100 days into this incredible year, and I can look at my calendar to find I am more than a third of the way done with my exchange. I can wake up in the morning and know what my routine will be, talk to my host family and feel normal, eat the sketchy gas station sambusas and not get sick.
100 days into this incredible year, and everything has changed. I remember my first proper night in Oman; lying awake in bed listening to my host sister toss and turn and asking myself what I'd been thinking, wondering what could have possibly possessed me to come to a country I'd known nothing about just months before, paralyzed with fear in the knowledge that it would be 10 months before I was back home again. I remember my first day of school, when I was terrified to be alone in a new environment and then completely amazed at the kindness of everyone I met which made me feel somehow settled and okay just a few days later. I remember our trip to the mountains, when I first fully appreciated how truly beautiful Oman really is and breathed in crisp cool air that felt, in many ways, like home. I remember the moment I clicked "send" on my application about 11 months ago, not daring to dream of a life I had only glimpsed before through the pages of blogs and photos of the past. And, perhaps most of all, I remember the moment at the airport in Washington, DC in which the six of us who were bound for Oman reunited in a frenzy of fear, sadness, and excitement. The moment that bound us together as sisters forever. And now it has been 100 days and a piece of my heart has returned to America on the wings of one of my sisters. I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed; and although we are no longer all here to celebrate together, I have found that often videos can span oceans through the internet. Braden, Kenzie, Ginya, Linden, and Brandi... This one's for you.* *the background music to this video is Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me", which I uploaded from iTunes
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This week saw the passing of one of my personal favorite American holidays - Thanksgiving. Normally back home, I celebrate this holiday by spending a week cooking cranberry sauce and this cabbage/lentil thing my mom created before driving to New Jersey to celebrate with my cousins and family the day of. This year, however, I'm in Oman, more than 7,000 miles away from my family, celebrating with five girls I've known less than a year and a bunch of other people I've barely met. But still, it's pretty perfect in its own way. Sure, I didn't get to sit around the table with my family and give thanks and hold hands and slip away into simultaneous food comas the way we usually do. But I did get to talk to them on Skype (VPN for the win, y'all) as they were preparing the turkey, and give thanks with my exchange sisters as we took part in our own Thanksgiving dinner halfway around the world. This year, actually, I got two Thanksgivings. The first was on Monday night, when the six of us exchangers and our host families gathered at the house of the American Ambassador to Oman for a holiday dinner. The second was Thursday, the actual day of Thanksgiving. Although not everyone could make it, four of us went together to the home of a really nice woman who works at the embassy who was hosting a sort of holiday gathering. Everyone but us brought a dish to share, and we stuffed ourselves silly on everything available (included both baked AND fried turkey) before heading home with packages of leftovers in our laps. That being said, Thanksgiving's been really hard for me. It's the first real holiday that I've been away from home, and it's difficult to remember previous years and imagine what this one could have been like. I think that's honestly one of the biggest challenges of being an exchange student; putting your drive to learn in front of the sadness and homesickness that come in waves at the least convenient times. Because it's easy to wish yourself back home with your family - it's hard to imagine that and say to yourself "But you know what? I'm happy here. I'm glad I'm here." And this year I am thankful for that. I am thankful for the fact that I am here in Oman with five girls who a year ago were total strangers but with whom I now share the sort of friendship that has morphed into sisterhood as we have undertaken this incredible journey together. I am thankful for my friends and family back home, who support me in following my dream 7,000 miles away, and for my friends and host family here in Oman, who have made me feel at home in what was once a foreign land in just three short months. I am thankful for love, and laughter, and the way my three year old host sister's face lights up with a grin as she chucks one of her dolls at my head. I am grateful for the fact that turkey exists in this country, for the fact that "it's okay to get fat, I'm an exchange student", for all of the ups and down and bumps in the road that have led me to where I am today. It's been hard to get here, and hard to be here, but I wouldn't trade my opportunity for anything in the world. So I guess I'm really just happy, and today, that's what I'm thankful for. 