Gratitude Month

I've been told (post arriving here) that there are certain milestones where things will feel hard for all expats anywhere.  I believe they are at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year.  I feel like I've transitioned really well, but there are things that have happened at those markers so far that have caused things to spiral.

At 1 month, Stephen went on a business trip to the US and everything broke.  By everything, I mean everything:  the dishwasher, the internet, J, it all broke.  When I blew the circuits in the house, I ended up in a ball at the foot of the stairs, in the dark, sobbing uncontrollably.

At 3 months, I've been hit with a family issue that I won't be going into.  Let's just say that I've been riding a roller coaster of emotions for all of November.  I'm honestly handling things fine for the most part, but every now and then, I start crying uncontrollably.  Seriously, one Friday I had to step out of church because I couldn't stop crying.  I thought I was doing better, came back in, cried through the next 2 songs.

Wadi Shab

Wadi Shab is a wadi you can swim in around a 2 hour drive from Muscat.  The drive there through and beside mountains is beautiful.  It is easy to get to as it is along the highway with a marked exit, and is a good way to spend a good 3-4 hours of your day.  There are also many beaches nearby including a rock one just across the street from the parking lot.

NOTICE:  Wadis are prone to flooding.  Do not attempt a wadi if rain is in the forecast for the wadi or nearby area.  Do not attempt a wadi shortly after rainfall.  Respect mother nature.

Some of the mountains on the way out.  Pardon the reflection from the car.

Grocery Store Food

There are definitely things you can and cannot find here in Muscat.  And when you can find something you’ve been looking for, you should tap into your inner hoarder and stock up.  This was the advice I was given, but I've yet to be a good hoarder.  More on that later.

We shop at 4 different grocery stores here:  Carrefour, Lulu’s, Al Fair, and Sultan Center.  I love my Carrefour in Qurum City Center.  I know generally where things are in that Carrefour.  I don't know where things are in the Carrefour in Muscat Grand Mall.  That one is smaller and drove me nuts when I was trying to find 3 items.  (I walked out with only 2 of my needed items.)  Sometimes I shop at Lulu's in Avenues Mall.  This is a large store with just about everything.  But do not go on Fridays (and possibly not even Saturdays) because it will be absolutely crazy!  We've waited quite a while in lines before.  Lulu's and Carrefour run some really good sales that change fairly frequently.  Al Fair is my local grocery store that I can walk to for milk, cereal, bread, etc. that I need mid week when I really just need to pick up a couple of items.  Sultan Center also has really good deals and a good selection of imported items.  They also have a great home and outdoor activity section.  This is a good store to wander around in to see if you can find random things you didn't know you needed or things not found at the other stores.

Thanksgiving in Oman 2.0

I posted about Thanksgiving as it was upcoming, this is the looking back at what we learned post.

On Thanksgiving Day, we did a whole lot of nothing.  We relaxed around the house then eventually went to the American Club early to let the boys go swimming.  At this point in the year, since the pool is shaded all day, the water is a bit cold.  But the boys enjoyed swimming none the less.

The boys just finished with swimming.

Thanksgiving in Oman

Fun happenstance:  we were granted November 20-22 off for Oman National day and the Prophet's birthday.  Go figure since National Day is November 18 and the Prophet's birthday is, well, it changes.  The school was estimating something like November 28-29.  A good week off!

My few fall decorations that I brought to Oman.

There are some fun, serendipitous things about the days we get off.  For one, we get actual Thanksgiving Day off.  I really didn't expect that!  For another, the boys get 3 days off of school.  That is how much time I'd expect them to get off of school at home.  A fun bonus is that Stephen also gets 3 days off of work (no vacation required).

National Day Decorations

National Day is a big deal in Oman.  This year, they are celebrating the 48th National Day.  The day marks Oman independence from Portugal which actually happened in the 1500s.  But it is considered the 48th National Day because it is the 48th year of the reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos.  Omanis love Sultan Qaboos.  He has led the country in a renaissance.  He has encouraged modernization, education, welfare, and economic reforms.

I think I've mentioned before that people here decorate their cars for National Day.  This is a big deal because it is only allowed for basically a month around National Day.  Otherwise, car decorations are not allowed.  The Oman colors of green, red, and white, cover cars as well as pictures of Sultan Qaboos.

I've tried to take some pictures while walking to or from school.  Also occasionally if Stephen was driving.  Here are some of the sightings:

Date Night

We don’t have a babysitter yet here in Muscat because we haven’t really needed one.  And yet, Stephen and I go on dates once a week without the kids.  How?  We utilize Awana time.

At Manhattan Fish Market

My yummy seafood dinner.  It was so good!

