Adventures in Global Teaching

Good Bye Yaris! Hello, Beast!

2011-06-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

I am like my Dad when it comes to buying a car I want. It only took me three years to buy an SUV. I remember seeing the FJ Cruisers when I first went to buy my Yaris. I thought about getting one, I didn't. The Yaris has served me well. It has been to the desert, the beach, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This year I upgraded to the FJ Cruiser that I was eyeing when I first arrived. One of my friends saw it and said it was a wanna-be hummer. I thought the same thing too, but it is less obnoxious and oh so functional for Oman. Best thing about it, I would never own a car like this if I didn't live in Oman.

What finally made me make the switch? Opportunity knocked. I had a friend leaving Oman, sad. But he was selling his car and he was more than thrilled to sell it to a grateful owner, thats me! I Christened it by taking it to Sifah Beach. It proved itself in the deep sand. It fit four three of my friends and our camping gear.

A few weeks later, I took it to Jebel Akdhar twice. Then I lent it to a friend to take it back to the mountain. He was so excited! Another Beast follower. His snapshot is below.

It's TOO DANG HOT!

2011-06-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

Misconceptions of living in a hot climate

When I first moved to Oman, I had no idea that what 115 degrees felt like. When I watched the movies with people parched, dragging their feet and dehydrated, I had no conception, sympathy or empathy. And once I moved to Oman, I thought I would get used it, acclimate and eventually appreciate it. In some ways I did.

(on the right: Mom and I at the beach)

Walking outside of the airplane onto the tarmac the air stood still. It was 10 pm dark, humid and about 95 degrees. The heat hit me like I was walking into sauna. Jet lagged and disoriented I was told to sit with the other new teachers to await our visas. All of us sat in silence staring, smiling slightly, I knew the others felt the same. It was too hot outside for it to be 10 pm with the sun down. What was it going to feel like at noon?

It took a year for my body not to react adversely to the constant dehydration. One late morning i decided to go shopping and soon found out why the majority of the Omani population and Indian immigrants shop at night. I wandered around the store dazed, looking for my oasis. Dragging my feet. When I got home only two hours later, I was exhausted. I gladly sat in my living room watching TV with the lights out and the air on 18 degrees Celsius. I had joined a running club and we ran in the evenings when the sun went down. You know the saying, “The fog was as thick as pea soup?” I could see clearly, but the air was thick like trying to breath through pea soup. Once again I dragged my feet, coming in last in the group. A few weeks later, the training seemed to pay off. I got my best 5 k time! But then suffered from systems of dehydration for the next few days, not fun. Time to invest in the sports drink. Ahhh, the sports drink. Trainers will tell you never to drink that sugary chemical drink, but I will take that over two days of dehydration!

The following year I discovered why people seek shade from the midday sun. The heat from the sun is so intense, you can feel your skin burning only after 5 minutes. The shade is only a few degrees cooler, but relief from the direct light is crucial. Hence the shopping at night. drivers park their cars under “trees” (you might call them dying shrubs) and will bl

ock in other cars just to park in the shade. Hardly anyone walks during the day. Those who have to use umbrellas or newspapers to block the sun. I have invested in some large framed sunglasses so that my eyes are completely covered. I rarely walk anywhere.

(On the right: It was probably close to 80 degrees in this picture...I was cold)

Acclimation comes on quietly. I woke up one morning and it was overcast just after the storm. A rain day was called at school, so we didn’t have to go. I chuckle at rain days, but seriously people can’t get to work when it rains. Between the flooding and the traffic, most people look outside and stay home. My friend from Bombay laughs at the intolerance towards rain and flooding. She is accustomed to a city that keeps running rain, shine or flood. i suppose it is all a matter of perspective and determination. When it snows 5 or more inches in Colfax, CA, school is called off. Most people stay home instead of braving the roads. The roads become dangerous to drive on. But by noon the snow has melted.

But I was talking about heat! I walk out it had just rained and it felt chilly. My friend and I were discussing if we should go grab a sweater or not. Then we go into our friends’ car and the thermometer read 80 degrees. Oh...no sweater needed. I guess I am acclimatized. It is all a matter of perspective.

This year is my third year. As I right this, I have survived another two weeks of heat. Working out in 95 degree weather with humidity, getting into a car when the temp is 112 degrees. Burning my feet on the hot sand while waking to my car after church. This year, I was done with it. It is just too dang hot!

(To the left: Students seeking shade in one of the largest trees I have seen in Oman. Note that it is February and I think it was 90 degrees that day.)

Salalah Again!

2010-10-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you have 17 teachers, two kids, and one dog? An adventure to remember for a lifetime!
Last month 20 of us (including the dog) drove to the Dhofar region to catch the end of Khareef. I cried when I saw the green hills north of Salalah. I forgetwhat rain looks like!
Enough exaggerating...it really is a sight. In Tanuf north of Salalah you remember that Oman is mostly desert and then you drive 5 km and you are transported to another land. It is like walking through the wardrobe to Narnia. You can see the rain line.
After driving through green hills we decended to Salalah: A metropolis (for Oman), a beach town, a tourist attraction and a historical port town. Salalah attracts Omanis and tourists alike each June to September who want to catch site of some precipitation. Each year the monsoon, Khareef in Arabic, blows in from India and cools off the southern coast of Oman.
There is more to see than the green hills and the rain. East of Salalah, Khor Rowri, sits peacefully. Once the site of Queen Sheba's port, Khor Rorwi invites the traveler back in time to wander through its alleys and ruins. In the states this site would be fenced off, but here you can touch the stone as you look out to the Indian Ocean and imagine the bustling township it once was.
North of Khor Rowi one can climb the green hills again, but this time to Wadi Dam. Our plan here, was to camp and explore the wadi and maybe even find fresh water. The only problem was the bugs. All of us were attacked by gnats from the moment we set up camp to when we packed up the cars the next morning. It rained all night and I was in heaven, hearing the drizzle and patta pat on my tent. We ultimately left because of the rain. Also, we found out there is a parasite that lives in the water at wadi dam. Next adventure, Mirbat...
There is a long stretch of coves and beaches east of Mirbat. It is a great place to camp except during Khareef. The water is treacherous (for Oman) and the beaches are windy. The village of Mirbat is beautiful. You drive through this little village and see abandoned houses just on the coast.

