A Bit of Eid and Sur Trip

Well, the computer crashed at the internet cafe during my uploading of pictures... so this was all I was able to upload from my trip to Sur...

The sunset at Aseer Desert Camp. We sat out on the sand dunes to watch the sun set around 5:30pm. The sky was so clear and the sands a surprising red.

Jessica, a fellow SIT student, and I at the beach party following Eid. Stayed at the beach all day, with the families cooking, everyone eating, and a bit of swimming.

(Left to right) Me, Nihad, my mother, Ifaat, and Ahlam on the first day of Eid.

In the desert in our 4x4. Annelle, our driver, and Erick with our car on the top of a sand dune. Usually we flew over these dunes (quite literally flying), but we stepped out to sink ourselves in the sand for once.

Sur is famous for its dhow boats. Caught this photo driving past the port one evening.

More camels... I know. We took a rest at a camel "farm" to release the air pressure in the 4x4s' tires so we could go dune bashing. Spent some up close and personal time with a lot of camels!

Met these women at a more "touristy" spot while our group at Omani coffee and dates at their home. I bought one of those lovely tapestries from them, and almost bought a burka mask... but I think I would have fulfilled their dreams... I was told a story about a British woman who looked like me, came to this area of the desert, converted to Islam, and lived here. Though they were very sweet, didn't want to give any false hopes... But I talked to them about Bedu lifestyle, eventually ending in a long conversation and demonstration about eyeliner. These women are so strong, hilarious, and bascially shatter all stereotypes about women who look the way they do. Go them, I say.

The Ups and Downs of Eid

Well, Eid began last Saturday in Oman. So on Friday, my sisters and I went to get our henna done. An aunt took us to a woman she knows and we got henna done at her house. I was able to watch 3 women get their feet and hands done before my turn. I only got the design on my hands... which was perfectly enough to amaze me. The daughter who did my henna was near my age and had some stellar talent. She took the henna and just began doodling all over my hands... almost like decorating a cake. Once she was finished, I had to sit there to let it dry and turn a light green... then I was able to flake it off. Henna is very orange at first, but I coated them in vaseline for the next 8 hours to make it turn a dark brown- so gorgeous! A little smelly, but the design was amazing.

Eid in a nutshell went somewhat like this...
- the night before, my sisters and I cleaned our room, did all the necessary beauty treatments to look stunning, and hung out with the family in the sitting room. Fatima decided she'd break out the moves. It was adorable.
- Visitors started to arrive at the house around 9:30am (btw, we've been up since 6). We used the formal sitting room, providing little candies and coffee for everyone. The nearer it became to lunchtime, the crowd of people had grown quite a bit. All the aunts, uncles, kids, and some friends (maybe a few strangers thrown in there) crowded around the floor mats we set up to eat Chicken Biryani and salad. Ice cream and sodas were tossed around- quite literally by some of the little ones- and hundreds of conversations. One of the aunts told me I needed to improve my begging skills, as it is tradition to receive money from family during Eid, and I needed to really beg for it. I felt totally awkward.
-THe afternoon was our quiet time.. most of us napped.. or at least those of us who could sleep through the kids being hooligans did. Parenting skills are quite different here... somedays a little stressful.
- Around 7, my family went to my mother's ex's house (also the family of my olders sister AND where another SIT student is) to have a BBQ. My SIT pal and I sat around for awhile watching the Action TV channel, and then I went outside to meet some of the relatives. I sat with 2 girls around my age, talking about Oman, studies, and just randomness. Was really nice to have such good conversations while eating kebabs with potatoes and soup.
-Well, it was good anyway until.... I developed a terrible reaction. I spent the next 2 days of Eid in bed.
-And the clinic had its own set of funness. Getting dropped off alone at the front desk. Couldn't understand the doctor's Indian accent. I just wanted to say "Just FIX me!!".. but instead we reverted to him writing down what he was trying to say. I finally got to a bed, and for the first time in my life, had to have an IV line. All that, with the fear of air bubbles in the tube, and the fact that a fly had decided I was so depressing that it would fly around me like I was a dead person... was retched. But, a couple hours later, I could at least eat and drink again, collapsing on my bed at home.

