Oman......Oh Man!!!

So  a couple weeks ago a Canadian, a Kiwi, and an American set off to Oman for a week. We had a blast! Oman was completely refreshing coming from Saudi. It is a Muslim Middle Eastern country, and yet women can drive, don't have to cover, and you can drink!! I was surprised at how calm it felt compared to Riyadh. No angry glares, the driving was about a million times better!

We flew into Muscat, and "thanks God" (as my roomie says) the flight was uneventful. Well, uneventful if you block out the Talibanish looking dudes sitting in economy. They made me a little nervous, and were dressed for 'caving' weather if you get my drift. Muscat was great- we spent a couple days there. Had an interesting encounter at a Omani strip club on accident, walked the corniche, and most importantly drank to our heart and liver's content. We opted to "couch-surf" in Muscat, and stayed at a super cool Australian couple's villa- they were great hosts!!

We had organized a 3 day tour of Oman, and on our 2nd morning our tour guide picked us up and we hit the road. He was an interesting character, who in true middle eastern fashion was more busy trying to figure a way into our pants then on giving a proper tour! He was oh so not subtle in his constant glances to ensure that our breasts were still in the same place as the last time he looked. His English was decent though, and for this we tolerated his shenanigans. He also let us drive the tour company's land rover, and I had a great time doing donuts in the desert!!

Muscat from the Corniche

We spent time in Bahla, took a tour of Al Hootra cave- one of the largest in the world, toured a historical village outside of Al Hamra, toured Nizwa fort, and Jabrin Castle. We spent an afternoon in Wahiba sands with a Bedouin family, 4X4ing, and riding camels. We swam in wadis that were breathtakingly beautiful. We drove the Omani coast, dipped our feet in the Indian Ocean, and saw a sea turtle attempt to lay her eggs and then return to the ocean. It was awesome, and we packed a ton of things into the week.

Jabrin Castle

Al Hamra

Wadi Bani Khalid

Grand Mosque in Muscat

 After our tour we returned to Muscat, to stay with the couple we met off couch surfing. We slept in, shopped, and walked the beach. It was a relaxing last couple days filled with good food, lots of drinks, and some great company. Oman exceeded my expectations, and may have bumped Jordan from my #1 spot of Middle Eastern countries!! Oh-Man until we meet again!!

Milk Relatives

I would like to preface this blog by saying that this is a real thing.....well...at least in Saudi anyways. It was recently brought to my attention that not only can you be related to someone by blood, but also by milk. Yep, you read that right. If you have shared the same breast milk with another person then that person becomes related to you by 'milk'. Seriously. I'm not making this up.

A while back there was an issue in the news regarding women being alone in cars with their drivers, as this was illegal because often they are not related to their drivers. The solution for some of these women was to breast feed their driver, and he would then become her "milk related son." I attempted this with my driver Chandoo, but it didn't end up working. And honestly, who would believe that I have a 50 year old Indian son by milk anyways?

This story has provided me with more comedic material than I know what to do with!! It has taken the phrase "blood brothers" to new heights, and I'm trying to convince my Kiwi mate at work that we need to become "milk sisters!" Inshallah this will happen!!

The most frustrating word....

The most used, and equally most frustrating word in the Arabic language is Inshallah- meaning literally "Allah/God willing." This word is used for everything. "Will my travel visa come on time?" "Inshallah." "Will my bonus be on my next paycheck?" "Inshallah." For Westerners nothing is as irritating as hearing the dreaded "Inshallah" after a question you have just asked. Really all it means is maybe.....maybe not. Just when you think things are going well, and your paper work is going thru without a hitch, then someone drops the Inshallah bomb, and you quickly know there is no way in hell that you are getting whatever it is you need, in the time frame that you actually need it.

I personally get a great deal of satisfaction from turning this back on people at work. "When will the doctor come to see me?" "Maybe an hour.....Inshallah." "Can I have my pain medicine." "Inshallah!"

Security Measures

I never thought I would live somewhere where I see a machine-gun mounted to the top of a truck on a daily basis. This is the amazing sight one has upon entering my housing compound, or walking to the main hospital. Who knows if it's loaded? And who cares- it looks pretty bad ass....except that the guards that surround it are 17-19 year old boys who weigh-in around 100lbs. Still it should deter trouble coupled with the barbwire that encircles the entire compound. Then there is the vehicle checks when you enter the compound. Sometimes you are stopped, the hood is lifted up, the engine inspected, same same with the trunk. Other times you get stopped just for a closer look at your uncovered hair, or to attempt to chat you up. Then there are the waves that are exchanged from the inside of the car to the numerous guards outside. Sometimes I'm pretty convinced that I'm the Queen of Canada (if we had one), or at least a famous pop star for all the attention we get!!

Over the weekend I attended a house party in the DQ (Diplomatic Quarter not to be confused with Dairy Queen). I kid you not- the directions to the party where "continue past the armoured vehicle, you will then come to a tank, and there will be a check-point on the right, pass thru the check-point...." Amazing- possibly the highlight of my month thus far. At this party a dude started to chat me up (most of the party was Americans) he asked me where I was from. I said "not American- guess." He replied "England?" "No." "Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and finally Whales." I was slightly taken aback by how smart this guy was- finally I said "what's that country called that's just north of your country?" Ding ding- CANADA!! This guy clearly wasn't top of his class in guessing accents identical to Americans!!

A 2 sided coin

The last few weeks I've given a lot of thought to what to do when my contract expires in April. Do I re contract? What do I really want out of life? I find myself pulled in 2 completely different directions. I have this desire to return to Canada, settle down, have a place of my own and grow some roots. Being a complete nomad for the last 10 years has left me with an emptiness of not really knowing where 'home' is.

The other opposite side of me, dreams of backpacking for 6 months in either South America or Eastern Europe (once again 2 completely different ideas) before returning to Canada. I want to be stationary, and be in one place, and on the other hand I can't wait to be on the move again. What is a person to do, when their dreams of the future are so out of proportion with one another?? So here's what I've decided- I will re contract here in Saudi for another year- and if I can't hack it then I will leave early. Work has given me some great professional opportunities, and it would be a shame to not take advantage of them. Also there is the issue of debt- I would like to have more paid off before I integrate myself back into a normal society. Oh, and there is the minor issue of my travel addiction, and the abundance of vacation days available if I stay here. (It has not escaped me that traveling, and getting out of debt are not mutually attainable goals.) I figure if I can still manage to pay off my debt while traveling then why the hell wouldn't I.

So that's the plan. I'm heading to Oman on Monday for a week. Will be in India for 10 days the end of Feb. Was planning to go the UAE to celebrate St Pats in Dubai- but since they now hate Canadians and are charging us a small fortune for a tourist visa, this may be on hold. One of my dearest Seattle friends is meeting me in Turkey for 16 days at the end of March/beginning of April. That's the start of a kick-ass 2011!!

Welcome 2011

I rang in the New Year at a party at the American Embassy with some girls from work. It was fabulous, and I was so glad we went!! We even scored an upgrade into the VIP section and sat at the US Ambassador's table (he left early, lucky for us!) We danced the night away!! Coming back from the party I was able to call my friends and family, and wish them a Happy New Years from the future. I am proud to say that no tears were shed on my part- very unlike my emotional outbursts on Christmas Day. So Happy New Years to all, and wishing health and happiness in 2011!!