Friday, June 27, 2014

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque



On Thursday, or as we like to call it, "Arabic Friday" (because Friday and Saturday are the weekend here), we had the opportunity to visit the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat. It is a gorgeous and new mosque that Sultan Qaboos had built in 1996.

I am actually having a lot of trouble starting this post because the experience was so unique I find it difficult to describe. We arrived at the mosque at 9:00, when visiting hours begin. It was unbearably hot and humid and we were completely covered, hijabs and all. We began the walk from the visitors entrance to the entrance of the mosque. There, a guard checks to make sure everyone is dressed appropriately, and if so, you can enter.



The scenery outside the mosque is beautiful and is all very symbolic of Oman. I'll let the photos do the talking:








Shoes are not worn in the mosque so there are racks to put them on outside. You can tell we are Westerners because not all of us were wearing sandals… Majnuun (crazy)!


Men and women do not pray together in the mosque. Our beautiful and absolutely lovely guide at the mosque explained it this way, I paraphrase: "when you pray together in a mosque, you touch shoulders with the person next to you. You are all equal in the eyes of God. If the Sultan were to come pray here, he would touch shoulders with the baker, or with a beggar, they are no different. Women pray separately because a hot dude and a pretty lady cannot touch shoulders while completely focusing on God. We want to clear our hearts and focus only on God .Women also pray in a more simple area without all the frill. I know I am entranced by this beautiful carpet, by the stunning mosaics, and by the gorgeous Swarovski in the chandelier. I need to pray in a simple place where I can devote my thoughts to God. Luckily, I can admire the beauty of the men's prayer hall after prayer. They are so oblivious to everything and can pray without distraction from this beauty."

Though I do not wholeheartedly agree to all of these religious concepts, I respect her beliefs and respect this beautiful mosque. This is the men's prayer hall, which is entirely handmade and crafted. It can hold 6,000 people.


















Our sweet, adorable tour guide befriended Katheryn immediately (as does everyone in the world), because they both have such kind spirits. I snapped the picture below as our guide put her arm around Katheryn while saying "You bunch are a good bunch. Some people come here and are close minded and prejudiced. You can tell when a group comes with open minds and good hearts like you". As do most Omani's, she was so happy that Americans and Europeans, and even an Australian, wanted to learn Arabic. She invited us to share some dates and coffee with her after we toured the men's prayer hall.


At coffee and dates, we asked questions about everything. She began the discussion with: "nothing is off the table, ask what you want, no matter how blunt it may be". We talked about Islam and religions of the book, about science its compatibility with religion, and the Islamic tax. The Omani man working there actually lived in America, went to University of Washington, and has family in Cleveland… go figure. They were so blunt about what they believe and what they believe is Islam is. You can see them standing together in the last photo.





I'd say my first visit to a mosque was quite successful. It was an enlightening experience and not something you do everyday in America. Everyday it's experiences like this that remind me of the misperceptions people have about religion. If only we could step back and admire the true followers of peaceful religion and realize that those waging war do not believe the same things… But I digress (and also live in a fantasy world where everyone got along). Until next time, inshallah.





Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Makoulat (Food) in Oman




I hate to say it but I am a picky eater. Initially I was worried to come to Oman because I thought I would starve. Fortunately, that's not the case. Unfortunately, Shahr Ramadan begins soon and this experience will change food wise. There is a lot of American food in Oman like "Baba Jun's" (Papa John's, Baskin Robbins, McDonald's, and "Beetza Huut" (Pizza Hut), so if I'm ever really desperate, I can eat there. We have American food served at school once a week. This week was pizza from Domino's and it was actually pretty good. I can't eat the cheese but the veggies and sauce were good. Their version of "barbecue" is shish-kebab chicken and onion with spices. It was okay but I'll stick with veggies from now on. Also, pepperoni pizza is pretty popular here, but it is served with beef pepperoni because pork is haram, or forbidden, in Islam.


It turns out that I like most of the food here that's actually foreign. Oman has traditional food, but there is a lot of food from other countries here too. The top few I can think of are Turkish, Indian, Pakistani, Yemeni, and Lebanese. On the first night here we had Yemeni food. It is very similar to Omani food. I didn't like it very much to be honest, and I feel the same way about the traditional Omani food I have tried. Luckily I can eat other foods just about anywhere.


This is the "hypermarket" I've mentioned before. They sell a myriad of items and have everything my little American heart desires. The only problem is that the ingredients list is in Arabic and my vocabulary is not refined enough to detect most ingredients.