Culture Shock 2.0

More musings of things that are different:

There is no recycling here!  The grocery stores use thick, plastic bags.  Not many people are using reusable bags.  The Wave does have recycle bins for their residents, though a friend admitted she wonders if it is all just a ruse to make the expats feel better.  She thinks both bins end up in the same place.

Halloween… I knew people wouldn’t celebrate it here, but I didn’t expect people to be against it.  I assumed it would just be a non holiday.  It seems that for some, they have spent their Christian lives avoiding cultural holidays because they celebrate Hindu or other gods.  It makes these people extremely weary of what holidays they celebrate and why and what the origin of the holiday is.  Honestly, not a bad strategy, especially when carefully guiding their children.  It is also really only in America that Halloween is this fun, silly, give kids candy holiday.  I kid you not; I went to a prayer group meeting last month in Halloween workout pants and a Halloween Disney shirt.  They then started discussing how they don’t celebrate Halloween and I was mortified at what I was wearing.  Don’t worry, the conversation wasn’t directed at me or antagonistic, I was just painfully aware that I wore the wrong clothes.

Going on Walks

It is "fall" now.  It is beautiful most mornings and evenings (admittedly not this morning, it was crazy humid).  Some number of years ago yesterday, I slightly complained about the cold weather and hoped that Stephen could move us to Florida.  Looking at that now, I realize that Oman works, too.  I don't miss the cold.  I love the warmth.  And even though it is hot in Oman (sometimes all day, sometimes just the middle of the day), we go on lots of walks.  It’s a good way to get in little nuggets of workout time throughout the day.

For instance, we walk to and from school every day.  Some days, I have to do multiple pick ups because of after school activities.  I’m not gonna lie, that school pick up time was HOT in September!  Not my favorite walking time.

I also make a point of walking any time my watch vibrates at me that I haven’t been active enough in the last hour.  In these cases, I usually walk to the end of my road where there is a shady stretch of road.  During school, I do this alone unless Stephen needs a computer break.  On weekends or after school, I drag the boys with me.  Sometimes they will pull out their scooters and ride up and down the street.  It’s fine with me as long as they’re up and doing something.  Now, if they ride their scooters, I did have to convince them to stick to the road.  If they use the sidewalk (the shady area in the later afternoons), there are grooves around the man hole covers that were causing J’s scooter to stop abruptly and him fall.  Hence, he scraped both knees in one week.

Family Verse

I have decided that our family needs a family verse, and this is what it is:

Philippians 2:14

I have heard that moving abroad can magnify any problems, and it is so true.  Little nagging before between the boys intensified.  Little things that bugged me grow and intensify.  Not sure how Stephen needs to apply this verse because, as he has said before, "his emotional depth is a puddle."  That man is a saint.  I look at him and often think, "How do you put up with me?"

Nizwa

For the boys’ mid term break, we stayed close to Muscat and visited Nizwa.  The trip had many problems, but it was still fantastic.  I want to go back and do some other activities that we couldn’t do (because we popped a tire and came home on a spare).

Nizwa was once a capital of Oman, and it is situated in the desert about 1.5 hours from Muscat.  It sits along a dry river bed.  This feels extremely sad.  Google Maps will still show the river (wadi) in blue, but it is bone dry.

Our first day in town, we got a quick lunch in Nizwa, did some Google searches, then headed to Manah to check out the fort and old village around al Fiqain.  Wow!  The fort was closed while we were there, but the village is always open.  This was a great stop and a highlight for all of us.  J even told us that he loves history and wanted to go to more places to learn about history. 

The flat on the fort through the ruins.

Driving in Muscat

Driving in Muscat is interesting, to say the least.  I mostly ride.  Some say that you cannot drive a non-rental car here without your residency card.  Others will say that you have a grace period of 3 months (this may be determinate upon which country you come from as well).  But since this is a gray area, I use caution and my crutch of being scared as excuses to be the passenger.  Being the passenger has allowed me to be more observant and take pictures of the oddities I encounter.  But that all ends soon as I should be getting my license this week.

Let’s start with the roads.  They are well-paved unless you are off-roading (a common pastime here).  We stick to the roads.  The roads are not straight.  Muscat is not laid out on a grid.  At.  All.  It follows the coast-ish.  Every single road curves.  There are many roads you can only get on if you come from the correct direction which could force you to make a couple of u-turns to get to the road you want to be on.  And forget back tracking to get to where you started.  I heard a story this weekend about it taking 11 minutes to get to the store on the other side of the highway.

Note the road, the white dashed line, the un-needed curve, and the sidewalks on both sides.