Tiwi take two

I fear it has been a very long time since my last post, so I am writing two posts to make up for it- sorry in advance, once again it will be a very long post. Hopefully the pictures will keep you entertained!
Its seems this trip has turned into half work and half time off due to the copious Omani holidays between October and December: I'm not complaining! The break I will be describing in this post is Eid AlAdha, for which we had a full week of holiday. Freddie, Wil, Tom and I chose to spend some of the time given back at Tiwi and Wadi Shab exploring. Were kindly invited to join some of the younger teachers and their group of friends which was a really good laugh. 
We smoked shisha on the beach....

Played on inflatables.......

Swatted hornets......

And got very sunburned......

(we are now 2 weeks later and I am still shedding skin-eeeew!)

It was really refreshing to hang out with people my own age, and to meet some people who came down from Dubai to camp and talk about their experiences of being expats in Dubai. We also spent a day at Wadi shab; and during the journey there we saw the remains of the Eid celebration- piles of dead goats- urgh!Wadi Shab was excellent, I hope to add some photos later as our friend James brought a water proof camera. I will try my best to describe the amazing scenery! A wadi is normally a dry river bed, but if you walk far enough into one you will find deep pools of water as well as narrow openings in the rocks leading to cavernous places where  you can climb up waterfalls and jump into the deep water below. After our previous visit to the Wadi I really wanted to try and climb the waterfall and make the 20ft jump over the ledge and into the water from the top. After Tom helped me climb up, all the guys jumped off, and I was left shaking and terrified peering over the edge. Wil had to come up and lead me down to a smaller jump, so it turns out and I am massive weener when it comes to heights- I must take after Mum. Anyhow, after a few hours swimming through the wadi, and the huge anticlimax of my chickening out, we decided to head back to the beach. Because there had been rainfall a few days before, the felaj (a man-made channel to bring fresh water from the wadi down to the town) was flowing beautifully so we decided to try and ride it back. This was unsuccessful and ended with a muddy bum, but still it was fun to follow the channel and see where it led.

Later we returned to camp to find the road (a very loose term) to the camping spot only passable by 4X4 and so rather than park and walk, Tom and I decided to try and drive around and come at it from the other direction. Not the best idea given that Tom doesn't have a driving licence and I only had prescription sunglasses with me! When night began to fall and we were driving around the wilderness, I was squinting through the sunglasses to try and see any immediate and deathly drops while also trying to find our way back. Note to self- always carry glasses! Anyhow, eventually we turned back and after around an hour ended up back where we started- with Tom driving the last section due to the vision situation- phew! We spent the rest of the evening happy to be alive, eating kebabs off the campfire/BBQ, and drinking copious amounts of GandT.

I spent the rest of the holiday recuperating and wondering around Old Muscat, as well as preparing for Mum and Ed's visit....

Ominous photo of dusk at the Sultan's Palace

The boys outside the mosque in Muscat

Lights over the gate into old Muscat for the 41st Omani National day!

Mum and Ed arrived at 9AM on the 11th of November, and it was so good to see them! There were forecasts for rain but it seems they brought the sunshine with them :). We did a whole variety of things but I think one of the most unusual was going to the World Cup qualifier between Oman and Australia. Having seen the Australian team at mum and Ed's hotel earlier in the day, we decided to support the Aussies. The tickets were free (having been bought up by the phone network Nawras) and it seems that Omani's don't like free stuff as there were only 2 sections of the stadium full- one of expats and families and one for Men. The video and pictures below show how empty the stands were. It turned out to be a very bizarre evening, especially for my visitors who had had little sleep on their overnight flight. When we arrived Mum and I spend the best part for an hour searching for ladies loos only to discover (after endlessly being pointed to different ends of the Sultan Qaboos Stadium) that there were none. Eventually a lady commandeered a guard to stand outside the men's loos while we ladies went in, needless to say it was a close call! The game included an absurd amount of time wasting and some wonderful theatrics from the Omani side- including a player being brought off the pitch on a golf buggy writhing in pain, only to run back on as soon as the buggy left the pitch!! I couldn't believe how many times they brought a golf buggy on the pitch for the most minor thing!

The famous golf buggy....

 

Lisa, our loud and proud Aussie friend!

Oman had a surprise win of 1-0 and the fans went mental. From the turnout at the stadium I thought that none of the kids at the school  would have seen the game, but in fact they all saw us in the stands on TV and told us the next day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bA4q687BAc 1-0!!!!!!!!

For the rest of  Mum and Ed's short trip, we spent time in old Muscat, Muttrah Souq (see below for Ed's traditional Omani Dish Dasha) and the school itself. It was great to show them where I live and introduce them to some of the kids and staff who I am fond of. It was also nice to have a break from chicken and rice in the cafeteria every night, and we ate at some nice places- my favourite was the Marina hotel in Muttrah, on a terrace overlooking the port and serving the most delicious kingfish straight from the sea! Ed was happy because they also served beer. Their hotel was lovely, and included a novelty which Ed was used to but I was fascinated with- a bar IN the pool that you swim up to! Ed had a rum punch and I had a pimms whilst Ed told me about his favourite holidays- it was a very enjoyable evening and one I will remember for a long time.