Luckily, while a few of us were checking out the fishing village, our compadres found a better camping site. Not just better, THE BEST.

The last few days we spent packing in as many sites as possible, the blowholes, the souk, Job's Tomb, even a banana stand. That day was also the day we found fresh water. It happened to be the same spring I swam in two years ago when I first went down to Salalah. Wadi Ain winds through a desolate canyon. The ground is covered with round stones which makes hiking down to the water a challenge. Once beyond the round, loose rocks, the face of the cliff can be scaled, but it is a team effort. We had to spot each other and give boosts. All the teamwork paid off. The water was chilly and refreshing. There are plenty of rocks to jump off of, if you can get to them. Yet another team effort, getting out of the water.

On shore none of realized that there weren't banks to climb to get out of the water. The first of us in had to wait for the experienced climbers to get out before we could! Fresh Water = Trip highlight.

And now for one of my favorite subjects while traveling...FOOD. I will brag a little now. BBQ lamb is amazing, especially when I make it. The hot coals nearly char the surface of the meat while the inside stays rare. Wow! I found some lamb Masala and it was a perfect dry rub.

The next night we headed into town for Lebanese food. Too bad i can't remember the name of the restaurant. I do remember how to get there. So if you are in town, just ask me ;-)

The last day after going to the souk we found Bin Atiq, a chain of Omani restaurants serving traditional Omani food. This is one of the few truly Omani restaurants. There aren't tables and the waiter won't give you silverware, unless you are a tourist. Each group sits in a separate dinning room. Some rooms have TV. Traditionally Bin Atiq caters to traveling Omanis who want a taste of home while away from home.

Next Post...Where will I travel next????

Halloween 2010

2010-10-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

A walk down memory lane:

Halloween, we all dress up. It took less time for me to get ready that morning because I was Marie Antoinette. Let them eat cake! (Actually I found out Marie was misquoted! The journalists twisted her comment to continue her unpopular reputation. She had a chance to flee France, but they would let her take her daughters. So she stayed with her daughters.)

The judges for the pumpkin carving contest are picking the Jack-o-ripper winner. It was down to my pretty pumpkin and a Budwiser pumpkin. Bud won :( it was probably because I kept trying to convince one of the judges mine was better. It was quite a controversy. The winner won a pirate toast decorator. Quite the coveted prize I must say.

Jordan and Egypt Highlights

2010-05-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

On June 9 I will have completed my 5th year teaching and my second year here in Oman.
I could take this time to reflect on time and it's passing. You already know that time passes at a constant rate but our perceptions of it are not as linear.
What you really want to hear is what I have been up to. This may take a while, so I will break it up into three parts: Jordan and Egypt highlights, Salalah, Another Day in the Life of Lydia.
Back in early April I visited Jordan and Egypt. I went to Jerash, Petra, Amman, Cairo and Luxor. It was great to hang out with the Marczaks and Emily. I be"held" the Giza pyramids and finally rode a camel.
I had mixed feelings about Egypt. I am glad I went, but it wasn't the most pleasant place to visit. And then again, I should not complain about seeing Karnak Temple, Hapshipsut's Temple, or The Valley of the Kings. Oh and a mummy. Actually I will complain about seeing the mummies at the Egypt Museum. That was creepy. Scientifically speaking, it was fascinating to see the pause in the decaying process. Emotionally and psychologically speaking, why did I pay did see a corpse? Pictures weren't allowed, so you will have to go there yourself. I should have bought more post cards.

In Luxor we, Emily, her friend Alexis and I, went for a hot air balloon ride. I was more entertained by landing than the ride. Not because I am afraid of heights or only having wicker bewteen me and air or having fire burning at my back while in 100+ degree heat; but the process of landing was unexpected. Supposedly the hot air balloon companies pay farmers to land on their property. The ground crew followed on the road untill the ride was over. Then getting a signal from the pilot they drove towards us and started to run guessing where we would land. The captain then threw the ropes overboard and the ground crew helped guide the basket to the preferred landing spot. Then once on the ground, the crew picks each passenger up out of the basket. You don't have the option to just jump out yourself.

I love Jordan! You can touch the Roman ruins at Jerash. The red poppies bloomed amid the green foliage and gray stones. As I walked down the main road of the ancient city I tried to imagine being a citizen of the ancient city, but was frequently brought back to my own time with the new city of Jerash just to my right.
Back in Amman, I stayed with Mike and Suzanne and their two daughters. We went to Chili's, McDonalds, the mall and church. It was like we were back in Roseville, only the traffic was horrendous and the roads were more confusing and there were sheep in the Marczaks' back yard. I tried to drive there, it lasted 5 minutes.

See the sheep?

