The Final Week in Oman, Goodbyes, Thank you's, and Reflection

Many apologies for the long blogging hiatus- a week after I got home I broke my jaw in multiple places and spent a few weeks in the hospital with multiple surgeries.  Writing this blog post has been on my to do list for a very long time but now I am finally getting around to it.  Since I last blogged, I have taken my final exam and given my final presentation, said some painful goodbyes to people and places, and reunited with my family and the Wisconsin cold. But without further ado…

            The Sunday before I left, I had my written final exam.  Overall, the final exam went really well.  It’s amazing to me to see how much Arabic I learned in the span of seven weeks.  At the beginning of the trip, I knew the alphabet and about ten basic phrases.  Leaving, I was writing paragraphs about myself, my family, and the weather.  NSLI-Y is a language intensive program and that is one of the reasons that I chose to apply, but I never imagined making this much progress in Arabic. Walking away from the final Arabic class was a weird feeling because so much of my life in Oman had been shaped in that classroom and I am so grateful.



            After the final exam came our first goodbye.  We had a few final hours to spend with our FGLLS, the Omani girls that came to AMIDEAST every day to help us with our Arabic.  Even though at the beginning we were unsure and quiet with each other, the FGLLS soon became our Omani friends.  They invited us into their homes, laughed and joked with us, taught us about culture, showed us pictures of their pets, and even took us ice skating.  We exchanged goodbye presents, took selfies and recorded video messages, and cried.  The FGLLS gave so much of their time to us, the American girls who couldn’t spell, and someday I hope to reunite with them and have them be proud of my Arabic.



Last hours with the FGLLS Last hours with the FGLLS



    

           

Then I went home and thought about packing, but packing indicated finality and I wasn't ready to accept finality quite yet,

Monday morning the group went back to one of the first places that we visited in Oman: Souq Muttrah.  It was fun to see the improvement between the first visit and the final visit.  The first time I was at the Souq, I was unsure of my numbers and didn’t want to deal with bargaining- a necessity in the Souq.  But this time, all of us were more confident and much more successful in our bargaining.  We left laden with gifts and purchases to bring back home, but all wondering how we would pack to not be over the weight limit.



            Then, we were sent home for nervous preparation for the final presentation and goodbye dinner.  The night started off with the bus taking us to the wrong hotel, but that was the only mishap of the night and those of us on the bus found it quite amusing.  All the NSLI-Y girls were dressed in our traditional outfits from Eid and it was nice to see everyone looking so beautiful.

The final oral presentation had to be between three to five minutes long on a topic of our choice, and were to be presented in front of all the host families, our teachers, and some of the AMIDEAST staff.  I chose to do my presentation on Omani food.  I think that my presentation went okay, I don’t really have any memories of it though.  But then it was over, and the feelings of exhilaration kicked in because I had accomplished something that I never thought seven weeks previous that I could have done. After everyone’s presentation, dinner was served.  Before going back home, all of the students received certificates of completion of the program and took several group photos.

Giving my final presentation on Omani food.



All the NSLI-Y 2015 Omani graduates, the teachers, and the program instructors.



Meredith and I being bundles of nervous excitement before the goodbye dinner. My roommate is adorable.



Meredith and I being bundles of nervous excitement

before the goodbye dinner.

My roommate is adorable.

That night was the final night at my host family’s house and I knew the hardest goodbyes were still yet to come.  Meredith and I packed and weighed our suitcases about a dozen times to make sure we weren’t going to have to pay overage fees… but it was close.  My amazing sleep talking roommate, Meredith, managed tospend about 1100 consecutive hours with me and somehow was still willing to talk to me at the end.  Meredith, you have a lovely soul and I cherish the conversations we had and the memories that we made together.  Thank you for telling me what the food was before I ate it and for always being there for me.  I miss you and your impersonations of my arm flaps greatly. 





My last view of the lonely AMIDEAST building on the hill, 
one of my "homes" in Oman.

Inevitably, Tuesday morning came and the bus arrived to take us all to AMIDEAST one last time for a day of reflection.  We discussed a lot of things that day, from our favorite memories and things we would miss, to how to readjust back to the US.  A few of us finished putting up the bulletin board in the lounge, with pictures, quotes, and inside jokes.  To the next group of exchange students to see that board: I hope you create as many wonderful memories as we did.  A lot of us jokingly referred to AMIDEAST as our second home in Oman, but saying goodbye to it reinforced that joke’s accuracy.  I miss that freezing cold building and all the memories and laughter inside of it.  

The bulletin board in the lounge at AMIDEAST



Meredith and I spent the rest of the afternoon with our host family, watching them play video games and then watching a movie together.  The little moments together have the most meaning and I feel so blessed that our family chose to open their homes to us. 

After saying our goodbyes to our host family we all headed to the airport, where we said a very tearful goodbye to Zainab and then walked away while security stared at us, only to have issues with the format of our boarding passes and then have to go back out to the ticketing area.  The second goodbye to Zainab was much more brusque because none of us wanted to go through it again.




The flights home were uneventful, although long.  At this point, I wanted to actually be home and not flying anymore, but I didn’t want the experience to be over. Janel and I sat together on the flights home, planning our future domination on the backs of camels and getting excited about flying over Greenland.  After landing back in Chicago, we rushed through customs before the inevitable happened: I had to say goodbye.  I was the first person to leave, and Janel and I had to go to a different terminal than the rest of the group. After many tears and hugs, Janel and I walked away.  Leaving the group and saying goodbye to NSLI-Y was incredibly difficult.  I made it to my gate with about five minutes to spare, and cried again after saying goodbye to Janel.  I then boarded my twenty minute long flight home, in which the person sitting next to me must have been convinced I was crazy because I was crying like crazy but also smiling because I would be with my family and friends soon.  ­­The reunion with my friends and family at the airport was happy.  Seeing the people that I love again was a really good feeling.   

My last views of Muscat, Oman. </3





                                  

Even though we were all sad, it was good to see America again.



Before boarding my flight to Madison. Sad, but excited.  Before boarding my flight to Madison. Sad, but excited.

Overall, I could not be more grateful or feel more blessed to have had the experience that I had in Oman this summer.  Beyond the language learning, I learned so much about the world and myself.  I came back with an entirely new perspective on life and in what direction I want to take my life.  This opportunity has truly changed my life.  I am truly grateful to the State Department for believing in my abilities to do this program and providing me with the means to do so.   

To the people that changed my life: I do not have the words to thank you.  I was blessed to be part of the group with nine of the most incredible girls that I have ever met.  Their open-mindedness, passion, and genuine kindness has given me hope for the future.  I also had the two best program advisors, who took us into their hearts and became some of our greatest role models.  I am so grateful.  I will see you all again someday and the reunion will bring me so much happiness.



My favorite photo from the trip on what was one of the happiest days

of my life. 

These girls became my family and best friends. 

I’ve been home for over a month now.  Sometimes the whole experience doesn’t seem real, it doesn’t seem like it could have been me that made all of those memories and did all of those things.  It’s beginning to feel far away and I want to hold onto those memories and remember as much as I can but at the same time remembering hurts.  There is no real way to describe the experience as a whole to the people who were not there and make them understand the Oman that I experienced.  I fell in love with Oman and the language.  I want to go back so badly.  But for now, I am working to find a home back in Wisconsin.