Yesterday I went from the bed to the sofa and back to the bed again. I was super tired. Thankfully, today I am refreshed and feel great.
One of the reasons I was so tired is because Thursday was a really long day. We had parent meetings at school. The students were dismissed early and we met with their mothers at 11:00. I was surprised at the number of people in attendance. It was a great turnout.
Most of the Western teachers left campus and went to eat at the mall located closest to our school and to hangout until it was time to go back to school. The fathers' meeting was held at 5:00, to allow them time to travel from jobs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We had six fathers and some students, accounting for the total evening showing of twenty people. This was the first fathers' event the school had attempted. We'll see what the thinking will be for future meetings when we debrief later this week.
My principal is away and will be for a while. She's accompanying her mother to Singapore for medical treatment. In her absence, the other VP and I are leading the school, with the Arab VP taking the lead in all of the administrative operations. I'm covering everything academic.
Side note - Recently I purchased veal bacon. Yesterday I cooked it and was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was.
Side note 2 - On the same day that I bought the bacon, I saw rabbit meat for sale. You could tell it was some kind of animal because the head, along with the eyeballs, was still attached. After the trauma of seeing that, I'm seriously considering becoming a vegetarian.
OK. Maybe trauma is too hard a word, but you get my drift. It's hard eating something that's looking at you while you cook it and eat it.
After planning for a while, I made it to our neighboring country of Oman. The first border crossing I went to was reserved for any Middle Eastern Nationals and residents of Oman. I was directed to another border, north of the city. When I was staying in the hotel, I was very close to this one.
Side note 3 - The UAE and Oman had open borders until 2006, when the UAE decided to close them.
The first gate you go through had Emirati folks checking passports and asking the reason for the visit. Spitting distance away was the second gate and it was manned by the Oman Police. Again, they looked at passports and asked why you were going into the country. Both were quick stops.
As you drive along the border, the high barbed wire fence is evident for miles. When you enter Oman, you see the following monument. Not sure what it represented, but it was impressive.
I had googled Al Buraimi, Oman, the city that borders us, to find points of interest. There was a fort right inside the city limits, so I decided to visit it. When I arrived, I got out of the car and was met by a couple of guys selling something. I wasn't interested in their wares, and hadn't exchanged money, so I wasn't prepared to buy anything anyway. One of the men followed me as I entered what I thought was Fort Al Hellah, but I think it was a market of some kind. I asked about the fort, but couldn't find anyone who spoke English. I was still being followed. There an uneasiness about this whole thing, so I left there quickly. Still was being followed, all the way to my car. The guy following me said something. I didn't try to find out what, and just high tailed it out of there.
As I'm driving through the city, I notice that it looks older than most places I've seen in the UAE. Although that's not evident in the following pictures.
Clearly, Oman doesn't have the extraordinary disposable wealth of the UAE. Everything I saw - the buildings, the markets, etc. - were modest, at best, with the exception of the car dealerships. The Toyota and Lexus Dealership was the showcase of the area that I was in and were much nicer than the ones in Al Ain.
Although the city of Al Buraimi was clean, it still was not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as the UAE cities that lure you in with their grandeur. Also, the road signs were not in English, making getting around a bit more challenging.
I didn't feel safe while there, even for the short while I was in the Oman, I knew immediately that this was a more hostile environment.
This visit made me realize even more what a jewel the UAE really is. Besides the beauty, natural and created, there is a sense of safety everywhere you go. That's especially true for the women here. I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating. The UAE protects its people, especially its women. I love that. I love knowing that I can go anywhere, anytime of day or night, and I'm going to be OK and free from harassment of any kind.
So, visit Oman. Check. Go back again? Probably not.
Side note 4 - I love okra. I don't think I ever saw any fresh okra all the while I lived in Sacramento, but when I visited Frank and his family in New York, someone was selling some on the street. Interestingly, it's very prevalent here. I also found the dried shrimp I use to season it. So the other day, I bought some and cooked it. It was pretty bad. Way too much tomato paste. I usually use sauce, but couldn't find it. I ate a little, but chucked most of it. I was in the same store today where I found it, so I decided to buy it and cook it again, this time using spaghetti sauce. It turned out great and tasted delicious.
