ShaWadi Wadi!

Week 2

Ok so this week has really been about settling into our routines and making sure our timetable is working for us.

So far I am really enjoying helping in year 8 english; there are some kids in the middle set who are struggling not only with grammatical devices but also with their english. Its nice to take them to the library for a double period and feel like you have made a difference to their understanding. Their teacher Doug is incredible- he begins every lesson by engaging them with a video, this one was to encourage them to buy a reading book : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuRuwR2JSXI

We also began our after school duties this week, which include helping and supervising the 35 boys who board at the school during their study hours. The boarders are part of a scheme paid for by the sultan which takes the top 35 boys in a national test and places them in the school on a scholarship system. The boys would never be able to have this opportunity otherwise. Not only is their board paid for but the school is also very concious that they appear no different from the wealthy kids, so they are given a monthly allowance with which they can do what they want.

Every Monday evening a bus comes to take the boys to the sooq so they can load up with crisps and 7up, and on the weekends their parents collect them (some drive as far as 3 hrs).The scheme works incredibly well; with boys starting in year 7 and staying until year 13. When they arrive at year 7, they barely speak any english, but by year 8 they are remarkably fluent. It's amazing to see how they progress, and great Arabic practice for me to talk to them! The boys are looked after by a number of staff who volunteer their time and a live in dormitary supervisor. Pictures to come next week of football with the boarders.


Aside from the working week, we have had a great weekend with more exploring. On Thursday Sean took us to the Fort at Nakhal, which is situated looking out at the Jebel Akhdar mountains and boasts incredible views ( do I sound like a guidebook yet?)At one point the fort was almost lost to neglect, and because of lack of traditional building skills in Oman, the Sultan had to draft hundreds of Morrocan workers in to bring it back to it's 17th century glory.  Anyway here are some pictures of me and the boys mucking around at the fort:

Tom getting stuck down a hole!

The view from the Fort

Hugh reading the Guide Book - The reason he looks disgruntled is because he doesn't believe in posed photos!

Boy and Toys

As usual the roasting heat meant we moved on quite quickly so next we went to the Al Thowrah hot springs. There was a band playing on the other side of the river and a group of teenage boys splashing about in the hot pool- god knows who would want to do that in the heat, but they seemed pretty excited! We did take photos but they're on another camera so I'll post them when I can. We then attempted to visit the biggest Fort in Oman, but after a half an hour drive, in typical Omani style there was a sign on the door saying closed until2013.  After this we went to Little snake gorge- which in order to reach we had to go over some pretty rocky terrain. We passed a turned over lorry and a upside down jeep on the way- luckily I feel safe with Sean driving- more than I can say for the boys driving our pimp mobile hire car (more about that debacle in the next blog):

Little Snake Canyon

So as it had rained for the first time in a year we went for a hike/swim up and around the rocks- it was incredible! The Wadis (dry river beds) flood when it rains so people go swimming in the clear water in between the huge rocks, I have never felt so small!!!!! Sean let slip that there were water snakes in the pools, but it was ok because sound scared them away. From that point on Wil was clapping his hands everywhere we went- he is terrified of snakes! It reminded me of the scene in The Parent Trap when Meredith is bashing those sticks together  to ward off mountain lions, silly boy! Anyway, the day was great fun: I caught a frog, Freddie threw a frog at me, and other japes ensued (haha).

Surprise of the week- Passing an 8 year old child driving a toyota hilux unattended through the Wadi!

Discovery of the week- The MEGA MAC- a mcdonalds burger which is twice the size of a big mac- with 4 burgers inside!! :
 Urgh....

How's this for a hangover cheeseburger Abbie? Reckon it would cure the cheeseburger shakes? As per usual I thought I could manage to eat it but i failed miserably!

Lastly, we went on our first night out at the Safari Club in the Grand Hyatt hotel. Over here the only clubs with alcohol you will find are part of hotels, and this one had a couples get in free policy and everyone else had to pay around 12 quid to get in. Being the only girl in this group does have it's advantages sometimes as I strolled in with Tom! The other boys had to accost random women to go in with them and pretend to be their girlfriend which was pretty hilarious!

Tom was the lucky boy who was my "other half" for the evening

It was a good night, but the really interesting stuff happened on the way home- we were walking along the beach to the car when we encountered a bunch of Omani guys of about 18 all playing instruments and singing and dancing. We decided to join and they got us in the middle to dance for them. This was one situation where being the only girl was a bit odd, the guys kept asking which one of the boys I was married to! Anyhow, the Omani hospitality is fantastic as they offered us drinks and chatted to us about what we were doing over here. As time went on the boys got more confident and this is how they ended up, needless to say, I did not remove my shirt!:

Wil showing his moves to the fascination of the Omani guy next to him!

