2006 Wrap Up
Hey
Getting my promised Christmas post in here by the skin of my teeth! Just wanted to give you a quick round up of our recent activities and send Christmas wishes to all.
We’ve only been out and about a few times since returning from Salalah, As Mark only has Thursday afternoons and Fridays off there’s not much time to venture far.
We did squeeze in an over night camp at Safeer beach and daytrips each to Wadi Dayqah (for a picnic with friends) and Jebel Shams, Oman’s own “Grand Canyon”. All inaccessible without our trusty 4WD.
Camping against the dunes - Safeer beach
Wadi Dayqah
Atop Jebel Shams
Its a long way down... Jebel Shams
Mark has been flat out at work as always, his projects are ticking over nicely and the ground was finally broken on the long awaited Carrefour (French hypermarket) and mall site. It’s a bit of a joke around Muscat that the hoarding boards have boasted ‘Carrefour - Coming Soon’, for the past two years. There have been two previous project managers. Mark is determined that he will be the one to deliver to the desperate shoppers of Muscat :-)
Brannan has been working incredibly hard at school and all his teachers spoke glowingly about him on Parent/Teacher conference night. The volume of homework was consistent all term, and has been the bane of his life. He has been lobbying hard to stay behind in NZ after our July 2007 visit and attend school there. Keep trying Bran!
Petra has always been a real socialite, but her life here is something else. Apart from the 3 built in friends here in our garden court she recently went to 5 birthday parties in 4 weeks. She’s also had so many fun activities at school: Halloween party, geography field trip, international day, dance and school Christmas shows.
No witches outfit for our Pet!
Water break during class geography trip
Spot the kiwi, aussie, scots and south african...
Carols at the end of dance christmas show
'Carolers' in the school christmas production
I have been keeping myself busy with coffee mornings, volunteering at school and taxi-ing the kids to after school activities and play dates. I was involved with the recent evacuation drill at The British School Muscat (BSM). Whilst I only had a small role in the evacuation, it certainly brought home the reality that here in the Middle East a prominent British organization such as the school could be at risk of a ‘security device’ or ‘intruder’. Scary stuff!
I’ve also been toying with the idea of finding myself a job. I recently applied for a secretary position at school. Unfortunately I missed out, but apart from the potential pocket money I could have earned, I was also kinda relieved! Not that keen to give up my cushy life just yet :-)
Mark and I had a great day out a few weeks back, he had to attend a business meeting in Dubai, and I tagged along for a shopping trip – it was how I always imagined my life as an ‘Expat. Wife’ should be! Was weird leaving the kids at school and heading to the airport, but what a difference international travel is without children and luggage. We were back home by 10pm that night worn and spent out.
We’re now experiencing winter Middle Eastern style. The days are considerably cooler, with temperatures ranging between 20 and 27 degrees. We also have shorter daylight hours, 6.45 am to 5pm. Can’t say that we have acclimatized, but 22 degrees here doesn’t feel like 22 degrees I remember in NZ, I haven’t been swimming for weeks, and we’ve had to resort to long sleeves several times. I even had to buy school sweatshirts for the kids. The Omani’s must really be feeling the cold because I’ve seen some local children done up in hats and scarves.
Check out the Omani in full winter get up next to me in T-shirt
We had a day of rain last weekend. Compared with UK or NZ rainstorms it was just a ‘decent’ downpour, and although there has been no official word on the amount that fell, the after effects were astounding. The rain starts in the mountains, and is channeled into wadis (rivers) passing through Muscat on its way down to the sea. These wadis have stood dry and dusty the whole 9 months we’ve been here, but reached maximum levels after one day of rain. Stories of people taking 4 hours to get across Muscat, and even a whole bus of 50 people getting swept away abound. There’s virtually no drainage here so any surface water has to be pumped away or wait to evaporate until the sun comes out. Pics below all mine except for the last.
Mark surveying damage to Carrefour building site
No fuel today
Pump truck - familiar site around Muscat after rain
Aftermath
We're looking forward to Christmas day, it isn't a recognised holiday here, so Mark and other westerners need to take annual leave. Despite this, we've been able to buy most of the traditional xmas items like decorations, cards, food etc, with some stores playing christmas carols, anything for a profit huh?
We are planning to meet with friends for Christmas lunch and spend the afternoon together. My Scottish friends can't quite get into the spirit as the weather is way too different to what they experience in a Scottish Christmas. But for us it feels a whole lot more natural than our Christmas in London last year.
I'd like to finish by wishing each and everyone of you a fabulous Christmas and happy New Year. Spoil yourselves and each other, January is for diets!