Side note 5 - I'm loving getting the newspaper every day, too. I also found a couple of magazines published for ex-pats that are great resources for news of what's happening in the area. In readng one of them, I realized I missed seeing Snoop Dog last month.
Just kidding. Not a fan. Snoop is almost as old as me. Time for him to cut his hair and grow-up.
Apologies to all you Snoop fans out there. I'm guessing that not too many folks who read this blog are, though.
That's it for today.
Your blogging buddy.
One of the reasons I was so tired is because Thursday was a really long day. We had parent meetings at school. The students were dismissed early and we met with their mothers at 11:00. I was surprised at the number of people in attendance. It was a great turnout.
Most of the Western teachers left campus and went to eat at the mall located closest to our school and to hangout until it was time to go back to school. The fathers' meeting was held at 5:00, to allow them time to travel from jobs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We had six fathers and some students, accounting for the total evening showing of twenty people. This was the first fathers' event the school had attempted. We'll see what the thinking will be for future meetings when we debrief later this week.
My principal is away and will be for a while. She's accompanying her mother to Singapore for medical treatment. In her absence, the other VP and I are leading the school, with the Arab VP taking the lead in all of the administrative operations. I'm covering everything academic.
Side note - Recently I purchased veal bacon. Yesterday I cooked it and was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was.
Side note 2 - On the same day that I bought the bacon, I saw rabbit meat for sale. You could tell it was some kind of animal because the head, along with the eyeballs, was still attached. After the trauma of seeing that, I'm seriously considering becoming a vegetarian.
OK. Maybe trauma is too hard a word, but you get my drift. It's hard eating something that's looking at you while you cook it and eat it.
After planning for a while, I made it to our neighboring country of Oman. The first border crossing I went to was reserved for any Middle Eastern Nationals and residents of Oman. I was directed to another border, north of the city. When I was staying in the hotel, I was very close to this one.
Side note 3 - The UAE and Oman had open borders until 2006, when the UAE decided to close them.
The first gate you go through had Emirati folks checking passports and asking the reason for the visit. Spitting distance away was the second gate and it was manned by the Oman Police. Again, they looked at passports and asked why you were going into the country. Both were quick stops.
As you drive along the border, the high barbed wire fence is evident for miles. When you enter Oman, you see the following monument. Not sure what it represented, but it was impressive.
 |
| Monument at the entrance of Oman from Al Ain, UAE |
 |
| Fort Al Hellah |
As I'm driving through the city, I notice that it looks older than most places I've seen in the UAE. Although that's not evident in the following pictures.
 |
| Street corner with roundabout |
 |
| Toyota Dealership in Oman |
Although the city of Al Buraimi was clean, it still was not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as the UAE cities that lure you in with their grandeur. Also, the road signs were not in English, making getting around a bit more challenging.
I didn't feel safe while there, even for the short while I was in the Oman, I knew immediately that this was a more hostile environment.
This visit made me realize even more what a jewel the UAE really is. Besides the beauty, natural and created, there is a sense of safety everywhere you go. That's especially true for the women here. I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating. The UAE protects its people, especially its women. I love that. I love knowing that I can go anywhere, anytime of day or night, and I'm going to be OK and free from harassment of any kind.
So, visit Oman. Check. Go back again? Probably not.
Side note 4 - I love okra. I don't think I ever saw any fresh okra all the while I lived in Sacramento, but when I visited Frank and his family in New York, someone was selling some on the street. Interestingly, it's very prevalent here. I also found the dried shrimp I use to season it. So the other day, I bought some and cooked it. It was pretty bad. Way too much tomato paste. I usually use sauce, but couldn't find it. I ate a little, but chucked most of it. I was in the same store today where I found it, so I decided to buy it and cook it again, this time using spaghetti sauce. It turned out great and tasted delicious.
Side note 5 - I'm loving getting the newspaper every day, too. I also found a couple of magazines published for ex-pats that are great resources for news of what's happening in the area. In readng one of them, I realized I missed seeing Snoop Dog last month.
Just kidding. Not a fan. Snoop is almost as old as me. Time for him to cut his hair and grow-up.
Apologies to all you Snoop fans out there. I'm guessing that not too many folks who read this blog are, though.
That's it for today.
Your blogging buddy.
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