PDO and Flights to Oman

This post is backposted because I do not have internet at my host family's house at the moment. 
Hopefully more recent posts will be coming shortly.
Also, I apologize for the lack of pictures because my phone and laptop are not being very compatible.  Photos will be coming soon hopefully.

First of all, I would like to apologize for the quality of this post as I am  very jetlagged.  

On Wednesday morning, I said goodbye to Wisconsin and boarded the first of my flights headed to Oman.  I flew from Madison to Chicago, where I  met up with another NSLI-Y girl headed for Oman with me.  Unfortunately, the flight that Emily and I were on was delayed several times for logistical reasons.  Thus, Emily and I ended up being the last ones to arrive at Pre-Departure Orientation in Washington D.C. by quite a long stretch.  After we arrived, PDO started with the typical 'get to know you' activities so all of us would be comfortable with each other.  Because there are only ten other students going to Oman, it feels like we will be a reasonably close knit group. 

PDO lasted until Friday morning.  There were lots of sessions that were designed to help teach us how to face the challenges we will encounter in Oman, such as how to adjust to a new culture, how to learn a language, the social and cultural norms of Omani society, and a very helpful session all relating to Islam.   We also had the opportunity on Friday morning to go visit the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center in D.C., where we were told more about practices surrounding Ramadan and also more about the history and culture of Oman in general. 

My favorite part of PDO was Thursday night when we had the opportunity to go see the White House.  No matter how many times I am in Washington D.C., it never really feels real until I see the White House.  The trip to the White House also included a trip to CVS which resulted in some people putting plastic bags on their heads and dancing in the flash flood.

PDO was pretty great. 

On Friday afternoon, we left to catch our flight from Dulles International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany.  We landed in Germany at 8 a.m., which was 1 a.m. for my body clock.  The hour of sleep that I got did not feel like it should be morning.  Staying awaked during the five hour layover in Frankfurt was a challenge, but I managed.  Now we are on our last leg of the flight between Frankfurt and Doha, Qatar.  I believe that we just flew over Iran and are over the Arabian Peninsula.  After the seven hour flight from Frankfurt to Doha, we have another 2 hour flight to Muscat.  I will be really glad to not be sitting in a plane anymore. 

It still feels weird that this is actually happening.  I keep thinking that I'm going to wake up in my own bed tomorrow, but I'm not.   Instead, I will be meeting my host family on Sunday and becoming part of their family.

This is all very weird and I am very tired. 

 

EmmaLeah Hardin