There are days that totally take you by surprise. Not much may happen, but at the end of the day you feel fantastic. Today was similar. It was a busy day here in Muscat; I went to SQU to chip away some interviews, and there the day began. Sitting in the library, I was so nervous to approach the girls, all talking in their groups, why would they take the time to talk to me? I finally gathered enough guts to just sit down randomly at a table, and thank goodness, it worked out. I talked to one girl for an hour about my project. Jessica was talking to 2 other girls and once we were done, the girls took us to meet their friends. It so happens that today was graduation, so classes were cancelled in the afternoon.. and the library was closed. So we mosied down to the Women's Engineering Lab where we met handfuls of amazing women. They were so excited to help us out, they made sure they talked to each Jessica and me. We both received some stellar information! To add, they insisted on buying us lunch, showing us around campus, and taking us to their dorm room. As completely and amazingly generous they were, Jessica and I found it pretty funny since we just had a discussion about their opinions on the US... and it wasn't a shining report.
Afterwards, I met some girls at City Center for dinner. I met them at the Nizwa wedding, but since they live in Muscat, they decided to help me out with an interview... and for some fun time to hang out. The 3 sisters came along with their brother... and I had such a blast. The girls are so interesting- talk about strong women. And the brother is studying English so he can be a translator. Needless to say, he was very talkative. Again, Omani hospitality got the best of me, as they refused to let me pay... but I put up a good "Texan hospitality" fight. Every day I am amazed at the kindness here, and I will really miss hanging out with all my new friends. Oman is so far away- Now that there are only 11 days til my return, I've constantly had the discussion of whether I'll return. In my heart, I wish it to be so. But I know it is so difficult, financially, logistically, for us to visit each other. Its really a downer!
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
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.
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.
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