we have to push her to study and thats only if she even remembers (+to tell us) that she has a test.

my mother doesnt help with my sisters education. she works long shifts and changing hours and so her schedule never really allows her to help with any of our education.

its not the first time and i doubt itll be the last but my mother came home today after having had a meeting with my sisters teacher who explained that my sister have had no visible improvement in the language and that she still struggles with many things my mother and i push her to fix. she was mad and as always blamed me for not doing enough, for not sitting long enough with her and teaching her and for everything my sister is failing to do. she says that if my sister does not manage to get into that specific school they want then she will not let me go to college (i dont know if she means it or not but she has said this multiple times before)

i dont understand why im being blamed. shouldnt improvement come from my sisters own desire to improve? i can push and tell her to do this, study more, do her homework and so on but if she doesnt do it herself without prompting then isnt it just for naught?

my mother often brings up that she would not be doing this to me if i had gone off to college but she has been blaming for all of my sisters faults even as i was struggling through highschool. she constantly tells me that there are people my age who are working and earning money and yet whenever i bring up the idea of getting a job she always tells me to just focus on my studies.

i just dont understand why my sisters sins are mine as well

am i playing a victim? is my mom right?

im sorry this got so long, i didnt want to leave out details and wanted to be as transparent as possible because leaving out things would make it biased. thank you again, i hope youll have some advice for me

Hey there,

I really believe that when it comes to education, we can only help others so much. We can sit with them, help to explain things, help with studying with them to try to keep the other person focused and on track, but in the end, the will and desire to learn and to do well in one’s schooling has to come from within. I think that your Mum is being really unfair with putting your sister’s failure or lack of improvement in her education on you and especially when you are doing your very best and spending so much time with your sister already to help her. With this being said though, is it possible that given your Mum is working such long hours, that she may just come home really frustrated at your younger sister and you are the easy target to vent or blame her frustrations onto?

I know that your Mum works a lot, but when she, for example, has a day off of work, could you possibly pull her aside and talk to her about this stuff and how it leaves you feeling? I know that you mentioned that your Mum said she wouldn’t put all of this stuff on you if you were at college but given that you are not at the moment it’s hard to know otherwise. By talking to your Mum though, and explain/ let her know/ show her how much time you put aside to dedicate to your younger sister to help with her education then perhaps instead of blaming you she will be able to see that you can only do so much. So again, with all this being said, it sounds as though your Mum is just frustrated and/ or perhaps feels as though she needs to blame someone and especially if she feels judged or under pressure from other family members or members of the public in general and especially if education is of upmost importance to them. If the latter is the reason, then maybe she feels like a failure herself in not being able to give your sister the life she wants too where anything is possible for her, including going to college. Just something to maybe think about and talk to your Mum about if you feel comfortable in doing so.

I guess that perhaps it may also be important to acknowledge that not everyone (unfortunately) finds education as easy as others and yes, they may struggle more through no fault of their own but just because of who they are as people. They may not be being lazy but just find the workload and context of it all overwhelming and just ‘too’ hard that they give up without even trying in fear that they will fail anyway. So perhaps, and I am not sure how things are in your family, but if excess stress or expectations are being put on your sister then she may be feeling this and this may be adding to own stress to do well or be better fit into the mould that your Mum wants her to fit into (doing well and getting into the school of her choice).

Of course though, all that I have said is just in my opinion but sometimes taking a step back, trying to find the root cause of any issues that may be making things so hard for your sister to learn may be of some benefit and will enable you to all move forward in the sense of her improving in her future schooling and studies. Everyone also learns very differently from one another, that it may also be possible that she just hasn’t found what works best for her in learning things.

Either way though, I do not believe you are at fault at all for your younger sister to not be performing to the standards that everyone would like her to at school. So please try to take comfort in that you can only help your sister so much, but in the end it is up to her to take on board all the support and help that you have been giving to her and to have that desire and will to want to learn herself if that makes sense.

I really hope that this has helped a bit and please do let us know if we can help to support you in any other way!

I’m thinking of you, hope that you are going well and I wish you all the best with college!

Take care,

Lauren

[tiredflowercrown]

Is there any food that you thought was a staple (for your region/country) that you later learned is very specific to you area/family?

