I guess this is the end. Or the beginning. However you want to see it

So..
I don't know what to do with this blog anymore.
It was used alot during the summer, but now there's nothing to write about.

I don't think I will be updating this blog anymore.
Well maybe I will with my decisions on what to apply for with NSLI-Y in these coming weeks, but other than that, I don't think I will.

Insha'allah, next year I will be using this again if I decide to go abroad.

So remember, don't stop at dreaming, make those dreams come true!

Shukran wa ma'a salama,  habibti!

Back in the fog

So I'm back home.









Yea.
This is the hardest post to write, so forgive me if it goes on forever.

Yesterday Omani time we got on the plane in Muscat, and said goodbye to Hannah, Katy, and the rest of Amideast staff as well as our host families. It was a really hard goodbye, but not as hard as the ones that followed. We flew from Muscat to Riyad, and in Riyad, the plane was filled with Saudis and other people flying to Frankfurt. I finally got around to watching the Avengers, and I spent the whole time either watching the Avengers, talking with Lily or sleeping. Finally, we got to Frankfurt, and had a wonderful five hour layover. We got through security just fine, and sat around for five hours.

I think we left on time, I can't quite remember. On the way from Frankfurt to DC I sat next to a Palestinian woman who had studied in Jordan. She had just come back from there witth her daughters and son. We talked alot, and in the end, she gave me her contact info and told me if I was ever in Jordan to go visit her.


We touched down in DC an hour earlier than expected, and we got off the plane. Five minutes after we got off the plane, it came time to say goodbye to the three girls who were ending in DC and Fatin. This was very difficult because Lily and Sarah and I had bonded so much, and they were staying in DC. I almost cried, but thankfully I didn't. Just wait though, I'm not a heartless person, I did cry later on.

We got through customs fine, nothing very exciting happened, no one got stopped. My flight left at 5.30, so I had time to kill. Me along with some other girls had later flights, so we said goodbye to those who had to leave right away...
I don't know how I managed to hold up. But I did.

Around 4.30, I had to go board, and thats when the harder goodbyes were. It wasn't that saying goodbye to those girls was harder, it was that I was actually leaving, and this trip was over. As I boarded my final plane to go home, I started crying. Thats when the floodgates broke open and the tears came running out. I'm pretty sure the flight attendants were very confused as to why I was crying.

Well. Then I got home, and that's the end of that adventure. I haven't decided if I will keep blogging ( I don't know what I would blog about) but this blog will still be here. Insha'allah I will go abroad again, and use this blog in the future.

مع سالامة عمان

احبك جدا

I've managed to pack everything that is solid into my suitcase.

It's true. I don't know how I managed at all, given the amount of stuff that I've bought. I can't pack my emotions and memories though, that would take more than the surface area of the entire globe.
As I was packing yesterday, I realized that I needed a carry on, because I only brought my backpack (stupidly, yes mom, I should have listened to you). So I mentioned this to my host family, and they gave me a bright green and bright blue duffle bag, that fits everything. Despite its color (those used to be my favorite colors, I have a pair of bright green jeans, believe it or not), this duffle bag will be a reminder of my host family, one of the many. They've been so nice and sweet and helpful to me during these three weeks. I can't believe that my time in Oman is coming to close. It's exciting, because I get to come back home with a fresh perspective on everything, and sad because I'll be leaving all the friends and people I've met here. Insha'allah, I will come back and spend more time in this wonderful timeless country.

I've learned so much about Omani culture, Islam, American culture, and so much about myself that I cannot believe how much a brain can hold. Before leaving for this trip, my friends and family kept telling me that I would be different when I came back, having experienced many different emotions and seen diverse ways of life. I didn't believe them; I knew that I wouldn't change at all because I was so sure of who I was. But I did change (I know that if you were one of those individuals, you're probabaly thinking "told you so"), and I changed alot. I cannot begin to explain how, because I don't know how much I've changed, this shows you how little I knew myself before hand. And yes, I am going cliche here, the typical "I found myself on an exchange program" feeling. I didn't "find" myself per se, but I did learn alot more about myself, and what I actually enjoy and want to learn, now what I thought I wanted to learn and thought I liked.

