Yeah it might be that things are greener on the other side... maybe it also depends on religion as I've noticed in some (not all) that Muslims and Copts here in the US self segregate themselves more than they are in Egypt... i.e. in Egypt they mostly get along, but then here people wig out and get all holier than thou... and the community separates.

Morsy, I think you maybe right, I think there are some cultural problems that we bring with us from our country. Nouran, I don't disagree with you, we too have many small groups of fiends that meet every few weeks. But what I am talking about is the type of close knit community that the palestinians have for example in Chicago. Maybe I am not looking hard enough.

I don't really agree with you ya morsy. One reason would prolly be coz my parents aren't really like that. My parents want me to know not only the daughters, but the sons of their friends. What other way can they be sure that I will marry a muslim if they don't introduce me to some good ones?

Well, I know this applies to many Egyptian families in the states; especially in households where you have grown up girls. Parents in such families tend to be over protective of their kids. They don?t want their kids to interact w/ people if not necessary in order to avoid problems. I can see how this can help shield their kids from some bad influences, but what they?re missing out on is far more greater and important in terms of building their character.

You know, i had a friend of mine who went to law school in Chicago, and she had the same complaint about Egyptians in that area.

Mr. Gaber:
I disagree with your and that cab driver's points of view. I'm sad to know that you havn't seen, realized, or experienced a true "Egyptian Community".
From what I've seen, egyptians- in california, are quite close and care for one another.
Take my parents for example, they have many egyptian friends, with whom they meet up with on a weekly basis in parks. I'm sure others' parents do the same.... hehe

Anyways, I guess you just have to figure out where the good egyptian clicks hang out. There are some egyptians in california that I choose not to hang out with because of their confusing and not so kind personalities. But note this: There are many Egyptians that care about their egyptian brothers and sisters, and somehow unite creating huge, and i mean huge, egyptian groups.

on behalf of the Palestinians, I can tell you this is the opposite in London (Ontario), the egyptians are actually more close to each other than you might imagine...on the other hand, the Palestinians seem somehwta isolated...strange eh?

But in both locations, I will say, the muslim communites are very strong and very active, alhamdulilah.

Well, no offense, but Palestinians in a sense HAVE TO be close to each other, its an obligation, otherwise, they will literally dissappear....however, as Egyptians, our country m'shallah is one of the largest in the arab world...I mean most arab countries know who everyone in the country is, or have an idea of who they are (they ask what Dar they are from, and can tell you what kind of family they are to some extent), so a part of it has to do with our country's geography. But here in America we don't really have that excuse, but honestly it depends, I used to live in Michigan, and m'shallah they have one of the tightest Egyptian communities you will ever see, however now that I live in Maryland, its a bit disjointed...but if you look at it, again its an issue of geography in my opinion, Michigan was the Midwest and really emphasized community and family while here on the eastcoast, it all about buisness and working, people really don't have the time to build that strong sense of community.