I'll go first. Tacos

[chie3chie3]

生徒作品　安野さん。 海外の何気ないカフェの一角ですが 石畳の遠近や建物のレンガが 細かく描き込まれている上に この空間構成! ありきたりの絵葉書風ではなく 不思議な街に来たようなムード。 まさに異国!?ムードですね。

[booksperience]

(via Sojourn by Amit Chaudhuri)

In the very short novel Sojourn penned by Amit Chaudhuri, the Bengali protagonist finds himself in the Berlin of 2005, where he assumes the role of a visiting professor at some university. There is no definite plot and the narration looks dreamy, offering an account of his encounters with various individuals in the city, especially Faqrul, a Bengali poet living in exile, and a European woman named Birgit. It is his second time in the city, but he feels like a stranger. He wanders the streets of Berlin, visiting its restaurants and museums, seemingly attempting to establish a connection with the city’s history and the city itself. There are no chapter divisions; the text appears as vignettes of the narrator’s day-to-day experiences in the city and his interactions and conversations with the people he encounters as he struggles to get a grip on it all. The narrative style, the overall structure, a pervasive sense of solitude, and the impressions it creates on you could sometimes remind you of Sartre‘s Nausea. The storytelling never hastens. It is often pensive and takes its time and moves at its own unhurried pace. Beneath the apparent tranquillity of events, there are subtle undercurrents of confusion, uncertainty, and anxiety. I couldn’t help but imagine how well this story would translate to the silver screen, as I have a penchant for films featuring a limited cast and expansive spaces. Even the pages and the print layout match it. There are empty spaces, and pages left empty after every ch... (Read full text on booksperience.org)

[diary-of-a-recovering-party-girl]

i lliterally feel so bad here I wanna go home and hug my friends I miss my friends so much

I want to feel cared for and loved and protected I feel so small and shitty and not valued

I just wanna go home I just wanna go home I just wanna go home I don't wanna be here

[fieriframes]

[Could get by in a foreign country on her own.]

[mysageukinbio]

An episode of Foreign Country (MBC, 1977)

[hebrewbyinbal]

Travel vocab! “Are you open” Now you can ask the shops you visit in Israel if they are open for business!

[dailyjournalsblog]

April 27, 2023

Being in a country different from my own feels like sticking my head out the window in a car that is the weirdest colour with people who have alien heads on a road that leads nowhere. It feels like the least reviewed guesthouse (sometimes), or perhaps it doesn't feel like anything but being homeless. English is such a tricky language; sometimes, you do not find words to describe anything, so you describe something else, which takes away from the grief. It saddens me that I do not know how to describe my pain in English, yet I am surrounded by everyone who speaks only English. I was asked what my strengths were for an assignment today; how do I tell them that I was good at everything in my hometown, but here, I feel inadequate, as if whoever I am is not good enough. I don't have strengths that could be penned down quickly, but I left everything I knew behind to make a space for myself in a different world. I do not know if that is stupid or brave in your language. Do with it what you will. I am scared of being on my own, of trying too hard to get people to like me, to ask for kindness every day, of being too much and not enough every day. I am afraid to fall in love with people I am not meant to, of saying the wrong things and offending the right people. I am scared of being an adult.

[duckysprouts]

odysseus’s ultimate dream is to hand the work over to his very capable wife who was the only backbone of ithaca for the past 20 years and become a househusband who drinks wine and watches soap operas everyday

modern au where odysseus got drafted lmao

[postersbykeith]

[juwelisrealestate]

Belly dance, also known as Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance, is a traditional dance form that originated in the Middle East and North Africa. It is characterized by fluid, graceful movements of the hips and abdominal muscles, and is often accompanied by music with Arabic instruments such as the oud, tabla, and kanun.

In many Middle Eastern cultures, belly dance is seen as an art form and a way to celebrate cultural traditions. It is often performed at events such as weddings, festivals, and other celebrations. In some parts of the Middle East, belly dance is also considered a form of folk dance that is passed down through the generations.

[dailymanners]

When entering any place of business, such as a store or restaurant, if a staff member greets you, then acknowledge them and greet them back.

Although for many jobs it's a required part of their job to greet you, especially retail workers, receptionists, and restaurant workers to name a few, that doesn't make it feel any less dehumanizing to say "Hello!" to another human being only for them to ignore you. Acknowledging staff members and greeting them back is important for acknowledging their humanity, they are, after all, a human being, and not an automated machine.

This is also important when going to check out at a store. If you approach the cash register, and the cashier greets you, you should acknowledge them and greet them back. Cashiers already have to deal with being dehumanized enough. The least you can do is help humanize them by acknowledging them when they greet you and speak to you.

[manga-and-stuff]

Source: Foreign Country Diary Ikoku Nikki 違国日記

by Tomoko Yamashita

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

OP: Check out. The fully-sexual charged cinematic movement design.

Cnetizens: How did the director come up with the idea to have him kneel on a playing card, adding so much aesthetic energy, is that some kind of genius?