The 14 girls I was placed with have also changed the way I think and act. At first they were strangers, then classmates, the friends, and finally, family. They have taught me so much about themselves, myself, life and laughter. The memories will never be forgotten, and the time we spent together will be cherished forever.

Hannah, you are truly an amazing person for putting up with the 15 buckets of crazy that you were handed. You put up with us through sickness and health (literally) as well as tears and smiles. You made this trip very worthwhile and fun, adding your own zest to it.

Amideast (Katy, Fatin, Zainab, Steve); you guys were the backbone of this program, and you guys made it happen. I cannot thank you enough. You guys helped with everything, and made this program run smoothly and made it an adventure for everyone.

So ma salama Oman, the country that I have fallen in love with. I will return (insha'allah), so be prepared for me. The aspiring polyglot will not settle for one trip to this wonderful country.

Too close to be true

Today I had the last part of my final.

Today we said goodbye to out FGLL teachers

Today is my third to last day in Oman, and I'm not ready to leave.

I realize that I've taken my time here very much for granted, and I'm starting to regret not living in the moment. On the other hand, I never live in the moment, no matter how hard I try.
Our FGLL teachers prepared a video for us, and boy, did I cry. We all cried, and then they gave us a stuffed animal (a camel) and a frankincense burner. It was like Niagra Falls in there. No lie. Everyone was crying, but then again I think it had to do with the amount of estrogen in the room, given there were all girls.

After this, I went to a salon with a few other girls (as our afternoon activity). I went last night to get a haircut with my host sister, it was only 2 riyals, which is super cheap. But today, I decided to do a "deep condition". Basically, they put this chocoalte goop in my hair after washing it, and it makes the hair healthier? Well, my hair now smells delicious, and I want to eat it. Not my hair, but the smell. Ya know what I mean? It just smells so good. And normally at home I am the last person to care about hair care, but here with the super extra chlorinated water, my hair has gone bezerk. So the deep condition really helped.

Tomorrow henna and presentations, our second to last day in Oman.

I don't know how to deal with not seeing this 15 girls every single day when I get back, it will be extremely strange. I miss them already when I'm with my host family...ohboy.

Anywho, off to sleep (when we finally get home, I'm at an aunts house right now), crying makes people exhausted.

Bye!

Living the life

I am exhausted. I can't even explain why, I just am.
It's 3 days until departure, and I can't stomach the feeling of leaving this country.

I took the first part of my final today, and tomorrow is the speaking part. I am really not that worried, just very exhausted. On this trip, I've joked about sweating in places I didn't know could sweat (ie bottom of feet) but I'm being completely serious. I can't believe these seven weeks is almost over.
Tonight we went to dinner with our teachers, and it was really really fun. I talked with some of my friends about Harry Potter and the different ships we agree with. I think that's the most fun I've had in a long time. It's not that I haven't been having fun, it's that I really just needed someone to talk to about things that remind me of home.
Also, I've finally got my stuffie back from the hotel where I left it. Yes, I'm not ashamed. I brought a stuffie (stuffed animal) because I wanted something that would remind me of home. Finally have it back :D

I finished packing, this seems too real. I can fit everything into my suitcase, just not the emotions and experiences and memories I have, there is no way I can stuff those into one suitcase. Those are worth a lifetime and the lessons I've learned are worth ten lifetimes.

I apologize for the short post, but as I have mentioned, I am exhausted and I am going to get my haircut!! After the cousins leave, of course. Family is truly everything here.

PS. Maya and I got a lot of sari fabrics, now we just need to learn how to tie it.

Goodnight!

8 days left

gotta love the awkward thumbnails. And all the ones that youtube allowed me to choose from were awkward. No luck there

I am completely aware that my Arabic is not very good..please don't make fun of it! Thanks :)

10 days

I'm so sorry for not posting more, but I've been doing so much (actually its mostly me sleeping and studying and working on college apps)..hence I haven't really been able to post.