Omani Ed!

Mum and Ed in Old Muscat, behind them is the Jelali Fort.

Ed in a traditional Omani palm frond house.

I was really sad to see them go, but so happy that I could share my experience with them and show them all the places I love going to. Mum strategically planned the airport drop off so that neither of us would have time to get tearful, a very shrewd move!

Surprise of the Week: the sudden increase in mozzies as the weather has cooled a bit.

Discovery of the Week: One application of suncream is not enough for the whole day!

Next Blog- Dressing up for National day and Al Hoota cave!

Tiwi take one!

This post will be a summing up of the last two weeks as I have been too busy to write! I'm afraid it may be a little long, sorry in advance!

First I will detail some other aspects of school life here, and then some more about the fun we have been having at weekends! Unfortunately there is only one horrific picture of me in this week's entry, but I promise some more for you to laugh at next week!

So the last two weeks have been busy ones because there have been some illnesses and broken bones in the female half of the PE department, and so consequently as the only girl gapper, I was drafted in to help out. Mrs Shephard and Miss Jones would never have believed it, I have actually found the experience really enjoyable; but maybe thats because their version of Cross country is a quick lap of the school(under 1k) and last week we did it at a power walk pace!The little ones do half of the course and it's incredible to see how hard they try to get the best time, but year 8 upwards and it becomes such a slog trying to get the girls to do anything active! I tried to motivate the girls by saying that if they ever moved to London (as many of them want to) then they would have to get used to fast paced walking- this statement was followed by "but Miss, we are Omani, the fastest we do is the Omani Shuffle" - What the hell is an Omani shuffle? Well it turns out that Omanis are famous for their relaxed attitude- they never hurry ANYWHERE- something I have definately noticed whilst being here, hence their slow style of walking is called the Omani shuffle.

Everything is so relaxed here- but when dealing with rental cars it seems they will try anything to stop you from having a decent car! Basically the pimp mobile I put pictures up of last week broke down on us, and so we asked the rental company if we could swap the car for something more reliable. They showed up the next day and took the car away, and we were expecting the new one to arrive a few hours later. We got a call from Sean who said our car was down at his, and so a few of us went down to pick up our shiny new car. Unfortunately we are in Oman and not the UK, and the we discovered the old car had been returned, missing half a tank of petrol! We assumed they had fixed the problem and so we took it for a spin. After a quick stop at O mart, our local shop, we returned to the car and it wouldnt start, I was driving, so I hopped out and stuck my head under the bonnet to whack the loose connection on the battery back into place while Tom revved the engine- much to the amazement of the Omani guys in the barbers opposite (Taylor Heyman - first female mechanic in Oman!). Anyway, this story has a happy ending, we later ragged the car over a speed bump too fast and it started leaking oil- here is a pic of the new car: (to follow)

After school hours we have visited Seeb souq, where Tom bought a moussa, a traditional Omani head scarf for men mostly worn by those working in public jobs. After watching a video on youtube, this was his attempt at it  (dont ask me why the stupid pose):

We also tried halwa, a sweet dessert made from dates and sugar- it was very tasty, here is EJ (music teacher from America and very funny bloke) with the snack:

The 3rd weekend was pretty relaxed, after a hard working week I spent my time at the pool with a few characters you may recognise:

Yes, its Floppy legs!



This weekend we went camping with Sean and his family to Tiwi, a 2hrs drive south from where we are in Seeb.We stopped off at a sink hole on the way and dipped our toes in, the water was so clear and beautiful, and it had Garra Ruffa fish in it which nibbled our toes! who needs to pay a tenner in MK hey mum! 

Fish pedicure!

The beach was wonderfully secluded and so I could splash about in my bikini without feeling uncomfortable: however, I am still as pale as a vampire :(  . We set up a shade from the heat of the day, and sunbathed and read books:

In the evening we sipped G and T's under the stars, and then we went exploring. We met a group of  Venezuelans who let us join thier party and we boogied with them to Latin music until the wee hours! The dad of the group was Luiz: a man who is blacklisted in Venzuela and makes the strongest drinks known to man! Here is a photo of Tom Freddie and I with Luiz, and some others of the evening:

Obligatory awful photo of me- pre bedtime!

We slept under the stars and I awoke to the sunrise over the beach- bliss:

We also saw a lot of wildlife at the beach, including vultures, goats, lizards and a turtle up close! We are revisiting Tiwi for a long trip over the Eid holiday which has just started (9 days- woo hoo!) so next blog will be that and Mum and Ed's visit- I can't wait!

Discovery of the week : Chicken Shwarma is an incredible hangover cure!

Surprise of the week: How ill adapted Oman is for rain: if it rains in the morning here- the school is closed!

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!