January 2020

January 2020 has been an interesting month here in Oman.  We kicked it off on a boat finishing off our trip.  We arrived back in Oman a bit late for the first day back to school, so that was one day off.  At the end of that week, J woke up sick to make a second day off for him.  Then came Saturday morning when we learned that Sultan Qaboos had passed away.  An official mourning period was declared for 3 days.  The official mourning period started the next day (Sunday) which meant 3 more days off school.  Then came the last of the heavy rains for the month which cancelled the first day of school after the mourning period thanks to flooded classrooms and no electricity.  5 days off for E and 6 for J in 2 weeks.  Good thing the rest of the month didn't trend the same way.

Back to the passing of Sultan Qaboos.  He was a truly beloved leader as he led Oman from being a poor, oppressed, left behind country, to one with much improved roads, hospitals, and educational systems.  He made Oman a symbol of peace as he quietly led by example inviting arguing leaders to the table to discuss solutions.  The people here live much more free lives, though it is still not the level of freedom Americans experience.  He had been sick for quite a while as he was battling cancer.  While it wasn't shared in local news (no freedom of the press), Wikipedia indicated that he came home after his early December doctor appointment because he wanted to pass away in his home country.  The only news released here came at the end of December to say that he was in stable condition.  He passed away Friday, January 10, in the evening.  The new sultan (Sultan Haitham) was named Saturday morning.  Sultan Qaboos was laid to rest later in the morning.  It was a crazy morning/weekend/week of searching for every bit of information that we could find online to keep up with what was going on.  We dealt with closed roads as diplomats and world leaders came in to pay their respects during the days of mourning.  I sent Stephen to the gas station for emergency milk the first morning because I wasn't sure if it would be respectful for me to be out in public, and the gas stations were about all that were open.  We went to the grocery store the next day after they were asked to be open.  (The grocery store is in the mall... It was super weird going to a mall with all the stores closed.)



The days of mourning continue for 40 full days, though business is more or less back to normal.  Businesses and schools reopened, but certain activities are not allowed.  There is not to be music playing in outdoor spaces.  All hotels had to cancel any and all parties whether inside or outside.  Any parties in homes are to remain inside with music to not be heard outside.  Radio stations are only allowed to play classical or Arabic music.  This is what I've heard as I listen to podcasts and audiobooks in the car.  All performances at the opera house were cancelled.  E's school play was postponed until after the 40 days.  The Muscat Marathon that was to be the weekend after Sultan Qaboos died was postponed until after the 40 days.  It is now the same day as the 1/2 Iron Man here in Muscat.  Let's just say there are lots of people who can no longer participate because they are either competing in the Iron Man or they couldn't change all of their travel plans.

The first week of mourning, the Protestant Church cancelled all regularly scheduled activities.  They held church-wide services every evening that week at both campuses as times of prayer.  All congregations were encouraged to come together for these services.  Then on Friday, they offered 5 services at each location for all congregations.  The Catholic Church held a special service the following Friday.  There is still a sign on the Protestant Church door that requests that music be kept to a minimum during the days of mourning.  Um, how quiet it needs to be is certainly open for debate. 😁🙉

During all this, Stephen's parents came for a visit.  They planned their trip so that they could see E's play.  The play being postponed was definitely a bit of a bummer.  But we tried to make the most of their visit.  We had already shown them many Muscat sights (Muttrah Souq, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Royal Opera House, and Riyam Hike), so this trip was going to be a bit more relaxing.  We did take them to Wadi Ghala to hike around.  It is a pretty easy hike on a path in to the wadi where you can scramble around on the boulders if desired.  It was really cool this time because everything was green!  We also ate at some local favorite restaurants:  Asmahan (Lebanese food), Kargeen (Arabic food), and Thai Corner (Thai food, duh).  We even ate at the American Club where we get to enjoy things like real bacon and alcoholic drinks.

We didn't do too much boulder scrambling this time.  It might be a better activity with just the boys.

Eating at Kargeen.  I learned on this trip that pasta dishes come in a bowl topped with bread.

Family dinner at Thai Corner

So that sums up our crazy January.  In everyday life, I've started re-reading Harry Potter this year, and I'm starting with the illustrated versions.  I'm loving it!  Stephen was able to avoid business trips while his parents were here, so that was nice.  The boys are still loving school, and E even brought home the Star of the Week for his class one week.

E with his Star of the Week award & his class bear, Omar.

Looking forward to what February and the great unknown of 2020 brings.  Believe me, life as an expat feels like a lot of question marks.  But at least one bit of road construction near our house has concluded which means there are no longer 2 left turn lanes turning to one lane (at that intersection, anyways), and this sign is no longer around:

The varying sizes of letters on this sign reminds me of a serial killer writing a ransom note.