Oman, ready or not, here we come

We are leaving in less than 12 hours. I’m both terrified and exhilarated. I’m nervous and happy. I’m confused and strangely ready. My PDO has been a success. We visited both the Omani Embassy in DC and the Omani Cultural Center. The people there were extremely nice. They are possibly the nicest humans I’ve met in my lifetime. They were so excited to have American students who are going to be living in Oman visit them. At the embassy, they gave us a book about Oman and a map of Muscat, which will be coming in handy VERY soon. At the cultural center, they gave us a story book of traditional Omani stories and an information brochure. The woman who gave the presentation there is an Omani young woman who is studying in the University in Muscat. She gave us a bunch of advice, that I’m sure will be coming in handy soon enough.

This morning, we went to the American Councils center in DC (the Amideast part of it) and got a very long debriefing about the safety and health concerns. We also went over the program rules. One in particular stuck out-do not make any life changing decisions. For some reason, it seemed slightly funny. This program in and of itself will change our lives and our outlook on life (hopefully for the better), so it seems to be a misleading statement (although I do understand what they are trying to communicate—don’t get married, don’t get piercings, don’t get tattoos and so on). Also, we aren’t allowed to hang glide…not that I would ever want to.

We received our Arabic textbooks as well…the most exciting part is that we get to keep them! This way we can—ideally—continue our study of Arabic even when we’re done with NSLI-Y.

So tomorrow at 4pm we are getting to the airport. Our flight is at 7pm. I am beyond excited, although I am slightly hesitant about the flying…I may or may not have an irrational fear of flying. (Ohei it’s 11.11 make a wish!) We’re getting to Muscat on Wednesday night at 9 pm ish, and we are going straight to the hotel, where we can sleep in the apparently unbearable heat..yay!

We are also going to Salalah during our first weekend in Oman (weekends are Thursday Friday in Oman rather than the typical western Saturday and Sunday deal). That should be really exciting, also because there is a festival going on in Salalah during the time in which we’ll be there.

Oh I’m just so excited for everything…..the clothes, the people, the language, the experience, the friendships we’ll form…

Also, Morocco kids, this is for you: all of you guys are absolutely wonderful, and I want to hear all about your trip! It’s annoying that we were placed together, because it’s basically Amideast saying “Oh here, meet all these amazingly wonderful teens that are super accomplished and smart…BUT WAIT, we’re taking them away from you in less than 72 hours” L Have fun in Morocco!

So tomorrow. The big day. Flight at 7pm, getting to Muscat at 9 pm on Wednesday.

Oman, ready or not, here we come!

We're down to single digits

So it's official...we're down to single digits. That means I'm leaving in 9 days. At 6.04 am. I haven't started counting the hours...yet :D
Yesterday I got a wonderful package in the mail...dun dun dun IT'S MY ARABIC DICTIONARY!!!!
WOOOOOT
I'm excited. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but tonight I will. Right now, I am in the midst of packing my bag. I have most of the essentials, but I love procrastinating, so dear reader, be assured, I will be packing the night before I leave...oh well
I also finally sent in my wonderful "student profile" that we needed to fill out in order to be placed in a family accordingly. I really would love to know what my host family is like, but it is possible that we won't know until we are in Oman.

Gifts
I have started getting gifts together for my wonderful host family. So far I have a mix CD that I made last night (it has some French music, Spanish music, American music...a bit of everything), Baci Perugina (which my mother insisted I bring...) and perhaps wind chimes because I cannot think of anything else :P. I need to head downtown and get something San Francisco related though...I think they would enjoy that. To go on my non-existent to do list.

Packing
I am currently packing lightly. A bit too lightly. My mother is making me pack more.... -_-
Annoyedddddd. Oh well. Better more than less, no?
(Aside: I'm listening to the PERFECT station on Pandora. It's all of my favorite music :D )
Oh no now my room smells like sunscreen. I just opened the package with the sunscreen and now everything will be sunscreen smelly... :/ Oh well

Here is my luggage so far. These are most of my clothes...

Just need to put in all the essentials. Joy. Off to find floss, toothpaste and memory cards for my camera.

Also, I had my language test today, the OPI. The person called, and here is how the test went.
Him: "Hello, I will read you the instructions, then you can ask questions"
Me: "Ok!"
Me: (After the instructions were read) "So.....I don't speak any Arabic..."
Him: ".............None at all?"
Me: "None..."
Him: "Ok. Have a wonderful weekend!"

I think I successfully failed that one.
Oy vey.

Back to packing, my wonderful readers!

Oman Vlog #4

It's been a while, here you go!
Oh and I am flying with one girl (Cara) from Houston to DC! We're on the same flight, we think :P

Here comes the agony

The agony? How could ANYONE be in agony whilst waiting to go to Oman, you ask. It's the waiting. I hate waiting. I thought summer would be fun..but I find myself sitting at home doing absolutely nothing. I should really be studying for my wonderful SAT subject tests on Saturday shouldn't I? Oh well. Here comes the 31 days of waiting...and waiting...and waiting. It's 2012, why is there not a machine to transport you into the future? Come on, we have the technology (or at least in my mind we do).
Here are some things that actually pertain to my trip. What a surprise!