So now that I'm with my host family, life is a bit more like it is back home. Given, it's nowhere near the same, but I do feel like I'm in a family. After the first three days (in Oman, after three days of living with a family/someone Omani, you are no longer considered a guest), i was able to wash the dishes, help out around the house, and feellike I actually belonged. We went to visit various family members/friends, because one thing Omanis love to do during Ramadan is go out and visit people. We went to one of the host sisters friends house for Iftar, and we ate SO much. The food was delicious, but it was also alot. Then two days ago, their ama (aunt from the dad's side) came to eat Iftar at our place. They have three sons, one is 17, he wants to either study chemical engineering or medicine, and the other is 15, he doesn't know what he wants to study. And two daughters, one is 13 and will begin high school this year, and the other one is about Joud's age (my youngest host sister), so about 10. The older brothers went to England to study English during one summer I believe, so their English is really good, but they REFUSED to talk to me. OK ok, you can say it's cultural, meaning that they rarely interact with girls that aren't family, but still! It's so strange for someone who has guy friends, because I don't see them as any different. In the end, the 15 year old started talking to me, and we talked about the US and what he wants to study, what I want to study and so on.

Yesterday, out FGLL (facilitated group language learning) teachers brought us ice skating. One thing you have to know about me and ice skating: I used to be really bad, meaning I couldn't and wouldn't let go of the wall, but then one day I did, and fell. So now I'm more comfortable and really like to ice skate, when I get a chance to, which is very rarely. Anyways, yesterday we went ice skating. At first it was fun cause it was only us on the rink and in the center place, but about half way through this group of guys came in and just started watching us. OK, I would understand watching some strangers ice skate for a couple minutes, but not for like an hour. It was very b'nefsegi (awkward) because they weren't even pretending to look at their phones, they were just straight out staring at us. Oy vey. But it was fun nontheless.

Oh also, as we were driving back home, I asked our driver (all in Arabic) if maybe today we could stop by the hotel to pick something up because I forgot something there, and he understood me...after about five minutes of me repeating myself :)

Also, regarding post cards, I have them...but I will not send them because they will arrive..maybe if we're lucky in december. So I will mail them from my house when I get back.

School. School. School. We haven't gotetn back our midterms ( :( ) so I have no idea how I did, and we got a new teacher!!! His name is Sultan, and he only speaks Arabic to us, which is better than Wafa (aka Wafooy), who got fired last week....awkward...
She was a good teacher, but she had never taught before so despite her attempts to have us learn different words, no one ever remembered them. So our new teacher is pretty much a boss, also because he acted with Faisal (our other teacher) in college and today we saw a clip of him acting...it was way too funny. So I really like our teachers, and in all honesty, they are the best language teachers I've ever had..in any lanugage.

Sleep. I feel so sleep deprived sometimes. Here it's normal to stay up until odd hours of the night beacuse people have to eat suhour (my host mom wont let me fast if i dont :( ) which is at about 3.30 am. And then they sleep until 2pm the next day. Due to the fact that I have school, I can't sleep in that much, so as a result, I've been getting very minimal amounts of sleep. Yay. AND OHMYGOODNESS COLLEGE APPS YOU ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY. Yes, I am one of those people that needs to start them early because if I don't, I will never finish them. So I;ve started, and as I'm attempting to write my personal statements, my host sister Ola asks me if I'm done, because in her mind I should be done writing an essay in one night. Who wouldn't? She also thinks it's absurd to have to go through this extremly intense process of applying to college, and then having to pay for it as well (take note, American colleges)! In Oman, you make a list of about 40 colleges and majors you would like to do and send that in to the government. If you have the higher marks in your classes (aka A students), the government hands out scholarships to go abroad. FO instance, my host sister Ola is going to the UK to study translation. This wasn't her first choice, but she still has a completely paid scholarship to study in the UK. She will stay with a family, so room and board are covered, her books are covered, everything is paid for by the government. Now, when I'm posed with the question "why doesn't the US do this?", I always have to explain that the US, unlike Oman, has many people. Not almost 3 million people, but way way more people, so the government would go into ENORMOUS debt paying for all of our schools.

Oh Oh the day before yesterady, we had a lecture on Omani politics. It was perhaps the most interesting lecture I've ever had. I cannot sum it up in a few words and I have to get to class soon, so I'll jsut tell you that we were lectured by a political science professor and he also used to work in the government, so he for sure knew what he was talking about.

So that's what I've been up to. I'll try to remember to write some more later on.

Ma Salama!

On a side note, EVERYTHING I own smells like frankincense. No joke.