First Week in Oman

This post is also written a week prior to publishing because I do not currently have internet access at my host family's house, but that should change in the next few days. 
Also, there still aren't pictures.

Sorry

I have survived my first week in Oman. 

It’s not as hot as I thought it would be.  Temperatures have ranged between 99 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit but I really enjoy the heat.  It’s a nice change from the Wisconsin cold.

When I came to Oman, I didn't know what to expect.  I still don't know how to describe this country.  Muscat, where we are living, is only 35 years old, but has this ancient feel and it’s so glamorous.  The whole city is framed by the mountains and the ocean in the background and I love it.  I love this city. 

On Saturday night we flew into Doha, Qatar and it was one of the most beautiful experiences.  The city was all lit up and flying into it was surreal.   We spent a little while in the Doha airport but it wasn't long before the plane took off again for Muscat.  The flight was about an hour and a half, and I spent the time trying to study while being ridiculously excited. Flying into Muscat was beautiful also; my first glimpse of the city will be something I never forget.  I think that was the moment that we all fell in love with Muscat; the plane was dead silent.  We got to Oman around 10:30 pm and it was around 100 degrees.  I loved it, although my hair didn't.  We went through customs and immigration and then were finally out of airports, after a very long 32 hours of traveling.  That night we went to our hotel, which was incredibly impressive.  Exhausted, we all slept very well that night. 

On Sunday we had our first day of classes.  The first few weeks that I am in Oman are part of the holy month of Ramadan, so that alters some parts of the experience.  Muslims fast from sunup to sundown and it is illegal for anyone to eat or drink in public during those hours, so I have to be careful about making sure to obey the laws.  Sunday morning was spent during orientation about Ramadan and Islam and then we had our first class in Omani Colloquial Arabic in the afternoon.  Omani Colloquial is the language that Omanis use to communicate and is considered to be a dialect of Modern Standard Arabic, the language that I am here to learn.  It is important to be able to speak Colloquial to be able to communicate in Oman, however.  Learning Arabic is not easy.   Our instructors are really nice though and I am looking forward to the challenge.  During the evening, we got to meet our host families.  I am rooming with another NSLI-Y student.  We were nervous about living with a host family, but once we met them we were much happier and more comfortable.  Our host dad speaks English very well and is quite open and tries very hard to include us as part of the family.  Our older host sister goes to university in England so she speaks English very well and can help us to communicate because we speak very little Arabic.  The whole family has done a good job of including us and trying to treat us just like family. 

On Monday we had Omani Colloquial Arabic in the morning and MSA in the afternoon.  We then moved in with our host family and had our first Iftar.  Iftar is the meal that breaks the fast for Muslims and is generally around 7 pm.  Overall, the food here has been really good, albeit really different and spicy.  Kiwi lime juice might be my new favorite thing. 

There are so many differences here; so many things that I have to think about here that I don't have to think about in the United States.  So many things.       

Tuesday was more class but during the evening Mer and I went to a mall with our host family.  It is comforting to know that wherever I may go, there will still be a Forever 21 and a Toys R Us.  At the Toys R Us, I found a stuffed camel and took a selfie because we were told to avoid camels because of the MERS risk and I really wanted a picture with a camel. 

It's late on Wednesday now.  I've been on program only a week, but it feels like so much longer.  A week ago I was just flying into Washington D.C. and meeting my group.  Since then, I've been in D.C., Frankfurt, Doha, Oman; met my host family, moved 8000 miles away, attempted to communicate in a language of which I understand none, and been happy.  I like it here.