Scuba Diving in Oman

While my dad was in town, we had to go scuba diving as he is the reason I became scuba certified in the first place.  Scuba diving is my second most expensive hobby as it will cost $100+ each excursion + cost to get there + you should dive once a year to stay current or else your dive company may not let you dive without doing a re-cert.  My most expensive hobby?  Traveling.

There are some great diving locations in Oman, and they are not packed with tourists.  If you leave from al Mouj or Mussanah, you will most likely be diving at Daymaniyat Islands.  If you leave from Marina Bandar al Rowdha (like we did), you will either be diving at Bandar Khairan (where there is a ship wreck) or at Fahal Island (which is where we went).

I was very excited to go to Fahal Island or "Shark Island" as it is referred to typically.  This is not because of sharks there.  In fact, we didn't see any sharks.  Children have taken to calling it Shark Island because it looks a bit like a shark sitting in the water way off Shatti beach.

The Beauty of Protestant Church Oman

Protestant Church Oman (PCO) is an imperfect church.  It is filled with people who sin... daily.  It is even led by imperfect sinners.  And yet, I am also a sinner.

From my seat at the back running the computer, I can see all the various people and cultural styles.  It's hard to capture it in a photo, though.

If I were in the States, I probably wouldn't choose PCO.  It would be a mistake.  I wouldn't choose it mainly because it's not a Baptist church, and my beliefs do line up with Baptists.  I'm also not a fan of responsive readings.  I don't get it.  It doesn't add anything to my worship experience.  In fact, it occasionally detracts when I'm distracted by thinking about why I don't want to say, "I believe in the holy catholic Church."  And yet, PCO is where we choose to spend our Friday mornings.  I'm learning the flow of the service.  I appreciate the Bible readings and the designated intercessory prayer time (most of the time).

British Curriculum

We are now nearly 2 terms into our first year in a British school.  I have to say that we love it!  Below is a rundown of what classes my kids take and how these classes differ from our experience in Oklahoma.  Remember that my experience is not vast.  I am comparing one British school to one American school.  I'm comparing one private school to one public school.  In fact, since British School Muscat (BSM) has won 2 international school awards this year, it's a bit unfair.  It's definitely an apples and oranges situation.

An obvious change you will note is the definition of grades.  My boys are currently in their 3rd and 5th years.  These would correlate to 2nd and 4th grade.  After 6th year, the children are in senior school with various year definitions that I don't fully understand yet.  There are terms such as GCSE level, A level, and 6th form thrown around.  I don't know.

We are also in a standards based grading system, but that is actually not different from what we're used to.  The boys were in an elementary school that was pioneering the program for our district.  They received "grades" of 1-4 rather than A, B, C.  Here, I believe the grades go up to 5 for primary school.  I could be wrong about that.  The idea of standards based is that rather than the grade being an average of all your work (including that bad test from way back when you didn't understand the subject), the grade is a reflection of how well you know the subject at the current point in the year.  The goal is to be at a 3 by the end of the year.  A 3 means that you fully understand the subject.  It's not unusual to have 1s or 2s early in the year when the subject is not fully understood as long as you are working toward a 3.  4s should be hard to receive, and indeed they are in the British system.  A 4 reflects understanding the subject matter above and beyond what is taught.  A student who receives a 4 can teach other students the subject matter.