I took an overnight trip to Petra and wandered up, around and through the carved out tombs and treasury. Have you seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? In the movie Indiana and crew finally find the place where the Holy Grail has been stored. They ride through a canyon which only looks like a canyon. Actually it is the Siq at Petra and it is a gorge. I learned that a canyon is formed by water erosion, while a gorge is formed by the rock being split by an earthquake. The Nabians carved Petra out of the sandstone. The Siq leads to the treasury. The guide I hired could lead me to the trail that went around and down into Petra, but only knew a little about the history of Petra. This area of Jordan is beautiful. The rock has many colors. The carvings are spectacular.
Not far from Petra is little Petra. Now this is what I gathered while there. I could be wrong, but I believe that Petra was the metropolitan area and little Petra was the suburb. Before you reach the Siq, there are various caves where people lived. The Treasury is in Petra along with tombs and the market place. Above this area are the High Places of Sacrifice. I tried to get my tour guide to tell me what God they worshiped with sacrifices, but he didn't know. Again, a better field guide. Also above the city of Petra is the Temple. Then if you continued walking past the tombs you would eventually end up at little Petra with the dwellings. Now I say eventually because it is just my understanding of the place.
Although my guide couldn't tell me everything I wanted to know about Petra, he was a local, so he invited me to a bbq with his family in Little Petra. This was an amazing cultural experience. His mom and his aunts taught me some local slang. I ate bbq chicken liver and enjoyed it! Only himself and his uncle knew English and my Arabic is limited. I believe that there was some discussion of marriage at some point. Not that I was involved in that conversation, but towards the end of the night, I ended up sitting in between the father and the mother with the uncle asking me what I do, where I work, etc. According to Mike, this could have quickly changed into a marriage proposal. Who knew? Not me! Don't worry, I didn't accept! At least I don't think I did...
One of the last days in Jordan, I went to the Dead Sea. Wow! Now when I was imagining the Dead Sea, I thought, "okay I will go, I am here, I can't miss it. That would be a shame, but I probably will get bored. I don't have to stay that long. Just a quick dip and a picture." Well three hours passed and I wasn't ready to go! Can anyone really capture the experience of buoyancy? I will play my Math Teacher card here and say, I can't! That's why pictures are great. All I can say is, you have to go! I think I floated for at least two hours. The water is a perfect temperature and even though the salt left a greasy film on my skin I was in heaven. I could have floated happily till dinner time!
In the next entry I will share my third trip to Salalah, a beautiful city in South Oman. But you may have to wait a couple days. It is time for bed!

Adventure to Jerash

2010-03-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

Remember to bargain with the taxi cab driver before getting into the car. Also, when you go to Amman bring warm clothes. I was ready for Oman weather with my sandals and only one jacket.

My friend lent me her shoes so that my toes wouldn't freeze. But we noticed that the soles were starting peel off. I didn't think anything of it.

Jerash is amazing.

Another Rain Day

2009-12-12T03:43:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow there is no school, due to a rain day. I truely wasn't expecting another rain day, but weather reports predict at least another two days/nights of rain.
I used to laugh at the rain days, but now I know why they are called. It is scary to drive out there on roads that are flooded or washed out. This morning it took people 2hours to get to school when it usually would take only 30 minutes.
Tonight and tomorrow I will be at home putting towels by my windows to soak up the water as it seeps into my apartment; All of this while I grade exams. I might be able to finish grades, if the electricity is still on. Let's hope for the best.

Just pray that people are safe, it isn't fun to drive in traffic here let alone when every other road is flooded. It's a nightmare. Keep us all in our prayers.

The Lesser of Two Weevils

2009-11-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

Remember that scene in Master and Commander, when Capt. Jack Aubrey asked his friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin to chose a weevil?
Well I was reminded of that today while making dinner. I found a weevil in my pasta after I made it for dinner. I decided not to look in the rest of the bowl for another one, although I could have sworn I saw little wings (Do weevils have wings? Are they weevils when they are in the grub stage, only?). But I decided against picking through my dinner to find the other one. I doused my pasta in sauce and topped it with Lebnah.
Bon Appetit!
By the way you are free to pop by for dinner anytime. ;-)

More Daily Occurances

2009-10-20T00:26:00.001-07:00

Well yesterday was memorable. We didn't have power due to a fire at the power station near my village and school. It shut off around 3am. No one was following the "four-way stop" rule at intersections with traffic lights out. It was sketchy driving home from my morning workout.
Parent Conferences went on as usual. It was good we didn't have a normal school day. Some of the water pumps on campus weren't working due to the lack of electricity. The power came on again around 5 or 6pm. I heard that the students were not happy being home trying to complete their homework without air-conditioning or computers. I think the real disappointment for them was that they couldn't watch TV or chat with friends online.
It is back to normal today.

So much for the plan...