Thus, Eid ended.

Picture Update!

With my niece and nephew

In Salalah in the mountains

At the ruins of Khor Rhoi, the possible location of the palace of the Queen of Sheeba

In Mughsail, just outside of Salalah

Inside the Grand Mosque in Muscat

The main prayer room of the Grand Mosque

Lunch at a restaurant near my school. Yum!

Dinner in the traditional style in Salalah

My mother, sister, and Maria cooking rice for the mosque

Where are the camels?

Finally, a herd.

My neighborhood, Al-Hail

The infamous goat

A frankincense tree

Still learning... in case you were wondering

Arabic is simple..too simple. I'm used to Spanish with multiple past and present tenses, a billion forms to express doubt, and a long list of irregulars. But... Arabic. One past. One present. Attached a word on the front to make future. And very few irregulars. My brain can't process this simplicity. There must be a trick, right?

And yesterday I learned about oil in Oman. The numbers were fudged (for some good reasons) but getting a general idea about the process of drilling, complexities in drilling, and its role in Oman was, once again, eye-opening. Its unreal how drilling techniques should be improved, not only for environment's sake, but for the future of Oman. But I learned they are working on getting better technology to increase recovery factors... and efficiently.

On the non-academic front, today is Ahlam's birthday. We are again... going to City Center. She still has things to buy for Eid, and she wants to eat at the mall for her bday dinner. I doubt that means we will be there for less than 3 hours. I'm preparing my legs for the trip right now.

تشلسي Chelsea

Daily Life in Oman.... not too much different, really

This week was a fast one. Classes flew by and the weekend doubly so. Thursday afternoon Ahlam, Nihad, and I went to City Center to do MORE Eid shopping. They needed to buy clothes to wear in the mornings. Despite being there from 5pm to 1am... it was rather fun. We broke our fast at the food court, which was a really bizarre way to break it after having in the family setting for so long. Even more bizarre that I broke it with Subway (which PS is really cheap here). I think we looked at every shirt, dress, shoe, and bag in the entire mall. And you would think that I already would have seen it all, considering how oftern we go... but no. Ramadan is crazy. They put out new merchandise every day, and change the window decorations twice a day. I thought Christmas was intense!

Yesterday was my slow day. Really nice in contra to being on my feet the night before. Did all my laundry and finished my Ludlum book- though simple tasks, felt amazing. Dinner was once again delicious, and I got to share the time with the whole extended family.

Classes are half day today... just 3 hours of Arabic. But today, a longgggg 3 hours of Arabic. So I will head home via taxi soon... help cook some things for iftar, watch my sisters' favorite Dubai soap opera (which I understand nothing.. except the men are always plotting and the women are always crying... not too different from US soaps), and hang out with my family.

Yes, Oman loves to shop

Long day today- too long to be fasting for a large part of it . After class ended at 12:00, Kristin, Rebecca, and I got ourselves dropped off at City Center Shopping Center to chip away at our lists. We ended up shopping for Eid clothes, and I bought a lime green sundress that I can wear over pants and a beautiful silk blouse with metal details on the trim. So exciting, but I have to keep em in the closet for 2 weeks until the celebration. (For those of you who don't know, Eid Al' Fitr is the Feast of the breaking of Ramadan. Basically it is of importance like Christmas) The shop was called Monsoon and it is only in the Gulf. We also went to Carrefour where I bought a new housedress, things to bake cookies with, a dictionary, and a guidebook to Dubai. Kristin and I guided our taxi home successfully- and I engulfed myself in the guidebook. I am so EXCITED about going to Dubai in a month. I am already planning where I want to go, eat, swim, shop- EVERYTHING!