Well this seems like a good point to end. Coming up next week- Mitsubishi mayhem and the Omani shuffle!

Shwarma Drama

This blog will be an account of my time living and working in Oman over the next 2 and a half months. I interviewed for a  gap year scheme in Oman in order to improve my Arabic, the  scheme is basically a chance for gap year students to experience living in the Middle East and also working at a school.

So.... Week 1

Day 1  4th October 2011

 Dep. London Heathrow 22.35pm, I spent most of the journey to the airport trying not to weep at the feeling of loneliness I might soon be experiencing, and the nerves that I may not get on with the other people on the trip. I actually managed it quite well, until I got in the check-in queue at the airport Jack and Sophie surprised me which was really touching and had me desparately trying to hold it together! Anyway, had a lovely last meal with Mum, Jack and Soph and then ran through to departures to meet up with Hugh, Tom, Will and Freddie in the bar. I had already met Hugh at my interview so I knew he was a nice guy, and the other guys are really easy to get on with, and pretty funny. I won't bore you  with the details of the plane journey other than the child next to me was screaming very loudly - but the geek in me was chuffed I could understand what he was yelling about in Arabic! On another note- Transformers 3 is awful.

Arr. Muscat International 9am local time, bit of confusion with queing as we had 3 month visas and so we didnt think the tourist queue was the corect one. This meant we hopped in the queue with the locals, and all the women had mysteriously dissapeared. We were attracting A LOT of stares, we wern't sure if it was because we were Westerners queueing with locals or whether it was because 'shock horror' a woman was in the wrong queue! either way soon this dude took us out and waved us to the front of another queue and then we met Sean Griffen, our surrogate parent for the trip. He drove us back to the school and showed us our homes for the next 3 months. After hearing rumours of my room being an old science classroom I was bracing myself for lighting bunsen burners instead of candles at night; but my apartment was double the size of the boy's and I have a double bed!!!

As soon as I unpacked my stuff and put up the pictures that Alice gave me on the fridge, I felt instantly at home, and I have to say, I havn't really missed home since, which is odd for the girl who used to drive 2 hrs back from Sheffield to spend 1 night in her home town!!

Here are a couple of pictures of  the school -  but I keep forgetting to take one of the pool- I will put one up soon, it is amazing!

Surprise of the day : attending a booze filled party on our first night and meeting a few of the teachers a bit merry- we had all expected to be remaining sober for the duration- it soon became clear that this was not an option! The way it works is that the teachers have to apply for a license to buy booze, and they are allowed to spend a certain amount of their income a month on it after filling lots of forms and showing their paycheck to the police.

Day 2 -

Sean took us on a trip to see some of the local sights.

Surprise of the day:  that Sean filled up the tank in his 4x4 for 6OR which is about a tenner for 55 litres- absolute madness! Also, they still have petrol attendants here who fill up your car for you to save you getting out in the blistering heat.

After this amazement we went to the Grand Mosque, which is absolutely massive, but yet so intricately designed. I had to be covered  up (picture below for amusement) so I was sweating like a mad thing (praise the lord for Mitchum!)

Tom, Freddie and Wil enjoy the sights

haha!

After eating some shwarma (basically a chicken wrap) which was around 25p each, Sean then drove us to a completely secluded beach where we all got into our swimmies and enjoyed the bath temperature water and tried to catch crabs. I think it became clear at this point that we were all going to get on pretty well, and we have (so far anyway!) Here are some pics of the beach at Sifah and the boys playing in the sea!

Excited much?!

Tom and Wil after a disappointing crab catching session!

Rest of the week -After our exhausting weekend and trying to get our body clocks working on Omani time- we settled into the routine here and sorted out the lessons we would be helping out in. Timetable is below. My favourite lesson of the week was Kindergarten PE because I was allowed to 'teach' (basically muck about) by myself- the lesson plan was to teach them to bounce a tennis ball with one hand and catch it with two- the kids are adorable and so well behaved so it can be a lot of fun! I also enjoy sitting in on the yr 4 and 5 arabic classes where I am basically a pupil, My teacher Reema gets me up in front of the class to write on the board and I got a 'mumtaz' - excellent- sticker for my work!

Still finding it odd to adjust to the fact the the weekend here is Thursday and Friday, and I don't think I'll ever get used to it! Anyway- thats enough blathering on....

Next week- 8 yr olds driving 4x4's and wadi snakes!