2009-10-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

Remember last blog? I said I would do two days in the life of? Well I never got to the second day because the day after, the day I teach 4 classes, I forgot.
This will be considered the second day. An eve of four class day.
I have no profound comments about my life so I will ramble. I am sure since you are my friend you will find it somewhat interesting. And you can always look at the pretty pictures.
Today was a very productive day. The key for a productive day is following a list. I have about three going at the moment. Two live ones and the one in my head. I found out yesterday that it would be better to only have three tasks and balance out between the work hours. I found that focusing on three major tasks felt less stressful. This led to a more satisfying day because I accomplished what I set out to do. Go me! Yes!
After school I met with a handful of dedicated students. Well they are dedicated now because I sent out progress reports on Saturday (first day of the week, remember?). The end of the quarter is next week. We will have parent conferences the week after next.
Speaking of parent conferences...My collegue informed me that it was normal for high schools to schedule a day for parents to drop in and meet with teachers. Is this true? I don't know, I have only been to and taught at one other high school. I found this fascinating. Although he did chuckled with a sarcastic, "Really? You haven't done parent conferences?" YEAH, okay I only did a few before. Parents seemed to want their students to become more independent, so often they cut the ties on academics. I thought this was common high school phenomena. According to my colleague it is not.
Well it is a mute point, because in two weeks time, I will don my professional teacher attire and meet with at least 1/3 of the parents of my students. That is approximately 20 meetings in one day. It is a long day but I like to meet the parents face to face. It is actually a fun day!
Now let's moved across the street from school to the church. Yes it is across the street. I live in a triangle. Home, work, church all walking distance in the same neighborhood. It is fabulous. Last Friday I created and operated the slides for worship. This Friday I will be singing in the worship band. In a few weeks I will perform with the dance group for a second time.
The dance group has grown from five to almost 12! My friend is the organizer and convinced a new church member from the Philippines to share his expertise in praise dance. We are going to be doing many styles of dance throughout the year: tambourine, lyrical, hip-hop, ribbon and flags. We already have a song for the Christmas dance. I am thrilled to be dancing again.
Well it is after 10pm. I must turn in. Plus I have to upload the photos which take some time.
This is Lydia Elmore, signing off.

I Have Not Forgotten

2009-09-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

September 27, 2009
9:18 am
As-salaamu :alai-kum! I have settled again in Oman in my gigantic apartment. We just had the Eid Al Fitir holiday, you might be wondering why I didn't take time to write then. I don't have a response for that. At the moment I am at school. You might be wondering why I write at school. I have a response for that.
My schedule is insane. We have a 4X8 schedule. The students take eight classes each year and four each day. Us teachers teach five classes with three preps. (pause: yeah I know I shouldn't be complaining. I am not! I am sharing!) One day I teach one class and have three preps. The next day I teach four classes without one prep! Wow! This year I will learn to balance when my schedule is unbalanced. One day I am Zen, the next I am asking my students what class it is.
That is why today I write. I will document two days in my life just to introduce you to my life this year.

