Ramadan: One month of bad road, any way you take it

Well folks, the end of Ramadan is finally here, and none to soon. It was driving me buggy. For those who don’t quite understand what I mean, here it is: Ramadan is Islamic culture at its most restrictive, conservative and irate. Even though we Westerners are not expected to fast with the Islamic population, we are still confined to there rules. No eating, drinking, smoking or gum-chewing in public. Because of this most of the businesses are not open during the day, or at least until 9:00 P.M. (after the family meal which signifies the breaking of the fast). SO, we are roped into their lifestyle de-facto. We become nocturnal creatures, coming home after work and not being able to do much except sleep until the sun sets (Iftar). Even though there are normally places you can get a drink as a Westerner during the other 11 months here in Oman, these places are also shut down during Ramadan (this includes any place which has Western style pleasures like dance clubs, places for entertainment and so forth). It was a hard first month here, but this is about to come to an end. To morrow is the last day and then starts Eid (EId, the breaking of the fast holiday is a combination of Easter, Christmas and New-Years). Its pretty crazy and lasts for like a week. There’s another EId later in the year too, just as long. SO, I have off until next Sun. or Mon. or something. SO after this we will see what this region really has to offer the Westerner. There are so many things I would like to explore, I’m not sure what to partake in first. Over the past month, I have been trying to keep myself busy with work, and the daily doldrums of trying to get situated. I have been doing things like going to the beaches here, and climbing the local mountains around where I live. There are some photos attached to this post of the view from some of the lower peaks (I am not so adroit a climber and the mountains here are pretty intense. Some people come from all over the world just for the climbing. Many of my fellow teachers chose Oman to work because of this). Incidentally, I am at the last stages of finally becoming ‘legal’. I am awaiting my residency visa in the next week (right after Eid). Then I can do the cool stuff that I was not really allowed as a ‘guest’. So in the near future I expect to get cable, and internet in my home and my liquor permit so we can booze it up at my place if any of you get your ass into gear and get out here. For those of you who are wondering why I haven’t written a personal e-mail to you it is for this reason. When I venture out to my local internet café to run my virtual errands, I don’t exactly have time to write three or four dozen e-mails. Also, I love you all so much that I can’t decide who to e-mail first. But, if you send me an e-mail it won’t be a matter of favoritism and responding will be a matter of protocol…. So I won’t feel bad. By the way… I miss you all dearly and think of you al quite fondly and often. Well, ciao for now and I would love to know how things are going for you and others back in the states (how’re the sox doing?).

Speeding to nowhere .... traffic and driving in the Gulf

Reader Warning: THis post is a hyperbole, do not try this at home/use only under parental supervision/ask your parents permission before calling/do not operate heavy machinery after reading this post/ the opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of blogspot/google/or bettty crocker

Ok, I‘ve been here about a two weeks. In this time I’ve traveled around by car quite a bit. First by taxi and chauffeur, and then by a rented car (which I and three other teachers split. We can’t actually buy one until we get our residency visas which are being processed). Today I took the car after work to Muscat, the capitol city, where I bought a new charger for my computer. This wild journey on the roads of the Middle East my ‘back broke’. I couldn’t take it any more. I must faithfully report to you the true cluster-fuck that is the driving experience in the Middle East. This is going to take a little explaining because there are many different factors at play here so try and keep up… First and foremost, driving around here is a harrowing experience, not for the faint of heart. This is due to several different reasons. It is truly an orchestra of madness and I am dashing around this cacophony like a lost grace note, trying to keep up in all the confusing mosh and discordance.
What you need to understand is first the logistics of this whole mess. The Middle East is a big place… really big and spread out. This being the case, there’s a lot of cars and a lot of driving. There is no public transportation system, so everyone basically needs a car. This is ‘OK’ due to the fact that lots of people have money, cars are relatively inexpensive here, and you can fill up a swimming pool with Gas for about the same price as a half a talk of petrol back in the States. Another thing you have to have a hold of is the concept of ‘public civility’ here. People are really nice, really polite and play by the rules of congeniality… all the time. Everything has to do with image and how you are supposed to act. So there’s a lot of pressure boiling on the inside of your average Arab. A pressure that often gets released when we are in our cars, in control, on the move, masters of our own roadway destiny. So, when people are walking about, they are bound by the laws of the society that they live in. They do not want to appear pushy or rude, even if they really want to be deep down inside. When they get into a car, this weird transformation occurs. The change into speed hungry, four-wheeled werewolves . Your average Arab driver is a dangerous motor-powered beast in the middle of mating season, foaming at the mouth with a blood-lust sparkling in their eye and an itch on the underside of their right foot that can only be scratched by stomping it to the floor. They drive aggressively and fast. Weaving in and out of cars for no other reason than to get in front of the person who is in between them and the horizon. There are also no cops around. Traffic is monitored by ‘speed cameras’, which don’t really ‘bust’ you unless you are doing 20 Kmph. over the speed limit (it seems like more of a suggestion, like the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, than an actual legal limit). This just encourages the indulging of their horrible roadway behavior. Though it makes sense, for people who, due to the social conventions and homogenizing effects of their outward observed behior which constrict thier actions to take this all out on the road. Seriously, these are the only group of people I have seen that make the Italians look like responsible and civilized motorists. I would rather drive with a half-drunk Milanese teenager without my seatbelt on than share the road with ‘Gulfies’. The Ironic part of all this is, is that according to reports of other teachers, friends and colleagues, Omanis are very relaxed compared to the drivers in other Gulf states. Steer clear gentle reader, of ‘highway fun’ in Saudi, Bahrain, or the Emirates!!!

