Turkey for Thanksgiving

It just so happened that our Eid al Adha holiday was at the same time as American Thanksgiving this year and several of us decided to take advantage of it. Mark & Stacey, Zach, Courtney and I went to Turkey for 8 days to celebrate. We flew direct from Muscat to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines and were delayed on both ends.
Stacey had done a lot of research and knew exactly what to see and do. She booked us into a room for the first two nights near the Grand Mosque and many of the other main sights. The only drawback to being so close to the Mosque was the call to prayer that woke us each morning.
We spent the first couple of days exploring Istanbul. The have a great train system that was cheap and well used. One of our first excursions was a boat ride up the Bosphorous River. There were several palaces, forts and ancient buildings to see and when we finally got off, we were at the entrance to the Black Sea. A fort was at the top of the hill, so we climbed the hill for the views and found a great fish restaurant for lunch. A few of the other sight-seeing highlights were the Aya Sofia, The Sultan’s Palace, and the Grand Bazarre.
In the middle of the trip, Zach and Courtney went to Capadocia and Mark, Stacey and I went to Bursa and Iznik. Bursa was great, but Iznik had little to do. We all enjoyed our first Turkish Bath in Bursa and came out feeling fresh and having much less skin. It was quite an experience and something everyone should try if they go. We also had our best meal here as we enjoyed Kofta which was lamb meatballs, with a tomato sauce and sour cream on flat bread. It was spectacular!

The Friendly

On the 30 of May, Oman was playing a friendly match against Egypt. I am just writing about it now, because I did not want to forget what took place.

I had just returned from the states a few days earlier and found out about the match by reading the newspaper. That's usually how you have to find out about events that happen here in Muscat because there is not a lot of advertising. Or at least not a lot in English. And usually you find out after an event has taken place.

In May, the temperature is heating up and is regularly between 100-120 degrees. Today it was about 110 and I'd hoped it would cool down for the game by the 7:30 start. That didn't happen. The outdoor stadium is all cement and plastic seats. The floor retains the heat and probably doesn't cool down until right before sunrise.

The match was competitive and the group that went enjoyed the action. Even the band that played at halftime. But the best part of the match had to be the moment after Egypt scored and began celebrating. Two players had jumped up together and one head butted the other. He was ok, but probably needed some stitches. It was so funny that it even made Belgian TV in a blooper broadcast. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think. How not to celebrate a goal.

The Sultan Qaboos Sports complex is less than 5 minutes from my house and if I see the lights on from my house, I usually go over to check out what's happening. It never cooled down that night and when I checked the temp afterwards, it was 115! Not sure how that's possible, but that's what the weather channel said. One of those memories that I will not forget from living abroad.

Kayaking the corniche

Thursday morning, Sara and I took a kayak from school and headed down to the corniche. We were trying to kayak along the coast and see the back of the palace. What we found was spectacular. We did see the back of the palace, but we also got to snorkel a bit and hiked up to an old lighthouse. The view was spectacular and all along the rocks the ships that had entered Muscat had left their signature. There were several ships that had stooped multiple times and they had carved or painted their ship names into the rocks. I've told several people about it and it looks like I'll be going back sometime soon.
The whole trip took about 4 hours from door to door. The pictures won't do it justice, but at least you can get a little idea of the sights. The forts you'll see are everywhere in Oman, but not all of them are as well maintained as these.

During the past two weeks, from Jan. 24 - Feb. 4, we celebrated the life of Terry Fox. He became famous for the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money forcancer research, which Fox ran with one prosthetic leg. He is considered one of Canada's greatest heroes of the 20th century and is celebrated internationally every September as people participate in the Terry Fox Run, the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research. During the two weeks, we raised over 600 Omani Rials or $1500 US, to support cancer research foundations here in Oman. The money was raised through bake sales, an obstacle course and donations. The two week event culminated with our own Terry Fox Run on Feb. 4, as we raced around the school to complete the run Terry was unable to. After the run, we ate snacks from the bake sale and showed off our Terry Fox tattoos. Events like these make the experience of living overseas and teaching in an international school all the more memorable.

Masirah Island

Most people get together with family and feast on Turkey and all the other goodies on Thanksgiving, but not me. I went to a little island off the coast of Oman called Masirah Island with Zach, Sara and Janelle. We had the the 25 & 26 off from school for National Day and then our weekend is on Thursday and Friday, so we had the 27 & 28 off as well. We decided to head out very early on the 25th and made it to the ferry by 10 AM. Getting on the ferry is a little crazy because you have to back on and as soon as the ferry pulls up, everyone cuts in front of it even before the other cars have a chance to get off.