• The pre-departure guide is 46 pages...of FUN!!! 
• There is no need to veil up whilst in Oman
• All colors (clothing wise) are acceptable
• We will be going to
   1. Salalah in Dhofar
   2. Jabal Shams and the bedouin village of Nizwa
•  I don't know how I'll be able to keep my vegetarianism up during my stay in Oman
• Not many people know where Oman is
• !! I NEED to get the host family a gift..I totally forgot. Probably a scrap book or something from where I live
• The dress code after/before Ramadan is a bit more relaxed

I'm going to go start figuring out what to give to my host family..and attempt to study for SAT's...yayyy

31 days left! 


P.S: I started learning Arabic using this website. It's really tough. I'm currently learning the alphabet. My goal is that by the time I leave for Oman, I'll know the alphabet. Can I do it? There is no question. I will do it.

Airplane schedule..I think

My wonderful trip schedule. 36 days left :D

More information about the Omani trip?!!!?

So I just had the conference call. It was super informative, and all the girls (and their parents) seemed really nice, so this trip will be fun, and a great experience for all of us.

1. There are a total of 15 girls going, no guys
2. The manual/manuscript/whatever else I've called it/Pre-departure guide (the actual name!) will be coming out this week, or in two weeks
3.  Computers are allowed, so I can continue blogging!!
4. We will be in school (at the Amideast center) for four hours a day, and the rest of the time is spent either interacting with Omani youth, going around Muscat, or...doing homework, not a new thing for Lowell students.
5.  During the weekends, we will be either going around the Muscat area, or in other places in Oman to visit the country and learn more about the Omani culture as a whole.
6. For the first three weeks, we will be staying in a hotel, since we get to Oman about two and a half weeks before the beginning of Ramadan, and finding families that stay in Oman during that time to host us is virtually impossible. During the last three weeks, we will be staying with a host family, one who has either hosted an American student before through YES Abroad, or one that has children that are part of certain Omani youth programs.
7. Skinny jeans=big no no. But on the other hand, in Oman, the average daily temperature during the summer can go well above 110 degrees Fahrenheit...so why would I want to wear skinny jeans? Skirts have to be mid-calf or lower, and no spaghetti strap shirts, you have to always keep the shoulders covered.
8. During Ramadan, we are not expected to fast, but I kind of want to, just to experience Omani culture as a whole. 
9. There's a law in Oman, I can't remember the name, but it has to do with not saying anything derogatory towards Oman or anyone in Oman. I think it's a really interesting law, and I'm not too worried about breaking it. Also, swearing, even out of anger, falls under this law. 
10. We will be flying from Washington DC with United(joynotactuallythough) until Frankfurt, which, in my opinion, isn't a very easy airport to navigate, and from Frankfurt we're transferring to a flight that will bring us to Saudi Arabia, and then from there to Muscat. My mom, being a good Italian asked the program director if they were going to feed us after getting to Oman, apparently they aren't, so I can expect my mother to give me A LOT of food for when we get to Muscat.
11. Also, we're going to be meeting either the Ambassador to Oman (US) or the staff that work in the Embassy in Oman..!!!!!
12. I'm super duper uber excited!!!!!!!! Yea that's about it. 

So I have officially 40 days until I leave for DC, and 43 days until I leave for Oman. 

Oman vlog #3

Well that's an awkward face. Third video-log for Oman!

Not much going on about Oman, yet I feel compelled to write something.
We didn't get the manuals (that's what it's called, not manuscript :P ) yet, I really want to know what's in it!
That's about all. I'll leave you guys with a picture of the main mosque in Muscat.

Rant and Ramble

So we’re actually going to be in Oman for almost all of Ramadan..we’re leaving te day before it ends, which is quite annoying, because apparently on the last day they have mega-big festivities…

This year Ramadan is from the 18^th of July until the 18^th of August..and I love food. I don’t know how well I’ll be able to deal with this..meet cranky food-deprived Ariel, Oman!
Naw it’ll be an eye opening experience, and to tell the truth, I’ve always wanted to go during Ramadan. Iftar is the breaking of the fast, which I assume means..LOTS AND LOTS OF FOOD!!! I was talking to my aunt, who just came back from Oman because she was working at the university there, and she said the food is delicious…so I’m definitely looking forward to that

Muscat, Oman, is a city of trade. They have a population of approximately 730,000 people. Oman has universal suffrage for those over the age of 21, which is a very unique thing for most Arab states.  Women can also hold a position in a government office, which is a first. Three women were recently elected into the Omani government. The sultan, Qaboos bin Said al Said, keeps Oman as a neutral country and upholds good relations with different countries including Iran, America and Britain.

I got an email yesterday, and our conference call with all the participants will be in late May…I'm really excited :P