December 08--yeah it's been a few months

2009-01-25T05:39:00.000-08:00

I can’t remember where I left off, so I will begin with Scotland since that was where all the excitement began.
I went to Scotland right after the semester ended. I mean that night. It was a mistake. I accidentally booked my flight to Dubai 24hours early. Luckily Eid was declared a day early. I spent a day in Dubai shopping for warm clothes. I didn’t bring much to Muscat in the way of winter clothes so I had to buy a coat and warm socks.
I had an adventure on the way back from the mall to my hotel. As I was leaving the mall to get a taxi, two men at the exit asked me where I was going. (No I didn’t get arrested). I told them the area where I was staying and they told me that there was a free shuttle from the mall. Great!!! Free!!! Well they didn’t tell me that about 100 other people would be trying to get on the 30 passenger shuttle, and that the bus driver assumed you knew where you were going. It took about 45 minutes to get on the shuttle. The bus driver would enter the waiting area and people would rush him. “You won’t get on the bus unless you have a token.” As if by magic a select few revealed tokens and were able to board. The rest of us had to wait longer. “I will be back with the tokens,” the driver said. Sure enough about 5 minutes later he came back with tokens. I was able to procure one of these coveted pieces of plastic. The group of token holders waited another 20 minutes for the bus to return. I think there was only one bus. We watched one of those shows with home videos of domestic animals doing silly tricks.
When the bus driver returned it was mass exodus and the process repeated with new people rushing and only token holders being able to board. We boarded the bus and I sat in the middle. People had to use the pull out chairs blocking the walkway because there weren’t any bars or handles to hang onto. I assumed that the bus driver would call out a stop or an area or I would at least recognize the buildings around my hotel. But in the end I had no idea where I was. As the bus became empty I walked to the front and asked the driver the stop I needed. He said the next stop and he would tell me where to go. “Great,” I thought, “This is really easy.”
The bus stopped and the bus driver told me to get off here. We were stopped at a traffic light. He said, “At the light go left and cross the street. Then get on a boat.”
What? A boat? Did he just say a boat?
In actuality I calmly thanked him de-boarded the bus turned left. As I walked to the other side of the road I knew what he meant by boat. There are water taxis in Dubai that take you across the river for one Dirham. I only had one dirham, but I had carelessly chucked it into my purse and it was now in the depths of my handbag. I walked around trying to find an alternate route across the river. I asked the woman at the ticket booth to verify the price. No other way, it was one dirham. I started to dig and stood in line with about 50 other people, all men. In fact I don’t recall seeing any other women; just the woman in the ticket booth and me. As I frantically dug in my purse for that one coin, a man who was blocking an entrance to the dock ushered me out of line and through the gate where he had been standing, then told me to get onto the boat. I was very thankful for the gracious offer but I still hadn’t found the payment. I dug, I sat on the boat. I dug we were halfway across. I dug the man was collecting the coins for payment. I dug, the man said to not worry. I found it! When I tried to give it to him he refused to take it. So I owe Dubai, one dirham. And I got a “free ride” back to my hotel.
Of course the boat didn’t let me off right in front of my hotel, it wasn’t’ on the river. The dock on the other side was in front of the Bur Dubai Souq, and I had to figure out where to go from there. I didn’t have a detailed map, but I figured if I walked away from the river diagonally it would be there. Really at this point I was following divine directions because I had no idea where I was. Well the method worked and I passed a mosque that I thought maybe was close to where I needed to be and sure enough I came out into a circle of the road that passed right in front of my hotel. There it was. Halleluiah!
The flight to Scotland was uneventful, just as a flight should be. I ran into some collogues at the Amsterdam airport. The first day in Scotland I wandered the streets of Edinburgh. There was a Christmas faire with food and mulled wine. I partook in the festivities. It was so lovely to be somewhere with Christmas music and decorations everywhere. I didn’t really have a plan at this point. I saw the castle amazing. Became obsessed with Mary Queen of Scots and bought a biography, froze, met two women to tour with; one from Brazil and one from South Africa. Ines, from Brazil, and I decided to take a day trip to St. Andrews. We saw the ruins of the Cathedral and the Castle learning more gory details of Scotland’s religious wars and tumultuous past. We even climbed down the mines that were dug by the castle guards when it was under attack.
The next day I went on a weekend bus tour of the Highlands and the Isle of Skye. IT was absolutely amazing. It was raining, it was gray and dreary. IT was great to be in the highlands again. This time I got to see the east part of Scotland from Perth up to Inverness (which is really more central). We went to a whiskey distillery, where I discovered I actually like whiskey! Then we went to Lock Ness, and didn’t see Nessie. Our tour guide, Neil, convinced most of us that Nessie does exist if you believe in God. Apparently Saint Andrew (I believe) saw Nessie and declared that if God could make such a creature, then he truly was the creator of the universe. Hmmm, I am still skeptical of the existence of a large aquatic reptile in a loch in Scotland, but I still believe in God.
After Loch Ness, we saw Eileen Donan Castle. I need to return in the summer. I believe this is one of the most beautiful castles in Scotland. IT is right on a loch and it is magnificent. Next stop Skye, where we stayed the night in a cozy hostel complete with a Christmas tree, fireplace and a guitar. We all went to the popular pub for dinner, although the next night some of us discovered that the less popular pub has much better food. IF you are ever on the Isle of Skye go to Saucy Mary’s Pub in Kyleakin, have the fish and chips. They are fabulous. I haven’t found any that compare. It may even be worth the trip to Scotland just to go to the Isle of Skye. Between the fish and chips, Fairy Glen, the river of youth, Kilt rock and our tour guide Neil, I was enchanted. I was in Scotland for another week, but that was certainly the highlight. Check out the album, “Scotland 2008.” I am having difficulty expressing my experience in words. I will never make a great travel writer, I am speechless by most sights I see.
My Scotland trip concluded with a brief phone call to my parents and the Edinburgh airport, the easiest airport to get to and fly out of in the world, okay except Santa Barbara. I flew to Paris, then onto Dubai where I was to meet Noël. I waited and waited for my sister at the airport. I knew that her flight came in with three hours to spare before our flight to Muscat left. Mom and Dad would fly out the next morning. The plane was late and they don’t really announce that so all of us were waiting for the gates to open when two airline workers arrived at the gate and let us wait inside the gate. Then the plane still hadn’t arrived. This is the difference between flying in the U.S. and everywhere else. Americans freak out when the plane is late. The poor ticket agents at the gate are being yelled at and everyone needs to know the minute by minute update. Why is the plane late? How late is the plane? I have no where to be, but I must be there on time!! Every other country I have been so far, you have no idea what is going on, short of where you are supposed to wait for an indefinite amount of time. Yes I had time to contemplate this while waiting for my sister and the plane, which was only 20 minutes, but seemed longer because of the uncertainty. I saw Noël coming towards the gate, she didn’t look happy. She had run from the ticket counter, fearful of missing the plane. She didn’t know it was late. The counter had closed in the front of the airport and of course there is no indication of what is going on at the gate. No announcements, no one to ask. But here is what happened. The itinerary that my sister had, indicated that the flight was supposed to leave about two hours after it was supposed to. So my parents and sister were taking there time to get to the next terminal from their flight in from San Francisco. Well she made it, sick from running so fast, but she made it. And we waited another 10 minutes for the plane to arrive.