Lots of Love
the Omani Moles
xx
Getting my promised Christmas post in here by the skin of my teeth! Just wanted to give you a quick round up of our recent activities and send Christmas wishes to all.
We’ve only been out and about a few times since returning from Salalah, As Mark only has Thursday afternoons and Fridays off there’s not much time to venture far.
We did squeeze in an over night camp at Safeer beach and daytrips each to Wadi Dayqah (for a picnic with friends) and Jebel Shams, Oman’s own “Grand Canyon”. All inaccessible without our trusty 4WD.
Camping against the dunes - Safeer beach
Wadi Dayqah
Atop Jebel Shams
Its a long way down... Jebel Shams
Mark has been flat out at work as always, his projects are ticking over nicely and the ground was finally broken on the long awaited Carrefour (French hypermarket) and mall site. It’s a bit of a joke around Muscat that the hoarding boards have boasted ‘Carrefour - Coming Soon’, for the past two years. There have been two previous project managers. Mark is determined that he will be the one to deliver to the desperate shoppers of Muscat :-)
Brannan has been working incredibly hard at school and all his teachers spoke glowingly about him on Parent/Teacher conference night. The volume of homework was consistent all term, and has been the bane of his life. He has been lobbying hard to stay behind in NZ after our July 2007 visit and attend school there. Keep trying Bran!
Petra has always been a real socialite, but her life here is something else. Apart from the 3 built in friends here in our garden court she recently went to 5 birthday parties in 4 weeks. She’s also had so many fun activities at school: Halloween party, geography field trip, international day, dance and school Christmas shows.
No witches outfit for our Pet!
Water break during class geography trip
Spot the kiwi, aussie, scots and south african...
Carols at the end of dance christmas show
'Carolers' in the school christmas production
I have been keeping myself busy with coffee mornings, volunteering at school and taxi-ing the kids to after school activities and play dates. I was involved with the recent evacuation drill at The British School Muscat (BSM). Whilst I only had a small role in the evacuation, it certainly brought home the reality that here in the Middle East a prominent British organization such as the school could be at risk of a ‘security device’ or ‘intruder’. Scary stuff!
I’ve also been toying with the idea of finding myself a job. I recently applied for a secretary position at school. Unfortunately I missed out, but apart from the potential pocket money I could have earned, I was also kinda relieved! Not that keen to give up my cushy life just yet :-)
Mark and I had a great day out a few weeks back, he had to attend a business meeting in Dubai, and I tagged along for a shopping trip – it was how I always imagined my life as an ‘Expat. Wife’ should be! Was weird leaving the kids at school and heading to the airport, but what a difference international travel is without children and luggage. We were back home by 10pm that night worn and spent out.
We’re now experiencing winter Middle Eastern style. The days are considerably cooler, with temperatures ranging between 20 and 27 degrees. We also have shorter daylight hours, 6.45 am to 5pm. Can’t say that we have acclimatized, but 22 degrees here doesn’t feel like 22 degrees I remember in NZ, I haven’t been swimming for weeks, and we’ve had to resort to long sleeves several times. I even had to buy school sweatshirts for the kids. The Omani’s must really be feeling the cold because I’ve seen some local children done up in hats and scarves.
Check out the Omani in full winter get up next to me in T-shirt
We had a day of rain last weekend. Compared with UK or NZ rainstorms it was just a ‘decent’ downpour, and although there has been no official word on the amount that fell, the after effects were astounding. The rain starts in the mountains, and is channeled into wadis (rivers) passing through Muscat on its way down to the sea. These wadis have stood dry and dusty the whole 9 months we’ve been here, but reached maximum levels after one day of rain. Stories of people taking 4 hours to get across Muscat, and even a whole bus of 50 people getting swept away abound. There’s virtually no drainage here so any surface water has to be pumped away or wait to evaporate until the sun comes out. Pics below all mine except for the last.
Mark surveying damage to Carrefour building site
No fuel today
Pump truck - familiar site around Muscat after rain
Aftermath
We're looking forward to Christmas day, it isn't a recognised holiday here, so Mark and other westerners need to take annual leave. Despite this, we've been able to buy most of the traditional xmas items like decorations, cards, food etc, with some stores playing christmas carols, anything for a profit huh?
We are planning to meet with friends for Christmas lunch and spend the afternoon together. My Scottish friends can't quite get into the spirit as the weather is way too different to what they experience in a Scottish Christmas. But for us it feels a whole lot more natural than our Christmas in London last year.
I'd like to finish by wishing each and everyone of you a fabulous Christmas and happy New Year. Spoil yourselves and each other, January is for diets!
Lots of Love
the Omani Moles
xx
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