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.

Speechless

The time has come. I don't have anything to say. I could tell you about the operatic Verdi Requiem I went to where I almost dozed off in the second row, since it started at my usual bedtime. And how I sat right behind the Danish ambassador. But as much as I know it was good quality, I still don't care for opera, so I can't gush about it. It was pretty cool to see the symphony up close like that though.

I could go on about how I'm really into this Iranian chicken at the moment. How that and my falafel pita sandwiches are just amazing. 

How I spent a lazy Saturday on the beach, reading in the sun. 

How as I write this, I am here and this is happening (I'm actually too lazy today to post the video but the fountain is synchronized to music.)

How I did find a beautiful place to walk that is 40 minutes one way. Now that is actually noteworthy. 

But none of it feels too exciting and all I really do is work, talk about work, think about work and dream about work.

Until next week. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

Just Another Week in Kuwait

Walking.

This week's, on foot, exploration led me to this camel. We found him just 15 minutes from the apartments.

We discovered a fairly clean, decent length of walkable beach.  No taxi fare needed, but it did require the crossing of some highly trafficked roads. Another find was a cheap Lebanese restaurant on the route.

Coffee Confusion. 

On a typical 3 am morning, I opened up a new package of coffee and was greeted by a wretched aroma.  I had mistakenly bought coffee infused with cardamon. "No!" I've seen this option at the store and thought sometime I'd like to try it, but I was repelled by the surprising stink.  The odor was so offensive I had to toss it in the large garbage bin outside of my apartment. "No cardamom in my coffee, thank you."

After school, I went to demonstrate my coffee competence at the local super bakala (convenience store). After a much closer examination of labels, I gave my dinar to the shopkeeper. 

The following morning, I opened up to this strange sight. 

Who would have ever guessed you could purchase coffee mixed with partially hydrogenated coffee creamer. "Gross!" But I drank it. Better bad coffee than no coffee, unless it has cardamom in it.

Arab Fund Building.

We took a bus to the Arab Fund building today.

Typical bus in Kuwait. Just like the one I ride to and from school in.

This is where some of the important financial decisions for the region are made. I had coffee with our guide Osama. 

By I had coffee with, I mean he happened to sit down at our table. :)

He was fundamental in the building of this immaculate, beautiful structure. He showed me a photo of himself with President Carter. President Bush(senior) has had dinner at the center, too.

Love how they do that to the trunks.

Arabic Course.

There is only 1 more class left in the Primer Arabic course. It has went by very quickly. I am using some Language apps to practice. Memrize is a favorite.

The visuals they use help my remember the letter names. 

I've been taught how to write, identify, and pronounce all the Arabic letters. I've also been taught several common phrases and the numbers from 1-10. Now to learn it all. Our taxi driver is letting us practice with him. I'm planning to spend some time with the Primer course stuff before I continue on to the Beginners level. 

B-day in Kuwait.

I had a very full B-day in Kuwait. Emails, wall posts, gifts, videos and phone calls galore.