The Elmore’s were in Muscat reunited by December 22. We had to stuff all of the suitcases in my little Yaris, but it fit. We went to brunch at Darcy’s Kitchen and then headed to the Muttrah Souq. Christmas eve dinner we went to Bait Adam, a private museum in Madinent Sultan Qaboos. Before dinner we were led through the private collection of Latif the owner of the museum. He has converted part of his home to the museum. After the tour we ate outside. We enjoyed the feast and chatted with Latif and his family. I highly recommend going to this museum if you come visit, although you do have to have a minimum of 8 guests. We found out that Latif had made an exception for us.
We attended Christmas Eve services at my church PCO where my mom, dad and Noël met many of my new friends. It was nice to be back in my new home worshiping with an international congregation. They were very tired due to jet lag and we hadn’t rested much since they arrived. We had a lovely Christmas morning in my apartment, although we had a lamb roast emergency since the barbeque wasn’t lighting. Dad still was prepping the stuffing while I tried to find enough cardboard in my house for kindling. Armed with only box pieces, matches and a small Weber, I failed to light the charcoals and we decided to bake the roast instead. Except Dad and I miscalculated the temperature proportions on my stove the the lamb was very well done. Edible, enjoyable, but dry. After opening presents and eating our fancy lunch we headed to Nizwa on Christmas night. We had to be in Nizwa early Friday morning to see the goat market. I don’t have direct permission to post the pictures that depicted the chaos, so you will have to check out my facebook page, or ask Mary at Colfax High, or my Mom to see the pictures. And if you still haven’t seen them by June, I will be back in California/Oregon/Arizona/North Carolina with my computer. You can check them out at that point. We witnessed more of Omani culture as we watched sellers circle their goats, sheep and cows around as people bargained for the best buy. Later we wandered through the craft souq to see the fort. We learned about the indigo dying process and how the fort was defended.
After a day in Nizwa learning about the murder holes and date syrup, the fort and indigo dye, we returned to my apartment for one night. The next day we departed for the Sur road to see Wahiba Sands, Turtle Beach and Sur ship yards. Not too far from Muscat we stopped in Linzgh at the Shell station. Our plan was to find a place to eat lunch. As Mom, Dad and I were heading out of the gas station through the pumps, a man yelled at us from a car as we passed, “Hello! Where are you from?” My American paranoia took over and I was going to ignore him and maybe smile a bit, but my parents walked right up to the car and told him we were from California. He asked, “Oh is Hotel California still there?” I yelled back, five feet or more from the car, “Yeah, but only as a state of mind.” He also wanted to know about the Golden Gate and Catraz. Now this is interesting (Alcatraz means) and I never thought of it this way. Al in Arabic is “the” and often Arabs will drop and add “Al” to words. So he was saying “Alcatraz.” This was completely fascinating to me, because words that we see each day when said in a foreign country in a different context take on new meaning. I never thought of Alcatraz in San Francisco, so back to my story. My parents shared with him that we were going to 1,000 night’s camp and we were looking for a good place to eat, did he know of one?
Of course they knew of one and wanted us to follow. I felt really uncomfortable doing this, but my parents didn’t seem uncomfortable and usually it is the other way around, we followed them. WE followed them for a few miles through a few villages to a fort. One of their cousins works at the fort which has been reconstructed and is a museum of sorts. After the tour, tea, and my sister and I being proposed to by the other guy that worked at the fort, we left. Our two hosts apologized for the strange behavior of the other guy. They didn’t know him. We then followed our new Omani friends to one of their family homes. We shared a feast of fruits, dates and Omani coffee with male family members. Then my sister, mom and I joined the women in the other room and they shared incense and perfume with us. They told us that it is traditional for the women to share these items with guests.
We had to leave since we still had to drive two more hours. But one of our hosts suggested that on our return to Muscat we meet them at the Shell station and they would have a barbeque for us. So we exchanged contact numbers and planned to meet in two days.
Wahiba Sands are beautiful. Bedouin camps dot the main “road” through the sands which will take you to the Arabian Sea. The actual camp was nicer and cheaper than our hotel in Nizwa. A few of my colleagues were staying there so my parents got to meet them and we had dinner with them. The food was fabulous: Chicken shwarma, barbequed lamb, potatoes and lamb, salad, hummus, moutabal (eggplant dip), just to name what I remember. I believe we had Kingfish as well, Noël’s new favorite. The desert was a simple bread pudding made with Arabic bread and sweet cream, Yum! Of course there were dates and Omani coffee laced with saffron, Rose water and cardamom. The dinning room was just an oversized area covered like a tent. Half had tables and the other half traditional floor seating with cushions.
We got up early the next morning to see the sunrise. It was cold until the sun came up then warmed up quickly. Breakfast was fabulous as well. Omelets, hard boiled eggs, Arabic bread, cheese, honey and fava beans in a tasty gravy.
We departed Wahiba sands and headed to Ras Al Jinz. That night, we got to see sea turtles lay eggs, and baby turtles climbing to the sea. The next day we headed back through Sur to see the dhow shipyards. We never found the dhow shipyards, but we did find some brown flamingos and really good cookies.
At 2pm we met our new Omani friends and brother and they took us on a tour of their village and a wadi barbeque. They said we were going to hunt for rabbits but apparently the “rabbits” were goats and there wasn’t really any hunting. Since there wasn’t going to be any hunting, we went to the side of the wadi with water. Thousands of tadpoles were swimming in the still water when we first starting waking down stream. Each pool was larger with more tadpoles and fish. Then we saw flowing water and the most beautiful pool. The water was a light green with a tint of blue. It was so clear we could see the bottom of the pool. It was so inviting. On the banks of the wadi private farms lined the rocky river bed and we could see date palms growing. On our way back to the car we saw a frog swimming in one of the small pools. It felt like a secret paradise.
IT was now time for the barbeque. Now this barbeque was not your ordinary Sunday afternoon with grills and chef hats. First we collected wood for the bonfire which was lit without lighter fluid. Then the bonfire was lit to make coals for grilling. Meanwhile we shared tea and my sister and one of our hosts made salad. I watched the process of grilling fish as my sister cut the tomatoes. Our master chefs had already broken the burnt wood and collect the coals into the grill. The fish was cooking nicely getting crispy on the edges. At last the fish was ready. Our hosts piled rice on a large platter with salad and placed the fish on top. We shared from the same platter sitting on the ground eating with our hands. We ate until we were stuffed. The fish was the most amazing fish I have had. So if you are ever in Oman, you must visit our friends with me and we can have the best barbequed fish you will ever taste.
After we cleaned up the wadi mats and waited for the 2nd course, my sister and I walked up a hill behind where we were eating with our hosts. I climbed to top with one of our friends while the others stayed behind. Climbing hills in Oman sounds easier than it is. Even this small hill was steep toward the top and covered with loose rock. I was wearing proper shoes but I kept slipping. But the climb was worth it. The village was peaceful and it was the first moon. We learned that in Arabic there is a name for each phase of the moon. The first moon is called hilal. The 2nd course began shortly after we climbed down the hill. Our hosts’ friend and cousin had arrived to join us, and in the Omani tradition we all ate with him. We found room in our full stomachs to eat more of the fish. Ask my parents and sister, they will tell you that the wadi barbeque was by far the highlight of their visit.
Mom and Dad stayed in town until Jan 8, but Noël left on the 2nd. The rest of the break went fast and I didn’t sleep for most of it.