🎶American Pie - Don McLean🎶 It feels like forever since I've posted, but I waited until today for a reason - now I get to tell you about National Day! In Oman this is a much bigger deal than in the U.S., which is something that shouldn't have shocked me because all we really do in America is watch fireworks and eat cake, but did all the same. About two weeks ago I found out about this, and upon reaching the understanding that we were going to have to wear Omani traditional clothing to school as part of the celebration I promptly set about trying to obtain some. After much discussion on the topic, this past weekend my host aunt brought me back a beautiful blue dress from her trip to Nizwa, which I learned was being passed on to me by another member of my host family. It fits perfectly, and I love it (also it's the only piece of embroidered clothing I own). National Day is celebrated on the 18th of November, the Sultan's birthday - but at ABQ we celebrated it today. Everyone wore their national dress to school, and during our assembly there was a program of speeches, poems, and plays as part of the festivities. Part of this program included myself and Linden - we spoke together about some of the differences we have discovered between America and Oman. At the end of the assembly there was a fashion show which featured different styles of clothing from all around the country (although Oman is one nation, each province has a different style of national dress. My friend told me mine is the one from Muscat, the capital region. My personal favorite style is from Dhofar). In America we celebrate our independence - in Oman the celebration is about the people and the culture, and the variations that occur therein while still remaining an amazing and united country. And maybe that sounds cheesy but I think it's really beautiful. Because it's been so long I've included two songs, one of which was my jam over the last week and one of which is just really relevant to this country. This past Friday morning I was in my room with my host sister when my host aunt came in quickly and told me to get dressed to go. With no idea where we were going, I first put on an abaya before being sent up to change by my host uncle, who informed me that if I wore it out I would regret it and melt.
The whole family piled into the car and, after dropping off the maid at the City Center, we drove seemingly at random with a few stops at gas stations to buy snack food. After an hour or so we stopped in a more remote town, where we walked to a hot spring that was set up to feed a system of baths (you can see a picture of it on my Photos page). It's super pretty, and after testing the water with my hands I discovered it was boiling hot. After we all explored a bit around the area we got back in the car and drove again, this time coming to a stop just outside of Al Hazm castle. Al Hazm is one of the most famous castles in Oman, and it's easy to see why. The views from the top are incredible, and the whole building is beautifully preserved. I had particular fun running around the top and taking pictures, as well as exploring a rather hidden portion of the castle (my host siblings and I found a passage under a flight of stairs and followed it, using my cell phone flashlight to show the way as the lights were broken). Before I came to this country I was as tightly wound as a coiled spring... Deadlines and planning ahead were my forte, and spontaneity was not something I was comfortable with. Now... Well, I'm certainly getting better about relaxing - when I first arrived the thought of a random road trip would have terrified me, and this last one turned one of the most fun things I've done in a while. I'm glad I'm learning to relax, because I think that's a big part of Omani culture. Those of you who know me, of course, are probably scoffing at my statements about letting go of my planning urges. But I swear, it's happening. Slowly maybe, but often that's how change happens. Sometimes all we have to do is let go, and enjoy the ride. 🎶Let It Go - Idina Menzel🎶 So this past week I was sick... The cause is still at least partially unknown, but with this blog post I'm going to talk generally about being ill while abroad - an occurrence that is more common than it should be and less pleasant than we expect.
