PrimeTuner

Indeed. She looks odd wearing that head covering as you say more like someone who's undergone chemo. She only looks like a Muslim when she wears her hijab, making her look like European Muslims from places like Kosovo, Bosnia or Albania. Or even Lebanon and Turkey, though in these countries few women wear head coverings especially in Turkey.

Are you sure? That sounds unlikely, given Amish is more of an ethnic group than a religion. It would be like saying you can convert to being Japanese. Well, while you might be able to acquire Japanese citizenship, you can't become ethnically Japanese. That's something you're born with and can't be changed.

True. Although these religions/groups don't generally attract converts and I'm not sure it's possible to become Amish. You're either born Amish or you're not (since Amish are more than a religious group they're an ethnic group). You can never become one (similar apparently to Hinduism).

I think Laura got confused. Her notion of "Aladdin" is the Disney classic of a carpet flying Persian guy set in a mystical Arab setting. Whereas the real Aladin is a Muslim man living in a conservative albeit modern Muslim country. Two different things.

I was just saying that some Christian converts are also quite "over the top" in terms of adhering to the tenets of their new religion. However, unlike Islam, Christianity does not demand such strict modesty of dress or lifestyle changes.

Yeah I agree. Although she's not nearly as irksome as Nicole, she is ignorant of the culture that's for sure. The problem I have though is not that, or even the fact she thinks she can change local attitudes towards women but rather: why did she even go there? No one forced her to get into a relationship with a Muslim man not least to move to an Islamic country. If I were her I would really have thought carefully about what I am willing to adapt to. I don't think she's completely unable to adapt to a foreign culture though, just not one that far removed from what she's used to. I think she could cope with living in a Buddhist country or somewhere like China. She definitely made the wrong choice husband and country/culture wise.

Yeah Evelyn definitely doesn't respect Corey and neither do the locals. Although Evelyn respects her boyfriend even less than most of the locals do. Paul yeah what's wrong with him? So it looks like they chose the cheaper house, which makes sense considering Paul has no money. You can complain all day about some place provided you can afford somewhere better but Paul complaining about that house which doesn't even look that bad (I could probably live in a place like that for a short period of time and I'm super picky) makes him look doubly stupid. What do you expect to get super luxury when you can't afford it? Try finding a place for $260 a month in America. It doesn't exist, not even the dingiest place will end up costing you that little. Also, that place actually has a nice sized yard, which is something the place has going for it.

Avery is certainly mature beyond her years when it comes to her observance of religion and her determination. However, she's very naive about what awaits her in Syria even if she feels she can adapt to a much more unpredictable and most certainly less comfortable life.

Actually, there is no such obligation. It depends on the specific culture and country and even the family themselves. The idea behind wearing a head covering or hijab is so when a Muslim woman goes outside, she becomes undesirable to other men. You are right about the "over the top" observance of Islam by new followers. It's often quite similar among Christian converts.

Indeed, converting to Islam would be a deal breaker and unfathomable to both Nicole personally and her family. She'd have to grow up and change her lifestyle and that's not something she's willing to do. Azan seems like a very casual Muslim so it's unlikely he would insist upon conversion but I also think he's just playing her and she will eventually wake up from her trance and accept this. I actually knew someone who converted to Islam like Avery did. Difference is she's a bit older than Avery; at the time she converted she must have been around 26 or 27. However, she has the same sort of demeanor and naivety as her. She stopped being friends and unfriended people like me on Facebook for no apparent reason, but probably because in her religion it may be considered taboo to be friends with unrelated males especially non-Muslims like me. That's what I presume because otherwise it doesn't make any sense. In any case I haven't spoken to that girl in years and since she unfriended me I decided to take it one step further and block her so there's no chance of her contacting me again. Like Avery, this girl seems to be interpreting Islam about as strictly as possible, more strictly than many people born into that culture. That kind of attitude scares me a bit, to be honest. Avery for example is under no obligation to cover her hair inside the house. Even in many strict Muslim countries, this is not required. I hope everything goes well for her but as her parents I'd be extremely worried. I wouldn't have much of a concern if she were like Deaven and marrying someone from South Korea but converting to Islam and then getting into a relationship with someone from Syria after being an "all-American" girl all your life? What's wrong with being an all-American girl? Something is both amiss and disturbing about her story and I don't know where to put my finger on it. We'll have to wait and see as the show progresses.

