The emotional arc of the past few months has gone something like this: At first – apprehension about what this whole thing would be like. Then - excitement that shines a light on everything, making it all sparkly and intriguing. Finally – slow acceptance that this is, in fact, your life, and in some ways not much changes.
When I say that we have moved into the acceptance stage I’d like to point out that its not a bad thing, on the contrary I would argue. I have moved around a fair bit over the course of my life (Oman makes it major move #8 for me), and I would say that this stage is something I personally look forward to. Only after you get over the apprehension and the excitement can you really settle in, get comfortable, and really get to know a place.
I wouldn’t be so bold as to say I know Muscat, but I think I am starting to develop that newly arrived outsider’s perspective. Muscat is not quite a town, not quite a big city either. There are things to do, but maybe not the ones we’re used to.
Since a picture is worth a whole big bag o’ words, I’ll let some pictures do the talking, or some of it at least.
The other day we went and took a look at H.M.’s pad – not too shabs. H.M. Qaboos is revered by Omanis, and for good reason. Prior to his taking power, Oman had no roads, electricity, running water, hospitals – this was all as late as 1970. In 40 short years, it went from that to shopping malls with Forever 21 and Starbucks.
H.M. has imposed some basic codes in an attempt to maintain the culture – like all buildings have to be approved colors, there are height restrictions on them, and he has adorned the main highway with not-so-subtle homages to Oman’s history.
Yes, that is a giant ring and treasure chest at the entrance to one of the grand roundabouts.
As a country, Oman has some money, but is not exactly awash in cash from oil. The people here work, and you get the sense H.M. has impressed upon them the need to develop a non-oil economy. Their big target is tourism, and I must say, they have some nice places:
We go to these places often on the weekends. They are probably much nicer when its less than 110 degrees (and humid), but not bad even in the summer. Bree and I have a running joke that diving/going out on the water is all we have left (because our social life is still a little slow, and its hard to spend extended periods of time outside). But last weekend, while on the dive boat, we were saying that it may be all we have left, but it isn’t too bad.
But I digress…. here are a few more sights around Muscat.
My tailor (the pants worked out! – he’s making me two shirts now.)
So – acceptance. I think we’re starting to understand what life is like here, get a feel for the town, and working within that. With acceptance, I am starting to lose the yearning for things from places I used to live (like having a casual beer on a patio, or, for Bree, wearing shorts in public) but gaining appreciation for the uniqueness that is this current place – like trips to the souk, hearing the call to prayer, diving on the weekends. Maybe acceptance is the wrong word – maybe its better to say balance. We’re balancing these things, and striving to have fun all the while.
No comments:
Post a Comment