The most important thing to remember while on exchange is to be careful and self-aware. That being said... I don't regret a single bite of the sketchy gas station sambusas that gave me my food poisoning. BUT If you can restrain yourself and be smarter than me and my see-food diet, you're much less likely to wind up ill in a foreign land. Here's why you don't want that to happen: 1. You're away from home. Everything you normally do to make yourself feel better has to be modified to fit your current situation, and suddenly you don't have your family or friends there to comfort you (although you do have your awesome new host family and friends). 2. It's easy to sink. By this I mean that a small illness a few months in can easily turn into a pit of despair and homesickness for you to fall down. DON'T DO IT. Keep yourself out of that pit at all costs. But here's why it'll be okay anyway: 1. Your host family and new friends are there for you. Ask and ye shall receive. No one wants to see you suffering... Let them help you. 2. You have a myriad of new things you can do to amuse yourself. No, maybe they're not what you're used to... But at the end of the day you're in an amazing new country that has a lot to offer you. 3. You'll get stronger. Once you make it out of the sick-induced coma you may (at least I did) fall into, you'll have an easier time taking everything as it comes because you know it doesn't get worse than that. I hope you enjoyed my pros-cons lists... But don't be fooled. Just because there are more points under "why it will be okay" does not mean you should go out and get sick. (HINT, HINT) In all seriousness though, I'm glad I had those sambusas. If I hadn't had them I would have felt like I was missing out, and this year that's one thing I don't want to do. On that note, I'd like to announce a very exciting opportunity I have through school - a week long community service trip to Sri Lanka! I've checked with AMIDEAST, and I'm officially allowed to go. The trip is at the end of February... And I'm already excited. I'll fill you in more on that as I get more information. Until next time, I leave you with a song I've been looping the last few days 🎶Centuries - Fall Out Boy🎶 Yes, I am well aware I'm late in posting this week. but hey, there's a bunch of good reasons. This week was one of the most packed we have had since arrival in country - every night of the week we were doing something together (we being the exchange girls). Monday was Women in the Arab World class, as usual, at AMIDEAST, and Wednesday was also our normally scheduled Arabic class. What was different was that this week, we had things planned for Tuesday and Thursday too. Tuesday night was the Walk for a Cure (organized by the Oman Cancer Association). We went as a group along with a number of people from AMIDEAST, and spent about two hours in a park in Qurum doing an approximately 2k walk, eating cupcakes, and lying in the grass. Thus, our first real exercise (maybe second, counting Jabal Shams) ended in us melting into a puddle by a playground. Thursday night was the real gem of the week though. The six of us headed over to the home of one of the AMIDEAST coordinators for a sleepover, and along with her daughter Nora (who is super awesome) we did some pretty fun things. First up was dinner, which was macaroni and cheese and spaghetti and meatballs and salad and I'm pretty sure all of us ate way more than we should have. Then we proceeded to the kitchen to carry out a Halloween tradition. Now normally, in the states, I carve a large pumpkin with my father into some sort of face. However, pumpkins are quite hard to obtain in Oman. So instead, we carved watermelons. I carved mine into the shape of a pumpkin. We completed the night with apple crisp and a movie... Which was incredibly delicious (the crisp, not the movie, although that was good too). And then this morning we had a rather American breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and something called french toast apple casserole (I promise, it's awesome). It was really a great week for us to reconnect and bond as a group, and I'm really grateful for that. 🎶I Won't Give Up -Jason Mraz🎶 Literally translated, Jabal Shams means mountain of the sun. And it is to Jabal Shams that the six of us exchangers (and Katy, one of our AMIDEAST coordinators) sallied forth last Friday morning. Now, this is where the story gets interesting. The night before we left, I decided against packing as the lights were already off and I was exhausted. So I went to bed. But of course, my careful and well-thought-out (note my sarcasm) thinking had a few tiny flaws. So at 7:30 am (30 minutes after I was supposed to be picked up and on the road), my host aunt came sprinting into my room calling my name and telling me that there was someone here to get me. At which point I did the scramble over to my closet, followed by my bathroom, and on emerging I found myself staring at Kenzie, who was happily camped out on top of my bed. Fast forward a few minutes and we were driving towards