I am going to stop apologizing for not writing on this. It just seems that if I were truly sorry, I would fix the problem. And while I am actually sorry, I just need to do, instead of give myself excuses. No worries, though! We are all busy.
January 2009 was a great month. We were supposed to arrive in Oman and have 5 straight weeks without a break from school. Despite the break, I was not mentally prepared for such a long time with the kids and a super busy schedule. But, the rain and soccer gods looked down from the skies and smiled on the TAISM community. Our first day off was due to what we would call in Michigan, "a drizzle". The rain was nothing, but closing school on that Wednesday was very much needed. I laugh at the song lyrics "I miss you like the desert misses the rain", or however it goes, because the desert did not soak up the much needed rain, in fact, it just flat out rejected it! I know, poor rain. So when the desert is too good for rain, it has to go somewhere else, so the roads and our apartments filled up with it. I spent only about an hour cleaning up my living room after the "storm" (again, drizzle in Michigan), compared to others here who spent a 
few hours. The roads were unmanageable by Omanis and Indians. Those of us from Seattle or Michigan, who are used the the rain grew impatient and began going to the opposite extreme of the natives and just drove the 1 - 2 foot pools in our SUVs splashing the cars on our way. I've never seen so many relaxed and easy-going Omanis scrunch their faces at me!
few hours. The roads were unmanageable by Omanis and Indians. Those of us from Seattle or Michigan, who are used the the rain grew impatient and began going to the opposite extreme of the natives and just drove the 1 - 2 foot pools in our SUVs splashing the cars on our way. I've never seen so many relaxed and easy-going Omanis scrunch their faces at me! The next day off was after the weekend. Saturday night Oman was in the 
Championship game against Saudi Arabia. After Oman won the game (woot woot!) the Sultan declared it a national holiday! (Thanks Qaboos!) So, of course we didn't have school on that Sunday. Courtney and I went to two of the games; our first was Saudi Arabia against the Emarits. We cheered for the Saudis only because UAE losing would advance Oman. Plus, they had cooler cheers that we couldn't participate in, but were enjoyable to watch. We sat in the family section. Yes, I know we 
aren't family, but wouldn't you know it? Women are only allowed in the family section of the stadium. It was a pretty strange to look out at the crowd and think that all the thousands of people there were men. We also went to the Qatar vs. Oman game in the Semi-finals which was the friendliest match I had ever been to. I don't think there was any booing, just cheering for both teams. Oman ended up winning.
Championship game against Saudi Arabia. After Oman won the game (woot woot!) the Sultan declared it a national holiday! (Thanks Qaboos!) So, of course we didn't have school on that Sunday. Courtney and I went to two of the games; our first was Saudi Arabia against the Emarits. We cheered for the Saudis only because UAE losing would advance Oman. Plus, they had cooler cheers that we couldn't participate in, but were enjoyable to watch. We sat in the family section. Yes, I know we 
aren't family, but wouldn't you know it? Women are only allowed in the family section of the stadium. It was a pretty strange to look out at the crowd and think that all the thousands of people there were men. We also went to the Qatar vs. Oman game in the Semi-finals which was the friendliest match I had ever been to. I don't think there was any booing, just cheering for both teams. Oman ended up winning. For those of you who might be wondering; no, Arabian soccer isn't good. 
It is like watching Italy play Mexico, but without any real team talent. Everyone just pushes each other and falls over. U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you AGC, you AGC! The crowds had amazing songs and chants though, the most exciting I've ever heard!
It is like watching Italy play Mexico, but without any real team talent. Everyone just pushes each other and falls over. U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you AGC, you AGC! The crowds had amazing songs and chants though, the most exciting I've ever heard!We watched the final game at the high school principal's house and after making fun of the "fluffy" Oman coach and watching the win, Jeff, Courtney and I ran out to join in the celbration at the stadium. Everyone loved us and thanked us for joining in their celebration. One kid gave me a poster of the Sultan when I asked him where he got it. He now has a spot at my dinner table. If they were excited about seeing me and Jeff, two American whites, out there celebrating 
with them, they were ecstatic to see an American woman there! We had a lot of pictures taken of us and a lot jumped in our photos. 
For the most part they were very polite, and great (Courtney did have one bad encounter, but the guy ran away). It was a fantastic night, a night I felt closer to the Omanis than I have yet.
with them, they were ecstatic to see an American woman there! We had a lot of pictures taken of us and a lot jumped in our photos. 
For the most part they were very polite, and great (Courtney did have one bad encounter, but the guy ran away). It was a fantastic night, a night I felt closer to the Omanis than I have yet. 