As'siir (juice) is very popular here and it is so good in everyday imaginable because it is fresh squeezed. Typically you can choose watermelon, mango, papaya, strawberry, pomegranate, avocado, banana, pineapple, lemon, and many others… I have not tried one I don't like, but I will say that watermelon juice doesn't taste much different than watermelon. My favorite is mango or banana as of now. Today we went to the best juice place in our neighborhood and got these special juice milkshakes. I could not eat them because they have ice-cream in them but this is mango, strawberry, and avocado "milkshake" with ice-cream, nuts, and a pistachio crisp on top. Results were both positive and enthusiastic so I can only assume this was a tasty treat. The owner of the shop was so amazed to see so many Americans here and he asked to take a picture with us. We obliged and he was very excited, and after we drank our juices he came back out and offered us little cups of other juices to take for the walk back to our shaqa (apartment).


It is unfortunate that I can't rotate this photo because it is hilarious. "Americana Quality" is a brand here and it is all the processed food you can wish for, like these "Happy Nuggets". If you notice, the little boys have very fat faces, which is my favorite part of the whole concept. 


We've been back to our favorite Turkish restaurant and the people working there are very kind and friendly, and love to help us practice our Arabic. Today we saw a man come in with four wives and children, which was quite a sight to us. There were also some Moroccan women there, and they were talking really loudly, which you could tell bothered the Omani's, who are quite natured and constantly staring at them. They eventually got the hint and moved outside, even though it was about 108 F today. Women and mixed groups of men and women must sit in the "family room" because you cannot have a group of women sitting among all men. That's where our group sits too. The front room and outside are typically where the men sit, but I have seen some women sit outside during the day too. I guess it depends on the place and the people on how strict they are with that rule. 

 I am getting better at ordering in Arabic, which is exciting, but today I meant to order a pastry filled with chicken (it's kind of like chicken wrapped in baked bread… like a Stromboli), but instead got a PIZZA with chicken. My friend Brooke wanted the same meal but with vegetables, but she got a vegetable pizza too. Regardless, it was tasty. We'll have to work on our food vocabulary, Inshallah. 


Tomorrow we are going to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the biggest mosque in Oman. I can't wait. We will have to be covered completely from wrist to ankle to collarbone and also wear a hijab. I'm excited! Bismillah, friends. Until next time!



Sunday, June 22, 2014

First Day of School


Wow, today was a really long day. Once again jet lag won at about 4:00 am, but I was able to talk to some people in America while I was laying awake, so I wasn't too upset about it. School starts at 8:30 am for me, but my 3 roommates start at 8:00 am because we are in different levels. It was nice to hear them getting ready while I got to lay in bed for another half hour! We get picked up every morning by Mundhar (like Gunther with an M). He's super cool and fashionable. He sort of looks like a dishdasha (robe) and kuma (cap) model. I also appreciate him because he's a good driver. Oman has the highest number of traffic fatalities in the world, so typically being in a car is really stressful. Mundhar is very safe and cautious… but I still wear my seatbelt because driving here is sort of a free for all. 



Anyway, we arrived to school and began the interviewing process that helps better assess what level to be put in. We took online placement tests before we came, but you can only get so much information from a written test… so it makes sense to have a conversation placement test too. I was really nervous I was going to be sent back to level one! But it wasn't so bad. My teachers asked about my life in America, what I studied, what my hobbies were, and why I studied Arabic. I only had to ask them to repeat a few questions, alhamdullah (thank God). 

After the interview we had our first class, which was reading and writing. My teacher is named Da'aa, which is hard to transliterate to English… but we read a newspaper article in Arabic and barely understood any of it so we went sentence by sentence for the whole class. It was painstaking but helpful. So it goes.

Next we had grammar class with Raja. She's my favorite teacher so far. She's really funny and I even understand some of her jokes in Arabic. She's super sassy and I feel like her class will be really fun… even though it's grammar. Here's a picture of the whiteboard with Arabic grammar basics. Luckily today was just review.



 Between classes we hang out here. It's actually way more comfortable than sitting in chairs. I can see myself napping here definitely. Everyone is at different levels so the conversation flows in and out of English and Arabic. Mostly we talk about cultural differences with other students; there are people here from Australia, England, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, etc., so it's cool to talk about what's similar and different where. 