AMIDEAST, laughing at my hastily packed backpack and harried appearance. But that's not what this weekend was about. To sum it all up: Friday... we went to Nizwa, a relatively nearby and very historic village. There we visited the fruit and vegetable souq briefly (where I tried a white chocolate covered date, as well as fresh helwa - a traditional Omani sweet) before we heading into Nizwa Fort. We saw lots of beautiful views and snapped way too many pictures before being turned loose (in pairs, they don't trust us that much) into the main souq. Here I made some purchases, including gifts for my grandmother and parents. In the parking lot we bought a communal crate of pomegranates, and over the course of the weekend their numbers diminished rapidly as we ate them. After leaving Nizwa we made a visit to a beautiful mountain village that sprawls up and down the mountain-side, and once again our cameras appeared to capture the natural beauty of the rare greenery. Our next stop was Jabal Shams, the mountain we spent the night on, and the first things we did when we got there were take some photos beside a stunning canyon and take a hike along a trail that skirted its edges. That night we built a fire outside our "tents" (I use quotes because they were more like fancy hotel rooms covered in tarps... They even had keys) and sang songs like Wagon Wheel as the stars came out. Saturday... we left the place we had spent the night (I'm honestly not sure what to call it; campground doesn't seem accurate) and headed to a pottery studio in a nearby town. We watched the skilled potters make their vases and cups rapidly before each taking a painful turn at the wheel and turning out six nutbowls of varying lumpiness and curvature. But it was all very fun, so I'm excited to get mine back. After pottery it was time for lunch, and before long we found ourselves heading home to our host families. I realize that my descriptions are a bit hasty... But if I truly took the time to tell every minute detail this post would take well over a week to write - something I cannot even begin to fathom. But in short, it was a truly amazing weekend that really served to impress upon me, yet again, how amazing this country is. To cap it all off, on Sunday night we had a very special opportunity. The Assistant Secretary of the Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of the United States, Evan Ryan, was in Muscat, and we were invited to a dinner with her and some others (Fulbright scholars studying in Muscat, people working at the local U.S. Embassy, etc.). I really enjoyed talking to everyone, and I think it's amazing that Ms. Ryan took the time to come and meet with us all during her time here in Oman. Here's to adventure, and excitement, and all the things that make life worthwhile. 🎶Wagon Wheel - Darius Rucker🎶 First off, I'd like to make note of that fact that it took me a decently long amount of time to come up with such magnificent a witticism for the title of this post, so if we could all take a few minutes to appreciate that it would be awesome. And then I'll just jump right in. The last week has been messy. Not going to lie. I've had sketchy amounts of sleep for the last few nights but I think it's maybe going to get better soon. So fingers crossed. Announcements: 1. for those of you wondering (perhaps none) - yes. the PSAT does exist in Oman. and yes. if you are an American high school junior it is very possible for you to subject yourself to the pain of taking it 2. THERE'S A TRIP THIS WEEKEND WHAT AMIDEAST PLANNED A TRIP I realize the above notes are probably rather vague and written in a decidedly sleep-deprived manner, so I'll elaborate a bit on each of the points in turn. First off, the PSAT. Ginya, Linden and I all skipped school today and headed over to the American International School of Muscat (colloquially and affectionately known to those who can remember the acronym as TAISM) for testing. Following testing we spent several hours pensively staring at the walls of the "library" at AMIDEAST and jamming out to obscure music. Translation: a good time was had by all. As for the second note... The first of our AMIDEAST planned trips is happening this weekend. The six of us (and Katy, one of the directors at the office) are heading for two days to the nearby Nizwa and Jabel Shams (which means mountain of the sun), and where we will be camping out (like in tourist tents) Friday night. And we are all very excited. So that's all the news I can think of right now. If you have anything you would like to me to talk about specifically send me an email through the contact form and I'll see what I can do. 