My first adventure in Oman

2008-11-19T04:01:00.000-08:00

(On a side note, soon to come to my blog: A photo album. ooooooo
Another side note. I am still getting used to the formating of this site, so there is alot of white space.)

Now my story of a hike. I now believe that going down a mountain is more difficult than going up! It all began on November 11, 2008. I had backed up a day's worth of food and clothing to take part in the scouting trip for the annual all school field trip. The plan was to camp one night, get up early and descend Jebel Ahkdar. My colleague, Greg, and I left school at 5:30 and a driver took us to a campsite on Black Top Mountain to meet up with our other colleague, Robert, and the guide. The pristine campsite is now adjacent to a new goverment housing building. Good for the people who will get a free house, but unfortunate for the families that have been camping there for years.

The next morning we started our hike at 7:30 am. Our driver and guide had gone down to the villaige to get someone to show us the best route down the mountain. The six of us climbed the short distance to the summit. I immediately felt the elevation change and wished that I hadn't slacked on excersise since I have been here. Our guide, Khaluf, kept asking me if I was okay and telling me, "Breathe, like this." He lifted his arms to his side in a slow motion flapping motion. I assured him I would make it and rested when I could.
When we reached the summit (not far since we had camped close), Greg and Robert's eyes bulged as stood at a cliff. The young man from the nearby villaige pointed down the cliff indicating that the trail was straight down! It took me longer to register that we would be going straight down, no ropes, on loose rock. (mom and dad, you would have freaked out).
Luckly the first leg wasn't nearly as scarey as it looked. Turns out there was a "trail" of somwhat level ground and some good holds. The worst part were a couple of tricky areas with shale. Khaluf taught me that you had to walk fast on the loose rock so you don't fall. It took the entire day to convince me cause when you are on a steep mountain you don't exactly want to go fast.
We stopped for lunch and I could barely feel my legs. I had ripped a hole in the backside of my pants. I welcomed the break for lunch. We all shared our snacks, veggies and cheese with each other.
The next leg of the trip was even harder than the first leg. The holds were farther apart and the mountain was steeper. There was more loose rock. A few times Khaluf had to literally pluck me off one rock and put me down on another. I felt like a little kid being helped by my dad. At this point my self respect was shot. I had thought that the trip would be challenging climb with switchbacks. I was expecting to be tired, but now I felt it would nearly be impossible to make it down. I felt out of shape, my legs were barely functional and I couldn't do it by myself. I kept praying for strength.
Funny thing, strength didn't come as I would expect. Instead I had to rely on Khaluf to help me down the mountain. It was impossible by myself. At one point I slipped and fell on some of the loose rocks. I didn't hurt myself, I just sort of slumped down and started to cry. I have learned when I stretch myself thin I cry. Khaluf told me not to think about the mountain or the difficulty in the task we had to do but to tell myself I was happy. Slide down a rock, see no problem, I am happy. Scale the mountain, see no problem, I am happy. Actually this worked. I even started singing "It is well with my soul" to myself. Then I began to think of a book I will write when I am 50, entitled "An Amatuers Field Guide to Life: A spritual mountain Treck." It will be a comedy with dramatic relief.

Then about an hour later, there was a REAL TRAIL. One we could see. I wish I had a video of my making my way down the switch backs. Hilarious. I could now see the happiness of the situation. I had to walk very slowly since my legs were beyond dicfunctional and now were sore along with my feet and ankles. Then I was about 1Km from the end of the trail and an older gentleman from the village past Me on the trail. He had come from the gardens at one of the bases of the peaks. The villagers plant their gardens wehre the water from the mountian drains. I think that he made some comment to the men I was with about making me do such a hard hike or something. He was chuckling as he teased Robert and Khaluf (I think Greg was alreay done at this point).

When Khaluf and I finally reached the wadi, the flat, very flat last leg of the trip. He said, "See are you happy?" I was. Although to exhausted to show it really, but I was. I might have hugged him because I was happy. We reached the villaige of Hal Hal, Robert, Greg, and our driver was there to greet us with seven other men from the village. they had brought us dates and coffee, a common Omani hospitality snack. One of the men yelled as he saw me approach them, "Look, strong woman!" Hee, hee. Thanks.

All in all it was an experience I would never had done if I knew what I was in for. An even though it has taken five days to be able to walk normally again, I am glad I went.

All is Well...It is end of semester

2008-11-18T04:20:00.000-08:00

All is well and it is the end of the semester, so all you teachers know what that means. At the moment I am sitting in my classroom and students have just finished some test make ups.
Next week we have a special holiday to observe National Day. Today is the actually NAtional day, but it is never on the day, but around it. It happens to fall near Thanksgiving, but I won't really being doing anyting special. A Thanksgiving meal with friends, writing exams and preparing final grades. I am required to write a unique comment for all my students so it takes a bit of time. Our finals are on Dec 2, 3, 6, and 7. Last day of school is the 8th. I am not sure yet what we do that day. I think the students pick up their final grades and exams. I will officially be done with the first semester on Dec 8th at 12pm.
But it doesn't feel like the holidays, because it is 71 degrees outside. I haven't seen a rain drop since hmmm, must have been April? I will be going to Scotland on December 10th for 10 days. I will definately see rain there.
Coming soon, the report of the treck down Jebel Akdhar, more than I bragined for!!