The picture was of the ferry on the way back and we came back a day early to avoid the rush and to have Thanksgiving back in Muscat. The ferry ride took about 90 minutes and was pretty smooth. There were two life rafts at the back, but no signs of life jackets. Luckily we didn't need them!

Once on the the island, we drove down the western coast and searched for our camping spot. This is tricky in Oman because the ground is basically rock and even on the coast, sandy spots are hard to come by. We found a great spot and spent two nights there, taking daytrips and leaving our campsite set up. The only intruders we had were a few sand crabs who pooped in the tent Zach and I were using. We spent most of the two and a half days we were there just hanging out on the deserted beaches and playing in the ocean. One day, we were visited by some Omani girls, well, not really Zach and I, but Sara and Janelle spoke to them. They even invited us to their house for dinner, but then they never called the next day. Zach and Janelle brought their kite boards and kite surfed a little, but the wind wasn't really strong enough to do it. We made our own meals over campstoves and played cards at night.

On our last day, we packed up our stuff, hit the beach one last time and headed into town. The island is really pretty small. You can drive around the whole thing in a couple of hours. While in town, we ran into some camels, well not literally, but on the way home we kinda did. Janelle and I tried to see how close we could get to them and she won. It's crazy to see them just sitting around town or walking through the streets.

On our way back that day, we saw the fisherman repairing the Dhows, which are the ships they fish from and they were all on the beach being painted, stocked and cleaned. It's cool to see that they still use these traditional vessels. A few of the crew came and talked to Zach and I and they were from all over the Indian subcontinent. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Burma were just a few of the countries they had left to earn a living.

The return ferry ride was much less hectic until we tried to dock. It was later in the day and the tide was lower, so we ran into a sand bar. Luckily, the ferry was not full and we all moved our cars to the front and the ferry was able to get loose. The drive back was about 4 hours and we only had about an hour of light, so we took off as soon as we hit land. It is highly advisable that you do not drive at night in the interior of Oman at night, due to the lack of light and the size of obstacles you may run into. We had a close encounter with one of those obstacles, a camel, but luckily we avoided them. If you kill a camel on the roads you have to pay the owner for it and camels aren't exactly cheap! We made it back safely and had a fine Thanksgiving meal thanks to Courtney. It was a fun excursion and one more reason why living here is unlike anywhere in the states.

Mini Courses

Yet another example of the advantages to teaching abroad has come to light. For the last 3 days of school before Winter Break, the middle school had mini courses. These courses provide an opportunity for teachers and students to interact with others they might not normally have the chance to. Each teacher chooses the courses they want to teach and the student have 4 - 90 minute classes each day in place of their regular schedule. I chose to teach competitive card games and miniature golf!

During our card playing class, I taught the kids how to play Dutch Blitz, Spoons, Rummy 500 and several other games. Their favorite was Dutch Blitz. I got to play as well, and it gave me a good chance to meet some of the 7th and 8th graders that I do not normally teach.

My miniature golf mini course was something I had always wanted to do, but never had the opportunity. This course consumed me for 5 days. I loved every minute of it, but I spent my weekend preparing for it and even my off periods where I could have been catching up or planning ahead. The kids loved it and we even opened it up for the school to play when we had finished. All in all, it was probably the best 3 days before Winter Break I have ever had and I am sure the kids would agree.

The Grand Mosque

Several weeks ago, Zach, Sara and I went to the Grand Mosque. It is about 5 minutes from our school and on Thursday mornings it is open to visitors. We dressed very conservatively, covering ourselves with long sleeves and pants and Sara even had to cover her head. It has four corner minarets and a central one which represent the 5 pillars of Islam. There is a huge persian carpet in the main prayer hall that measures 70m by 60m. It was made in Iran and occupied 600 female weavers fully for four years. Inside the prayer hall is a dome which houses a Swarovski crystal chandelier with 1122 lights.

As we walked into the main prayer hall, we removed our shoes and were amazed at the size of the hall. We were only allowed to walk around on specific carpets around the outside edge and one down the middle. There were several other tourists there from Europe and elsewhere taking in the sights. This was my first visit to a mosque as I never visited one when I was in Jakarta.