Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar

We are going all over the place. It started in Dubai, where we had a relaxing 3 days. I was able to meet up with an acquaintance of mine at the mall of the emirates which was nice (this is the mall with the ski resort inside it). I was also able to buy a pair of jeans, which I've been missing for so long - my host Aunt laughs at me all the time for not bringing jeans to the middle east, especially she says, when skinny jeans are all the rage. Well, I didn't buy skinny jeans, but she will be happy to hear of my purchase regardless. Dubai is ridiculously over the top. It is an Arabian fairytale land with skyscrapers. The Dubai tower (the tallest building in the world) is the only object I recall seeing that gets bigger the further away from it you are. During our short stay I managed to get lost by foot and lost on a bus rout, but the new metro that just opened was a piece of cake (even I had no trouble). Each station has a different theme. The ones I saw were fire and water. It was a bit elaborate. I also saw the gold souk, the old souk, another souk I don't know the name of and a museum or two.
I really enjoyed Abu Dhabi. Our first night there was the last night of the 2009 Middle East Film Festival - and we had no idea until a few of us somehow ended up in the palace of the emirates surrounded by women in elegant abayas and long dresses. I was wearing jeans and a tshirt. This would have bothered me if I had known that Tony Blair and Orlando Bloum were there that night too. We enjoyed some spectacular fireworks, mourned over missing the last film and headed home. The next night we ended up at a concert that was followed by a big screen showing of a car race in Brazil. The commentators of that race were on stage and we had a great time getting into the spirit of the race with the rest of the emiratis. In two weeks the final race will be held in Abu Dhabi, and everyone is just a bit excited. We also visited a women's college, and I made so many friends. I had a great time.
Now, I am sitting in an internet cafe in Doha, Qatar. Earlier we visited the Al Jazeera headquarters which was unbelievable! Next we took a tour of the city and saw some beautiful Arabian horses.
Later tonight we are visiting the souk and going for a boat ride. We still have a few more days left in Doha.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Arabian nights

We just got back from our Wahiba sands/Sur trip. It was only three days long, but it was my favorite weekend so far. The first day we drove down to the desert and drove around on the dunes in a caravan of SUVs. It was like a roller coaster ride. Uncle Richard, you will be happy to hear that we got to sand-board down the dunes while we watched the sun set over the desert. Our camp for the night was surrounded by sand on all sides. All you can see when you look out is just a sea of sand - it was beautiful. That night we continued to surf down the dunes and ate some wonderful food as always. We played a game with Sultan (our Arabic teacher) and our drivers who were all Omani, that was basically an Islamic/Arab World trivia game...my team lost. Next we danced to some beautiful Swahili-influenced music. The tent we ate and danced in was a bamboo structure with Persian rugs on the ground, pillows everywhere and lamps hanging from the roof-so pretty. That night, the girls in my tent and I decided to sleep outside so we could see the stars.
The next day we drove to a camp just outside of Sur. That night we went to see the turtles. It was amazing. We got to see a mother laying her eggs, another digging a hole and another searching for a spot to start digging. As we were leaving we were lucky enough to see some babies climbing out of the sand and start their treacherous journey to the ocean. Here are some amazing facts about sea turtles that we learned: 2 out of 1000 babies survive the journey. They follow white light because they always assume its the moon's reflection on the water. Turtles lay their first set of 100 eggs 37 years after they are born. To do this, they travel back to the same beach where they were born. The next set of eggs is when they are around 60 years old. It was mind blowing to see this play out on the beach that night.
The next day we traveled to a Wadi near the ocean. This place looked like it came straight out of a movie. It was in a huge canyon and all throughout there were palm trees and the folage (irrigation system that looks like a small river). The sides of the mountains on the edge were giant and when you're inside you feel so small. The walk to the specific pool we were going to was an hour long walk. I had broken my shoes in Sur, so I was barefoot the entire time. There were stones, hot sand, hot stones, jagged rocks - I cannot explain how badly my feet hurt. I have never been so angry at myself before. 10 minutes before we arrived at the pool, Hugh found me a right shoe and then a left. At this point I could not fathom walking back without shoes, so I consider myself very lucky. The pool was worth it. We had to swim under a cave opening to get to it. It was basically a cave with a spring and waterfall inside of it. As much as my feet hurt, it was completely worth it. We only got to stay for 1/2 an hour because the walk back would be another hour long.
Once we arrived back in Muscat I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was sleep. I probably needed a shower, but I was willing to skip that step if it meant I could get to bed just a little sooner. Right after I put my bad down in my room, my host mom Ifat insisted I could not go to sleep without food. After some discussion I finally agreed. She said great I'll get Said and we will go to my Mom's house! Oh dear. I was so tired, but I managed to stay awake those next 2 hours until I passed out in the guest bedroom. Despite this, the food was great and I was happy to be with the family again. Needless to say, I slept well last night and I'm fairly confident I'll sleep very well tonight as well.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Maa fi petrol? Maa fi mushkulah!