It's Been A Long Time

2008-09-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

Views of my apartment

Here is a brief update with pictures of my apartment. The pictures do not capture the vastness of it, but...you get the idea.

So since I last typed in my goings on:

I have run a total of 20K in the hot Omani evenings with the Muscat Road Runners

Bought a Yaris

Got lost and was late to a race.

Sang in the worship band at church and learned how to work the visuals (it is a glorified PowerPoint)

Cried twice in Ultimate, hmm adjustment to team sports is rough.

Found plain tortilla chips

Got lost and was late to dinner.

Laughed to histerics with Sara walking home from school exhausted, but enjoying the walk through the Wadi.

Found a gym, haven't joined yet though.

Been to the ambassodor's house for a teacher reception.

Got lost and was...not late to a social run. Phew! I think I'm getting the hang of this.

Got sick, got better

Bought a wadi mat (a.k.a. a really big plastic carpet to sleep or sit on in the desert)

At the moment I am making a mix CD to share some tunes with another teacher at school who I go to church with. It is great to listen to music. There are so many memories of all y'all. When I listen to Robin Mark Revival in Belfast 2, it reminds me of driving to El Dorodo Hills via 49. I can see the golden Cali grass. Sara Gazarak reminds me of the going to the jazz club in Long Beach with Sommer and the summer days in Orange. Elton John's Tiny Dancer...I won the Colfax HS staff football pool in 2005 as Tiny Dancer! Then during Come Thou Fount I remember playing in Anne and Josh's wedding in Ben Lomond. Oh the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus? Dancing with Christine of course. On on the note of G2, I surrender...Sunday morinings with the talented G2 worship band. And finally, Chan Chan takes me back, way back to eating pancakes before work at the Kresge Cafe at UCSC. Yes I see the fog resting on the redwoods.

Oh such wonderful memories that I cherish. Although this entry was more of a journey back in time, it is important to remember home while I am creating memories in a new home. New songs, new memories. Oh I love life!

The Grand Mosque at Night

Souks

2008-08-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Old Souk
Muscat is amazing. In the souk in Muttrah (by the port in side the gates) one can find a collection of delights. The coffee shops just outside serve anything from blended mint lemonade to all beef hot dog sandwiches (no pork here). You can look at the old but very active port as you refresh before a few hours of shopping.

The new and old souk now merge into one large block connected by small allies. It is possible to get lost, but not for long, because if you ask a local to help you they will tell you what passage to take to get back to the center and main ally.

The photo to the right is one view outside the Muttrah souk. Two traditional Omani fishing boats are on display in the port.

Below are the purchases I made at the latest souk adventure.

The Plant Souk

One of the other teachers here took Sara, Zach and I to the plant souk. (Sara and Zach are two of my buddies here, we have done nearly everything together. In fact the boat photo is Sara's photo.) The plant souk is a long stretch in of nurseries in Seeb, west of where I live.

To the left, the moment of purchase at the plant souk. The photo was taken by our host who had made us tacos for dinner complete with plain tortillia chips. Yes!

Day ?

2008-08-13T00:32:00.000-07:00

I am settling in slowly but surely. I have most things at home that I need. I am now working on my classroom (photos soon).
Oman is a fabulous country. The people are very kind. It is reletively easy to drive around and find things. There is one main highway. One thing, I kept getting in the wrong lane and exited the freeway. Most freeway exits have a roundabout. Straight, leads back on the freeway; U-turn, freeway in the opposite direction. Then right or left will take you to the business and such. Last night on my way back from The Sultan Center (Huge store with anything you would ever need and/or want except for plain tortilla chips) I exited the freeway at my exit, only to find myself back on the freeway again. I eventually found my way back. Now I know where things are, right?
Some of you who have travelled, know that there is always one thing at home that you cannot get in the particular country where you are. Most of the time it is food related. Oreos, plain m&m's, DQ Blizzards, drip coffee or tortilla chips. Well all of that is in Oman (Just not necissarily at the Sultan Center). Yes all of it. Let's play a game. Someone think of something they couldn't find while abroad. Let's see if I can find it!

Arrived 9:50 Muscat time

2008-08-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

I made it safe and sound and so did all my bags!
I found the ethernet cable this morining so I am online. Still trying to figure out the phone situation. More on that later.
I have a huge air conditioned apartment. I am not far from the school. Today I will be going to the grocery store, school tour, and pool party. Eventually I will unpack.

School's Out for Summer

2008-06-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well my bags aren't packed yet but my classroom is. An era has ended for me at Colfax. Thank you to all my students who made my years at Colfax enjoyable. Thank you to all my students who helped build my character. Last but not least Thank you to all the Colfax teachers, admistration and staff that mentored me through my first few years of teaching. Your support kept me sane and your company kept me human.
I would also like to thank the PUHSD staff especially Cam, Bev, Cathy, and Bart for your help with various district tasks.
So this may be a good bye in a way, but it is really a hello to ADVENTURE!!
Next Blog will be on August 7th, 8th or 9th depending on when I can write once I get to OMAN!