Omani Top 10

I visited Oman, country number 3-0, a couple of weeks ago. 

Oman in Arabic.

10 Highlights From my Omani Trip
1. The people

2. The swimming

At Wadi Shab. 

This is a sink hole.

3. The mountains

4. The beauty

At Wadi Shab.

5. The hiking

6. The culture

They wear these traditional hats.

A church. Okay, the expat culture, mainly.

A beautiful Mosque

7. The architecture 

8. The beach

9. The sunsets

10. The jumping

I totally jumped this.
No, I don't have a picture of it.
I was terrified. It was fun.

Meanwhile in Kuwait...

-I didn't see the extravagant firework show, but the iconic Kuwait towers finally reopened after 5 years. 

A depiction of the towers.

-I was impressed, and then a bit exhausted, by Kuwaiti pride during National and Liberation Day.

Me and some of my colleagues.
Wearing traditional clothing.

-I visited a quaint, garish, one-of-a-kind village in the middle of the desert. Located only 8 minutes from the Saudi Arabian border. 

Traditional dances and music.

Hanging out in a Bedouin tent.

-My students are overly dramatic, loud and needy. I am an enthusiastic, grumpy(it's cyclical), worn out, energetic(and again, it's a cycle) teacher. And despite all of this, we are still learning and, somehow, most days we really like each other.

-I'm still taking Arabic lessons, still running, still in graduate school and still moving to China.

I'm in a Dream

I learned this phrase last night, in Arabic class: 
.أنا في حلم
Ena fi holm. 
I am in a dream. Which, loosely translated means, My life is unbelievable; dreamlike.

I am in a dream. Seriously. I know. I've taken "trips of a lifetime"... a lot. Someone has said Someone should say "Take a trip of a lifetime, or live a lifetime of trips." 

Well, I have a couple upcoming trips and I think one is a contender for a "Trip of a Lifetime" label.

Sometimes I feel embarrassed to go to so many places, but I've, actually 😳, found many people are perfectly content to stay near their loved one in their respective communities. Those folks say, "I like to sit back and see the world through your eyes." Ultimately, I keep sharing, though, because, well,... this is my life. 

So whenever I start to feel sorry for myself because it's end-of-the-quarter grading and report-card-comment time, I will remind myself how much I have to be grateful for.
.أنا في حلم
Ena fi holm. 
I am in a dream.

Arabic class started again last night, after a month long break. Technically I'm at an Intermediate level, but that may be the too-good-to-be-real kind of dream. I am still having fun though and as my dad would say, "That is the important thing.", and as Pete the cat would say, "It's all good."

Actually my dad might say that, too.

FYI, BTW, the real reveal will be this coming Thursday. 

Photos and a Few Thoughts, From Kuwait.

Thanksgiving.
Enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving with some of my sweet, fun colleagues.

Good people, good food and games = smiles.

Two Monthly Book clubs. 

Participating in two clubs gets me reading books I may not otherwise choose to read on my own.

My apartment building's (I can go in my slippers!), last month's, book club read: City of Lies: Sex, Death, and the Search for Truth in Tehran. Yeah, I only made it half way. That was enough of those true stories for me.

This month's read: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I know, we DO read a wide range of books. I've never read an Agatha Christie book.   

Heading to the in-my-apartment-building book club.

In the other club, last month, we read The Paradise Guest House, a novel that takes place in Bali, Indonesia. This month: The Snow Child by Ivey Eowyn.

Of course we eat at both meetings.

The Novelty of Running.

I'm still enjoying running. It still feels novel and like a major accomplishment. But, my sensitive knee, has been limiting me. 

In November, I ran my first 10K.

Really Random Stuff.

I am not creative enough to even try to tie this stuff together.

Tim Horton's now sets up a stand at our school every Thursday morning, before school!

I snapped this, from my window, at the end of September.

January 8th. I'm not thrilled.

Wherever they are, I love sunsets.

My school has an amazing canteen.
"I say cafeteria, you say canteen."
I eat these stuffed grape leaves a lot! 

Arabic.

This, beautiful, language is Arabic!

Graduation from another class.  I am still a beginning beginner though.
(You just don't need to see me that up close, again!)

How awesome is this. I haven't made the purchase, yet, though. Hmm...

Christmas.

Got to do a small service project with friends. The note below is in, beautiful, Sinhalese. A language spoken in Sri Lanka.

The things that amuse me. The tree in my classroom.

My adorable, not-so-secret, admirer.

Wrapping it Up.

I wish I was at Pizza Express now.
I ♥️ food pictures.

I'm Actually here: at the new Starbuck's, in my neighborhood.

Next up: Home for the Holidays. Nebraska.