I went on a trip this past weekend (weekends are on Thursdays and Fridays). 12 of us in the program went on a camping trip organized by one of the guys' host dad. After school we went straight to the beach ready to go with our gear and tons of food and water. We were ready by 4 and we sat and waited...and waited...and then waited. The sun went down and we were still waiting. Then Grahm's dad showed up, but the men weren't there so we waited a little more. Around 9 they came and we all gathered around a small boat with a motor that we had piled all of our stuff in. Then we all ran the small boat into the ocean. Then we all got in. With the weight of our luggage in addition to us, the boat was low to the water and waves were crashing in over the sides. We drifted a little ways out to sea (I don't think any of us were fully comprehending the situation we were in) as the men worked to start the engine. It just wouldn't start. Amongst the unidentified Arabic, I recognized one phrase that summed up the entire problem - "Maa fi petrol!"...Oh! Ok...so we just don't have any gas. I was expecting us to paddle our way back to shore, when they told us to jump out of the boat. We did. One of the drivers (around 16 years old) began swimming back to shore to retrieve the much needed petrol, as the rest of us proceeded to bail water out of the boat that seemed to be filling up quickly. One of us asked how long of a ride it was to the island, and the answer...40 min. People began to doubt the entire trip at this point, but we stuck with it. 20 min later, the 16 yr old returned and filled up the boat. It wasn't much longer until we were on our way. 20 min into the boat ride (which was beautiful with the ocean, the stars the occasional smugglers from Iran) the boat just stopped. There were only minutes of tension until the roar of the engine killed the silence. We passed by one other boat that was close enough to see who we were. It must have been a puzzling sight for them - 12 young Americans crammed into a small boat in the middle of the night between the gulf and Iran (Just not your typical scene). We finally arrived on the island to find we were not the only ones with the intention of spending the night there. We ate like royalty that night; shrimp kabobs, hamburgers, roasted apples, s'mores...wonderful. All the while listening to the music we missed the most. By the time we cleaned up, it was already 1 am and we were all tired, not to mention everything we owned was sandy and wet but passed out on mats anyway.
The next morning I woke up with the sun around 4 am. I was freezing cold (I haven't known this for a long time) and so I walked along the beach with the sunrise to warm up. I woke up again around 6 am (felt like 12). I helped make breakfast...I'm getting better at cooking out of necessity, and went snorkeling around the island. We saw a turtle, some fish, some coral and swam through an opening in the rock to some pools and caves that I later could walk through after the tide went down. Our boat was late to pick us up and we were all in bad moods; tired, hot, sun burned, hungry. When the men finally arrived I thought some of us were going to attack them because they decided they wanted an hour break of just sitting around. We finally set off, after taking 10 min of trying to start the engine. It started thankfully and we were on our way home. On the way, one of the men threw fish to seagulls. At first there was a following of 2, but by the time we reached Muscat there were about 7 of them snatching fish out of the air. We also stopped again half way, but this time just to randomly fish a little. By the time we reached the shore, and pushed the boat up to its resting spot it was dark. Two of the others in my group who live close to me and I walked 3 km (about 30 min) to the nearest souk to find a taxi. We were so hungry and tired and carrying heavy luggage. No taxi wanted to take us considering it was dinner time and they wanted to go home too. Just then, one taxi rolled up. Scott told him where we needed to go and gave him a low price. The driver agreed immediately - no haggling. As I stepped into the car, I felt as though I was stepping into a spa. There was frankincense burning and the cab was clean. We all were talking and the next thing I knew he was taking us for meshcock on him. By the time I was dropped off at my house, I was feeling much better.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend and even though, my phone fell victim to the ocean as a result, I had a great time.

Phone call...ZXB love!

So Adnan called me on my way to school one random morning. It was so good to hear his voice again then all the sudden John Mark is talking to me about something and then BAM! I'm a ZXB little sister and all these wonderful brothers are talking to me through my phone in the middle of Muscat. I'm pretty sure I scared my driver Selma to death a few times (people don't normally shout here). Needless to say I was all smiles all day and the next and the next and now its official :) and ALICIA AND RINDCY TOO! I am so excited! Here is a shout out to all my wonderful brothers and bro/sisters!!!!!! I MISS YOU ALL!