Sunburn and Snorkling in the Gulf

Hello all, well a lot has happened and time has gone by. As some of you may have noticed, I have been relatively quiet as far as blogging goes for quite some time. This is for a number of reasons. First, because I left my charger at home and I could not blog. Second, because until I get my residency visa, I can’t sign any sort of contract, and the internet cafes here are not the place where I like to bare my soul and scrawl my virtual message on the virtual walls as it were. So I got a laptop from work (got dropped into my dept. at the college; more about that later. A couple of things I want to ‘spout’ about right now to kind of bring me up to date.
Oman is hot as balls right now. Good thing this is the absolute worst right now. In Oct. it will go down to the 80’s for the rest of the year. It’s supposed to be one of the nicest places in the middle to live. Other Arabs refer to it as ‘the pearl’. It’s totally georgeous !!! I’ve attached some photos of the mountains where I live and also the nearby (25 min) beach. The Al Suwadi (the beach) is toally cool. I went snorkling for the first time and it rocks. Oman is like in the top ten best places for snorkeling and diving (a lot of the other teachers I’m working with came here because of that). I was totally blown away, I’m soooo hooked. The water here is totally warm and I stayed in the water exploring the reef for about two and a half hours (which is uncommon so I was told, it usually gets too cold in most other places to stay in for that long). The guy I went with said I took right to it. I really did have an awesome time. I saw a large amount of fish that I had seen a few weeks ago at the New England Aquarium! I was so amazing, can’t wait to go again!!! The waters here are some of the best preserved and least impacted in the world!!! The beeches here are beautiful too (as you can see by the pictures). There’s wildlife practically everywhere here. There are goats, camels, wild dogs (and cats fucking everywhere!!!!), geckos, jackdaws run amok by the beach and many other things which I’m not too sure of yet. The Omani people are awesome!!!! They might be the warmest, sweetest, and most hospitable group of humans I have ever met. They are all curious about us (westerners), and always make ‘big eyes' when they find out where we are from. As my coleges tell me, they are known for their tolerance of other cultures and peoples, and even have their own brand of Islam, which is extremely tolerant and open. When you walk through the street people will say hello to you, they may even call you over just to talk. I was very glad to see that all of us (even us from the states) were very well received. Sometimes they want to talk politics, and make sure you understand that any one of them would kill our ‘executive idiot’ with their own teeth if given the chance. They do, however, make the distinction between a government and its people (a lot of times we do not), which is good, at least for me.
Its Ramadan tie here so everything is a little ‘backwards’. It’s a time of fasting, kind of in the same way the original Catholic holiday of lent was. From sun up to sundown the people do not take food, or water. At sun down there is a large meal (Iftar) and then you are allowed to do all the things you couldn’t do during the day. Even though we are not expected to fast, we are expected to do everything that is ‘forbidden’ away from the eyes of muslims and those fasting. This time of year seems to bring people and families together. It’s real interesting.
Well I’m gonna run. I’m going to make a real effort to try and post regularly. I would like to be able to save as many of these thoughts and memories as I have them and not ‘backtrack’ after long lapses of activity. Well until next time…