In a whirlwind, I caught a ride with my brothers to have iftar at Nashwa's. Since it was so sudden, I surprised Nashwa... I met her mother and sister when I first entered, and they couldn't have been nicer. We helped prepare a few last minute items for iftar: we took these small pancake-like bread pieces and half-filled them with cream, pinched it together, and drizzled honey all over it. Yea, Oman is a diabetic nightmare. Iftar, however, was nice, yet different from my family's. Had some amazing baked beans- felt like Texas food! So we all stuffed ourselves as we watched Omani soap operas that made fun of Omani culture.

Around 8 we all went to this big mall in the "American" part of Muscat. Hadn't been yet, but I wasn't impressed. And yes, this was #2 shopping trip of the day. It was really wild to see the damage the "unusual weather patterns" of earlier this year caused. The whole first floor was flooded, so it was still closed off and completely in shambles. Not too different from the empty lots around town with damage still laying in them. But did see some really beautiful head scarves. And tried to find some Arabic perfume/oils.... yet the kind I thought I wanted smelled horrible. And I came out of the shop with different oils all over my hands... I stank. Nashwa, her sisters, and I found it all more untolerable (as we all suffered the same perfume fate) when we were jammed in the car on the way home.

Every day here brings its own set of revelations. Some are more exciting than others, and I may have some cultural stress at times, and I cannot believe I am actually in the Gulf most of the time. But I can already tell that little things about the US will be hard to adjust to when I get home. For one- I'm already shocked when I see tourists in short sleeve shirts walking around town.... let alone a whole city of em. And lots of things I thought would be a huge adjustment- the longer clothes or abaya for example- are some of the things I love here. I mean, I can wear anything I want under the abaya... and I still look snazzy. Its amazing. And the housedresses, which we know would be considered mumus in the US, are the most comfortable, beautiful things. Funny how people think of these as such a cage for women... when really i think the men here have less freedom in dress. But hey, thats how ironic life is.

The Most Interesting Day BY FAR

Yesterday when I came home, I was reminded that it was the day of my sister's (Nihad) formal engagement. The guy's (Sa'id) family comes to propose a union with Nihad's family.. We spent 2 hours after iftar preparing the food, rearranging the furniture, and getting pretty/clean for our guests.

All of the aunts I've met came over- as they are sisters of my host mother. They are so sweet and it is always fun to talk to them. Ahlam, Nihad, Ifaat, the kids, and I waited in our bedroom until we were called on. The men and women are separated in two rooms. The men of Sa'id's family were talking to my host father/grandfather/brothers about technicalities of the proposal in the formal sitting room. The women all sat in the foyer which we filled with couches. After they all ate some food, we were summoned to be introduced to the aunts and mother of Sa'id. Walked around the room, kissing the 4 aunts and mom of the groom on the cheeks and swapping "hello's" and "how are you's" in Arabic. Sa'id's mother was a much older, Zanzibari woman who held my hand for what felt like forever and was impressed at me trying to respond to her in a very limited Arabic. Ahlam later told me we probably shared the same level of Arabic, because she seemed to only really know Swahili. They all conversed for a bit longer and I didn't feel so out of place since Fatima sat on my lap and distracted me from all the Swahili I didn't understand by ordering me to sing Barney.. and her new favorite, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. But it was so sweet watching Nihad sit next to Sa'id's mother, holding her hand, becoming acquainted with her new family.

Once the family left, giving my family the 3 day waiting period to think the proposal over, we all dug into the huge spread of food we prepared. Ahlam and I joked that we had enough to feed a banquet for the Sultan. There was a ton of fruit- grapes, watermelon, plums, pineapple, melon- chicken cutlass, chicken wontons, kaymati (dough balls filled with honey), and the best Omani cheesecake ever. (The cake is credit to Nihad- who put together crackers, jello, pudding, pineapple, and cream cheese to make the most amazing cake)

I took on role as dishwasher, and helped put away the dozens of plates and platters. I did learn about the next wedding events from my father. The dowry presentation will take place sometime while I am here- and I cannot wait to see that. The money goes to pay for her veil as well as bags, shoes, etc. The malka, or technical wedding, will happen 10 days after I leave, and the wedding is on January 25th. I am so bummed about missing them, and my family thinks I should just extend my stay. haha