Happens often that migrants/expats have to adjust their expectations and may need to change careers when moving abroad. How many times have we heard of Sikh doctors or engineers or IT specialists ending up driving taxi cabs or trucks once they reach the US? In the same vein, many Americans and other westerners who may be qualified as engineers, doctors and other professionals end up becoming English teachers in Asia, jobs they are overqualified for. This is especially true for younger people due to lack of experience. Therefore I think that Omar's young age and his lack of experience are rather going to be liabilities as opposed to opening the way for a career in his field in the US. Chances are, he won't make it. And that's understandable. US citizens should have priority in getting jobs.

Probably not very intelligent. Plus the toxins in the nail cleaning materials can really affect your health. You're probably right. He just seems like a nice guy, well organized and everything so I was trying to cut him some slack. Reality is that he's showing himself to be not particularly bright - sending that girl $800 a month and then that money for a plane ticket to Mexico, which I have my doubts she will buy. We'll see in one of the next episodes.

Exactly. $200 goes a long way in the Ukraine. Just recently I saw an infographic that showed Ukraine's average monthly salary as being only the equivalent of 298 Euros. That is less than 340 dollars. It's also well below the average monthly salary of such middle income (poor in previous decades) Asian countries as Thailand, where people make on average at least $500 a month. No wonder, the Ukraine is far poorer than Thailand - the latter has about 1 car for every 4 people, the former has far fewer, probably barely 1 car for every 10 people. Caesar seems like an intelligent guy other than when it comes to love. He's pretty damn unintelligent in that department.

Yeah that's a good point. He's very likeable but one of the most naive characters ever cast by the show. It's quite likely someone showed him what was going on in the Ukraine because even after he was shown this information proving the situation isn't quite as bad or dramatic as she made it out to be, he still decided to second guess himself and believe her. She's also unbelievably rude to him. Why doesn't he just find himself a cute hottie at his nail salon? Should be easy enough.

I agree. Angela I mean she's just trash. Michael seems nice and innocent enough but come on, what does he see in a fat, loud, obnoxious and extremely high maintenance woman who is 22 years his senior? Unless he has mommy issues and doesn't care to have any children all I can think of is either fame or a US green card. Also, if you look at one of the images they are constantly showing of him he appears to be Muslim (based on the clothes he was shown wearing), which is not something I think Angela could get used to. Her nature and independent spirit is worlds apart from the type of "obedient wife" that many Muslim men expect. Although Michael does seem very easygoing so I dunno. Zied. That dude is creepy. He seems ok looking at first but in the previews we don't see a good side of him. Also, that private investigator should have learned her mistakes from what went wrong with her previous Moroccan boyfriend. Furthermore, she's 21 years older than him. It's just weird. What's with this show casting all these "old bags" (no offence intended) going out with guys half their age and from wildly different cultures (mostly Muslim) where such differences are largely taboo? Avery. Very determined young woman. A little scary if you ask me. She's just so naive. Good luck to her that everything goes well but she definitely hasn't thought this through. In some ways she's actually very mature for her age in others she has no idea what she's getting herself into. She's like the polar opposite of Nicole from Florida but just as naive, just in a different way. Good thing she doesn't have a kid and unlike Nicole she isn't ignorant about foreign cultures having chosen to become Muslim, which is not something Nicole could realistically do. I still think that Nicole and Azan from previous seasons is the best example of a bunch of losers that the show has ever cast. David (Annie's husband) doesn't even come close. Perhaps Paul and Karini are the next runners up but despite him being a complete creep, I still prefer him over Nicole mainly because Nicole is just too stupid, immature and lazy. Whereas Paul is simply unlikeable and annoying but at least he isn't completely naive.