Coming to Libya soon, insha'allah.

That the speedo was for telling you how fast the car wasn't going

That arrogance + ignorance is a dangerous mix.

There are no decent gyms and no public libraries.

But Tripoli would suit you just fine. Lots of chatting and cafes and sitting around. Lovely!
ain't that true, expats?

What about the British Council and American Cultural Centre. Do they have libraries?

In Tunisia my main reading material was a children's comic called qus qzah (rainbow). It was about my level of difficulty!

I guess there are kids' comics in Libya?

hey

may i know in what company u v been recruited ?

MoEl wrote:

There are no decent gyms and no public libraries.

Where are you looking? There are plenty of decent gyms around. Sultans is probably one of the more popular, but there are many to choose from.

The gym at Bustan is superb. But you need to sell a vital organ or two for the membership.

Sultan sucks. And I had been a member there for two months before we moved neer aldhahra. In fact sultan, with a monthly fee of 80 LD was bearly as good as the "Olympic Hall" with a monthly fee of 35 LD. In Sultan they demand that you wear shoes. In the Salah Olempyah they demand that you take your shoes off. Nothing sweeter than deadlifting or dumbbell-snatching bearfoot.

Sultan's other problems:
1-Lack of proper ventilation and air purification. (this alone is enough)
2-Someone always turns the AC down or off.
3-Like other Libyan retailers, the place is cramped with product (machines in this case) that you cant move freely to utilize that product.
4-There's always a "trainer" who feels compelled to tell you that his way of training is superior to yours, and occasionly you get a profane, aggressive shouter.
4-Too goddam small!

I went to the Radisson's. And although clean and have a low cieling on their memberships. They do not have a single power, half or even squat rack, only a smith machine, which doesnt fulfill the requirments of a natural range of motion.

I haven't been to the Bustan's. But suppose that it turned out ok and commute wouldnt be an issue to me, then what would someone who lives down town or east/south of the city do?

This is a far cry from having a Fitness First or a Virgin Active every other block (24Hour Fitness and Club One if you're a Californian)

What about the British Council and American Cultural Centre. Do they have libraries?

I dont even know what those are. gotta check em out.

BTW, happy Seymour,
Have I mentioned that there are lots of Arabs in Libya? Another huge plus in your case

Which Sultan did you go to? I go to the one in Gurgi, and no complaints. Certainly comparable to the gyms back in the UK.

Remember - Learn to make do with what there is. You wont survive here for long otherwise.

Hi Hamid. The company is Kortag. If I understand correctly, they are a recruitment agency and I'll be working for an oil company.

Anyone here know of them or work for them?

The absence or presence of decent gyms doesn't worry me in the least. Biking, walking (as opposed to ambling) and 5BX do it for me.

My main concern is to improve my Arabic.

Is the language more like Tunisia or Egypt or neither?

Examples:

Is the word for beautiful jamiil or gamiil? (jiim or giim?)

Is one minute wahid dageega or wahid daqeeqa?  (qaf or gaf?)

And one that drove me crazy in Tunisia, is it inta for a man and inti for a woman or inti for both? I never got used to being called inti.

I guess I'll get the answers to these in the first two minutes after landing, but they're interesting points.

uefastriker wrote:

Which Sultan did you go to? I go to the one in Gurgi, and no complaints. Certainly comparable to the gyms back in the UK.

We obviously go there for different reasons. I am glad you like it. I didn't and I went there, and would still go there if I had to. I don't like where I am training now, yet Im going back there tomorrow.

SeymourSunshine wrote:

Is the word for beautiful jamiil or gamiil? (jiim or giim?)

jamiil (but this is a bit awkward in a street conversation. Libyans say Sema7 (pretty, kind), 7elo (sweet), or eggnayen (cute)

SeymourSunshine wrote:

Is one minute wahid dageega or wahid daqeeqa?  (qaf or gaf?)

G. As in egg. There are rare instances (cant think of any right now) where a qaaf is pronounced properly. It's mostly pronounced as a glad-G in Libyan.

SeymourSunshine wrote:

And one that drove me crazy in Tunisia, is it inta for a man and inti for a woman or inti for both? I never got used to being called inti.

Unlike Tunis, Masculine = up (Fat7ah) aant or ent or enta
              Feminine = down (Kasrah) enti or anti

Tunisians suck!

SeymourSunshine wrote:

I guess I'll get the answers to these in the first two minutes after landing, but they're interesting points.

You definitely will. They'll love you for your genuine effort to learn their dialect.

If you are posted in Tripoli you should be fine, but if you are posted to one of the camps, it can be quite boring.  Bring lots of reading material and bring your laptop.  With your cellphone you can connect to the internet where cellphone service is provided.  Madar has the best coverage.  You should not have much of a problem with the language, but I have found that even within the country there is variation in the language.  Lived in the south of the country and when I moved to Tripoli some of words I used were not used here.
Patience is the key!

One word about Sultan's Gym Gurgi branch and the it's fair distribution of space solely based upon ethnicity and money.

The basement, where sunshine and fresh air are a myth for the underworld creatures, is for the locals to train.

The Ground floor, where the above mentioned privileges abound, is for the foreigners.

The Top floor, well that's VIP material for richer pockets.

Needless to say that i found these terms unacceptable, and unhygienic.  The gym that receives most "members" is the one for the locals, which happens to be allocated where it is, and the other two gyms are mostly empty.

Unfortunately there will be always the exception that confirms the rule. n.b. a dumb local that make's it necessary to separate the two groups, and it's a trickle down effect that widens the gap in every field and makes one's permanence here duller than what it already is (due to major factors beyond our grasp: ) or unless strictly necessary for one's career or first assignment  etc.

hamid2010 wrote:

hey

may i know in what company u v been recruited ?

Mind your bees wax, you're just trying to get a "head" start, which in my opinion...nah, it's not gonna happen <<< reaches for the hallow elephant tusk >>>

Seymour ? The only Seymour I know is SeymourButts...you got sunshine ?
Well bring it on ; )

redsaraya wrote:

The only Seymour I know is SeymourButts...you got sunshine ?

A waste of a good education is a shameful thing!

Sure is mate, I keep telling myself that every day when I look in the mirror

My wife, June, and I really hate it when people make jokes about our name.

do you have any idea who's SeymourButts ?!?!
take a spin on the net and find out for yourself then you might get it, if you get, when you get it...

...ignorance runs deep at all levels...

so you would describe an essential part of your/everyone's
body distasteful ?!?!

SeymourSunshine wrote:

My wife, June, and I really hate it when people make jokes about our name.