 After lunch and a break we had time for our "PF's" or peer facilitators. They are students from Sultan Qaboos University and they come to CIL for two hours every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday to have one-on-one conversation. My PF is named Ahmed and he is also 20 like I am. I was too shy to ask to take a picture with him because I'm still not sure if that's culturally appropriate, but maybe after a few weeks I will ask. Anyway, we have a lot of similar interests and study similar topics, but we are inhibited by one issue. He doesn't speak English very well and I don't speak Arabic very well. It takes quite a bit of back and forth to get information across, but I already feel like I have improved conversationally from just two hours with him. 


I went to the grocery store after school with some friends and being oh-so domestic I bought oatmeal, cereal, eggs, and fruit. Luckily my roommate Brooke is a great cook so hopefully I'll start eating like a real person and stop eating like a 5 year old… we'll see. Al Fair is a really nice grocery store and is much like Kroger or Giant Eagle; I could find just about anything I wanted there. You also don't see many men in grocery stores. The gender separation is very real here, which I'll talk about some other time, but it was a nice change in pace because not as many women stare (for a long time) like the men sometimes do. Some of the little kids point at us but it's harmless, I think they're just curious that somebody as pale as me actually exists.



For dinner we went to a Turkish restaurant and had Sharawah (a meat wrap with french fries). It is super inexpensive and is where all the CIL kids hang out. I got a "sharawah dijzaj kabir" (big chicken wrap) and a kuka kula (coke) for 900 besas, or about $2.30. It is also served with pita bread and salad and after, he served us tea with mint, which is to die for. The owner is really kind and actually talks to us girls and took our hand when we offered him to shake it (sometimes men don't shake women's hands and women won't shake men's hands). He is really cool and I think we'll be spending a lot of time there. 



After dinner the beginning Arabic students went back to our shaqa (apartment) to start their homework. Advanced didn't have any homework tonight so we were very lucky and got to go out to the hookah bar and watch some futbol. People are crazy for futbol here and every night there are World Cup games being broadcast on big projectors outside! It's a cool atmosphere, but again, no women other than us CIL kids. 

That about sums up my day, which was intellectually exhausting. Now I'm off to bed. Oh, I  already have a sandal tan. Which is cool because I don't tan. At first I thought there was dirt on my feet (which there was) but even after I washed it off there was a tan! Mashallah! (God willed it AKA Awesome!)


Saturday, June 21, 2014

The Beginning

So today was my first full day in Muscat, and it started bright an early at 5:00 am when jet lag took over. I'm pretty insistent on sleep no matter how difficult it may come, so I laid awake for about two hours until I could finally fall asleep again. When my day actually began it was actually 11:30 when orientation started. 

We talked a lot about what our school days would be like, how to dress out and about, cultural faux-pas, how to get a taxi, safety concerns, etc. I felt like I was a camper again on the first day at the Shell meeting… wide eyed and trying to take it all in. After that, we had lunch from a Turkish restaurant that was brought in to the school. We had… well, I'm not even sure what it's called but it was lamb, lettuce, and french fries in a long, thin wrap. I swear it was actually really tasty! We also had "Kuka Kula", aka Coca-Cola. For some reason I didn't take a picture of the Arabic side, which looks like: كوكا كولا, in case you wondered. The cans are tall and skinny, which I am extremely entertained by for some reason.




After lunch we went on a bus tour of Old-Muscat, which I was very thankful for because it was 109 F today! First we visited Bait Al-Zubair, an Omani museum, which was really cool Unfortunately, you can't take pictures there, so you'll just have to take my word for it. 

After that we visited the Sultan's Palace, well one of them, which is gorgeous and massive. It's funny because it's much like the White House in its grandeur, but completely opposite when it comes to security. There are walls around the compound, which is a common style in the Middle East, but the gates aren't really guarded… we even saw one of the gates wide open without a guard anywhere in sight. Security of the Sultan apparently isn't too much of a concern in Oman, which is understandable because almost everyone loves him dearly.




 It was so cool to drive around and see everything. I love this picture below because it captures three important essences I've attributed to Oman. On the left is the tower, which is part of a ministry building, which represents the people's love of the Sultan and both the power and prowess of its government. The road is beautifully paved, (as are all roads in Oman, seriously, I haven't seen a pot hole yet), and that represents the modern Oman, which came in 1970 after the old Sultan was overthrown by the new Sultan (Sultan Qaboos actually overthrew his father!). The education, healthcare, and infrastructure of Oman are very well developed and efficient, even though they only had their beginning in 1970. And finally, there is an old fort right in the middle of it all, which is part of Oman's rich history, dating back so far I don't know how to put it in numbers. Let's just put it this way, when the first bipedal humans were leaving Africa, they stopped in Oman for awhile, and some stayed. It's an incredibly old civilization!



