tents, prophets, camels and nice weather!

Internet access here is difficult to come by. Our group just got back from Salalah (a city in southern Oman). Before we left I finally got an outfit for Eid (a traditional dress) and an abaya! Salalah was so beautiful and the weather was great. The Dohfar region has desert, mountains, plenty of vegetation and the ocean. It was a wonderful three days. Although I'm pretty sure I went on more tours those three days than I've ever been on in my life. We visited Job's tomb, essentially the Queen of Shebah's hotel, some ruins, some castles, some forts and saw hundreds of camels. We got to visit the Port of Salalah, which was very interesting, but the best part was riding on a tug boat. We also had an iftar picnic with students from a nearby University in a tent in the middle of a desert. That was amazing. We played the winking card game...I got the joker and apparently I need to learn how to wink properly. We also saw some 'black magic' card tricks. The souk in Salalah is filled with frankincense and is all outdoors. May had to go to the bathroom, so we asked around until we were directed to a specific restaurant. We asked the guy working there and he led us to the back, then up the stairs then all the sudden we were in an apartment. I wasn't nervous at all because his mom greeted us immediately a little confused but welcoming all the same and after we got to talking I learned that they were from Bangladesh. She offered us rice and tea, but we had already eaten a huge meal. After saying good bye and 'danobad' we were back on our way. The freedom we got in Salalah kept all of us up all night. SIT told us from the beginning that what we would miss the most was our independence and they weren't kidding. Just being able to roam a city was a breath of fresh air. In Muscat we are completely dependant on our families and SIT.
Tomorrow is Eid, and I am really looking forward to it. I've got henna, a new dress and a new haircut (the lady insisted she cut it)...and its really really short...my little host sister has been calling me 'waled' aka 'boy' ever since.
Eid mubarak!!