This was my first trip to Oman and I really enjoyed it - and wished that I could have stayed for more than just a couple days. I was scheduled to visit Muscat this last summer before the Great Unpleasantness changed everything - although I'm sure I would not have been as enchantened in 135 degree weather.
I found the people to be very friendly and out-going. You actually saw Omani folks working at jobs, which is not something that you are as likely to see in the United Arab Emirates (where the work force is almost entirely legally temporary immigrants, even if they have been there for generations). It was both very exotic, but also very comfortable. The men all wear the traditional white dish dash with very cool hats while the women wear black abayas. I'll use some net-drawn pictures because I haven't been able to download my own pictures yet. There is creeping westernization, to be sure, but the Omanis are very sensitive to it, especially the ecological damage, and clearly don't want to become another Dubai. The funny thing was that the last night Johanna and Francois took me out to eat at a local nice mall as a going away treat, and the mall was alive with young folks in western garb, both men and women. I had not seen any Omanis in western dress all day long until that moment. So, Oman is definitely on the cusp, which is why they're such a natural fit for our Global Module expansion. If we can get in at Sultan Qaboos with this program I think we'll be very well-positioned.
And Sultan Qaboos University. It is only around thirty years old, and is one of the prettiest campuses I have ever seen. It is an odd place because there is absolutely no exchange, unless it is very subtle, between the male and female students - they just pass each other like ghosts. They are not segregated - and there are clubs designed to let them spend time together in regulated activities - but you certainly never saw any guys hitting on girls or vice-versa. Now, what happens at night in the mall, of course, is anybody's guess. Several women, again in their traditional black abayas, went out of their way to come up and talk to me when I was waiting outside a professor's office. They were very friendly and one of the girls actually gave me a poem to read and critique, both the poem and her English (both were quite good). I spent a goodly portion of the day at Sultan Qaboos with George Rishmawi, a great guy. George is a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem, and actually knew some of the folks I've talked to at Bethlehem University and someone I know at the University of Jordan. He invited me back to his house for lunch and I met his wife. I had not picked up on the fact that he was Christian until I entered his house and saw several icons and a cross on the wall. His daughter lives in San Francisco and they are very interested in visiting her more often. I had commented to one of the secretaries that I had, unsuccessfully, tried to buy some of the Omani hats down at the old souq downtown - they wanted more than I wanted to pay - although, typically, I've been regretting I didn't buy about ten. I think the problem is the exchange rate - I've just had too many of them on this trip: it's about $1.30 to one Jordanian Dinar; and around 3 Emirati Dirhams to a dollars; and one Omani Rials equals three US dollars, and one US dollar equals around 200 Hungarian Forints - too much confusion and I was afraid I was being cheated worse than usual so I hesitated - of course, I also almost bought something at the market here in Budapest the other day and thought it was an acceptable bargain at $19, and then redid the math and realized it was actually $190 and quickly bowed out. Anyway, I made this one simple comment to the secretary and it became her life mission to get me some hats - and no amount of argument on my part could change her mind - and she eventually went home and returned with three hats that she had initially bought for her brothers! Again, she wouldn't take no for an answer nor accept any payment. Typical for this amazingly generous part of the world. So, definitely visit Oman - I can't wait to come back.
I found the people to be very friendly and out-going. You actually saw Omani folks working at jobs, which is not something that you are as likely to see in the United Arab Emirates (where the work force is almost entirely legally temporary immigrants, even if they have been there for generations). It was both very exotic, but also very comfortable. The men all wear the traditional white dish dash with very cool hats while the women wear black abayas. I'll use some net-drawn pictures because I haven't been able to download my own pictures yet. There is creeping westernization, to be sure, but the Omanis are very sensitive to it, especially the ecological damage, and clearly don't want to become another Dubai. The funny thing was that the last night Johanna and Francois took me out to eat at a local nice mall as a going away treat, and the mall was alive with young folks in western garb, both men and women. I had not seen any Omanis in western dress all day long until that moment. So, Oman is definitely on the cusp, which is why they're such a natural fit for our Global Module expansion. If we can get in at Sultan Qaboos with this program I think we'll be very well-positioned.
And Sultan Qaboos University. It is only around thirty years old, and is one of the prettiest campuses I have ever seen. It is an odd place because there is absolutely no exchange, unless it is very subtle, between the male and female students - they just pass each other like ghosts. They are not segregated - and there are clubs designed to let them spend time together in regulated activities - but you certainly never saw any guys hitting on girls or vice-versa. Now, what happens at night in the mall, of course, is anybody's guess. Several women, again in their traditional black abayas, went out of their way to come up and talk to me when I was waiting outside a professor's office. They were very friendly and one of the girls actually gave me a poem to read and critique, both the poem and her English (both were quite good). I spent a goodly portion of the day at Sultan Qaboos with George Rishmawi, a great guy. George is a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem, and actually knew some of the folks I've talked to at Bethlehem University and someone I know at the University of Jordan. He invited me back to his house for lunch and I met his wife. I had not picked up on the fact that he was Christian until I entered his house and saw several icons and a cross on the wall. His daughter lives in San Francisco and they are very interested in visiting her more often. I had commented to one of the secretaries that I had, unsuccessfully, tried to buy some of the Omani hats down at the old souq downtown - they wanted more than I wanted to pay - although, typically, I've been regretting I didn't buy about ten. I think the problem is the exchange rate - I've just had too many of them on this trip: it's about $1.30 to one Jordanian Dinar; and around 3 Emirati Dirhams to a dollars; and one Omani Rials equals three US dollars, and one US dollar equals around 200 Hungarian Forints - too much confusion and I was afraid I was being cheated worse than usual so I hesitated - of course, I also almost bought something at the market here in Budapest the other day and thought it was an acceptable bargain at $19, and then redid the math and realized it was actually $190 and quickly bowed out. Anyway, I made this one simple comment to the secretary and it became her life mission to get me some hats - and no amount of argument on my part could change her mind - and she eventually went home and returned with three hats that she had initially bought for her brothers! Again, she wouldn't take no for an answer nor accept any payment. Typical for this amazingly generous part of the world. So, definitely visit Oman - I can't wait to come back.
No comments:
Post a Comment