We went to the Muttrah Souk (صوق المطرح) and did a bit of shopping. The souk was a bit overwhelming because I'm still shy to use my broken Arabic. Bargaining is a thing here, but it is done very calmly and without yelling. It is illegal to insult or curse at people, which I'm very glad I was told, ya know, just in case. But Omani culture is typically so calm and cool that it's not that big of an issue there. The souk had textiles, dishdashas, abayas, hijabs, masaars, turbans, you name it. They even have a bunch of toy stores for little kids, but the toys look like they're out of the 80s. Anyway, Muscat has a large community of ex-patriots, so it is not unheard of to wear western clothes there (I mean like tank-tops or shorts), but it is really rude. An Omani would never say that though… they're much like people from the Midwest, extremely polite and passive aggressive. I joke but it sort of does feel like home in that aspect. Western women wear long pants or long skirts and their shirts go at least to their elbows, flowy and not form fitted. Omani women wear black dresses and head scarves, a few choose to cover everything but their eyes and wear burqas. Covering up is fine for me because it is so hot and the sun will burn you in just a few minutes without sunscreen! Omani men wear long robes and a cap, western men typically wear long pants and light-weight button up shirts. At school the students have come up with "Traditional Tuesdays" where we all wear traditional Omani clothing, so I will wear an abaya (long black dress) and hijab (head scarf) and the men will wear dishdashas (long white robe) and kumas (caps) or massars (scarf turbans). Here's my friend getting fitted for his first dishdasha and massar!


After that we went home to our flats in Al-Khoud.  We hadn't gone to the grocery store yet so we went out to eat at a traditional Yemini restaurant (yes, we are sitting on the floor).


I was excited for my first dine-out experience and to finally practice my Arabic. Turns out I wasn't as prepared as I hoped. Our server spoke absolutely no English and we had some miscommunications that would just stress me out if I were to relive them. Anyway, almost all of us ended up getting "Nifs Dijajz Madhi", which is basically chicken and rice, though does technically translate to a half chicken. So that's what we got. We also got some broth with what looked like salsa to put in it. It was very tasty (and spicy) and I felt lucky because it was served with a spoon (most Omanis eat without utensils!!). Anyway, I enjoyed the food and that's all that matters.



After dinner, we finally came back to the flats and decompressed after an exhausting day. School starts tomorrow and I can't wait to start class! Ma'Salaama! 




Friday, June 20, 2014

Finally Here



I am finally in Muscat, Oman. After 3 flights and 22 hours of traveling I have finally made it to my flat. This summer I am attending the Center for International Learning, where I'll spend 7 weeks learning Arabic, both Classical and Omani. I've already studied Arabic for sinnatain (two years) but I still feel like a beginner.  It has virtually no similarities to English… I guess that's part of its appeal to me. I am living in Muscat, which is a very big city with a lot of neighborhoods. The neighborhood I live in is called Al-Khoud, and the neighborhood where my school is is called As-Saab. 



I am incredibly excited for this opportunity.  I am nervous because it's my first time abroad and because the culture will surely take time to adjust to. However, I have a deep respect for the people and culture of Oman, and the Islam they practice. Most people in Oman are Ibaadi Muslim, which is different from Sunni and Shi'ite, and is known for being a very tolerant and private sect of Islam. At Ohio State, I study Security & Intelligence, Economics, and I minor in Arabic. I initially chose Arabic because of its "criticality" in foreign affairs. However, I soon discovered a serious interest in Middle Eastern culture. So, I thought what better way to study both Arbia and Thaqafa Al-Sharq Al-Awasat (Arabic and Middle Eastern Culture) than by going to Oman! Oman, by the way, is on the Arabian peninsula, and is part of the Middle East. Muscat is on the coast just about where the Tropic of Cancer hits it. Hot is an understatement. When I arrived it was 100 F even though it was 8:30pm. Everyone is friendly so far and my blonde hair really makes me stick out. It's okay though because everyone has a smile on their face once they know I speak Arabic, even though it's just a bit. 





So, I've started this blog to document my journey learning Arabic, immersing myself in brand new culture, and experiencing my first Ramadan (and Eid). Well, I've actually started it because my mom wanted me to. Inshallah, (God-willing) this will not only keep you updated on how I'm doing in Muscat, but will also help shed some light on a little part of the Middle East that not everyone knows a lot about. Ma'Salaama As-diqaii (Peace my friends)!