🎶21 Guns - Broadway Version feat. Green Day🎶 So this weekend was Eid Al-Adha, otherwise known as "Big Eid" (in more colloquial circles). I've had a bit of an unusual experience in that the majority of my host family went to their village while I made alternative plans - and for the last few days, and the next few as well, I've been bunking with Brandi and her host family in Muscat. It's been super cool, and although I sort of wish my host family was here I know I'll be spending plenty more time with them soon. And I've had a really good time. On Saturday, we woke up and went outside to watch and take pictures of the sacrifices.Then we got all dressed up (Brandi and I borrowed dresses from her host sister), did our makeup (I had Omani charcoal eyeliner done for the first time) and set out to visit the family. Over the course of the day we went to six (?) houses, and at each one we ate a little more: assorted Eid sweets, bits of meat, bread, fruits, and many cups of Omani coffee. We also practiced our greetings, which vary person to person as well as with what one remembers at a given moment (if you forget the formal greeting, try to move on with a smile and a simple "Eid Mubarak!"). Sunday morning... Well, we slept through Sunday morning. But Sunday afternoon we saw the shoowa (meat from the sacrifice which has been cooked underground in banana leaves for a day) brought back, and then we had bits of it with rice and vegetables. Brandi and I even tried a bit of the brain... Although I can't say it was my favorite thing in the world, I'm glad I can now say I've tried it. Eid is really cool. It's probably one of the more cultural times of year, and I'm really happy to have experienced it. In just a few short days, I've had my henna done, I've tried goat/sheep brains (I'm honestly not sure which) and I've spent time in the homes and company of some really nice people. I'm very grateful for my opportunity to experience this. I am thankful for the people who support my decision to be here, and for those who have already set out to someday make similar decisions of their own. I am so blessed to be able to share Omani culture with you - to be able to share it with myself, and this holiday has been a time for me to reflect on and continue to experience the intricacies of Oman. 🎶Tu Meri - Bang Bang (Hindi Movie) Soundtrack🎶 If this was a cartoon I would begin it with the main character (me?) walking slowly across the screen holding a sign that says "4 Weeks Later" and that little sound effect that goes "wah wah wah"... To more clearly explain myself... It's been four weeks! Almost a month! That realization is a bit scary to me. I always told myself that once I'd been here for a month everything would start to make sense. That being said, I think that this last month has really been an opportunity for me to realize how wrong I was about everything before I left home. In a lot of ways things made sense on day one, and a lot more things I have worked to understand and which now feel like a victory. But there's also a lot of things that probably still won't click even when I'm stepping back on a plane home at the end of this year. But this month... This month is about the little victories. It's about the way it feels to hug someone and know that they, too, have journeyed thousands of miles to be here. It's about the magic of the internet, which allows people 7014.22 miles (I checked) away to talk to you with only a few seconds of lag between parts of the conversation. It's about teaching your host sister to tie her shoe the same way your dad showed you years ago, and dancing awkwardly in your room to a beat only you can hear because you're not playing any music out loud, It's about carefully planning the way to look least foreign when you're out of the house, and winding up looking totally American in spite of (and perhaps even because of) your best efforts. It's about the rice you eat constantly, the people you meet every day, the hot sun, the late nights, the thoughts that wander through your head even when the lights have been out for hours. Exchange is never easy. People will tell you that over and over again but it doesn't really click until it's something you are going through yourself. Exchange is never easy, but within the shortest period of time you can feel yourself starting to change - to grow your mind, broaden your horizons, think differently to match the new person you are becoming. When I left home I had a lot of people tell me "never change" or "stay the same". But that's not really possible. I am still myself in how I approach things, in the way my minds works to understand what is going on, but I hope every day that I am changing because to change would mean to do just one less thing that is oh so very wrong, to make one less social faux pas, to understand one more thing that someone tells me. To sum it up, to change would mean to get the most out of this year abroad. So, Insha'Allah, when I come home I will be a different person, in the best possible way. About this song... You never know how perfect Taylor Swift can be until you're smushed into a car with six other people singing at the top of your lungs and feeling like there is no place you'd rather be. 🎶You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift🎶 |
AboutHi! My name is Karla Cox. This blog is a compilation of notes, thoughts, and photos from my travels around the world. Categories
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