So much for weekly updates…

Next door to our property, there is massive construction going on. In December, they managed to destroy our internet cables in their building process. This resulted in us having no wifi. Doing everything including image uploading is very challenging using a phone’s hotspot and so all blogging was put on hold. As we have discovered, nothing in Oman moves quickly and so it has taken two months to get technicians out and only 20 minutes for them to fix the problem. Wifi is back on!

In the meantime, much has been happening in Oman and in our lives. My first week in Oman was surprisingly busy. Mom had done a good job of telling interested friends that I can tutor and as my plans for this year are a little ‘unplanned’, I would require work to get me through the next few months. It took 2 days before I had my first tutoring position. He is a 15 year old young boy who requires extra help with chemistry, biology and physics. His marks are good but his Dad wants him to truly excel. A challenging case because I find I am expanding his knowledge and not reviewing it. These lessons are three times a week, an hour each.

Not long after this, we meet up with a friend who has a daughter who also requires some help with her school subjects and some general ‘big sister’ love and attention. I see her as often as I can, sometimes for anything from an hour to four hours, where we go through her work and make sure she understands every detail. We are aiming for her mock exams end of March – holding thumbs!

There are many Muscat sites on Facebook that you can join to find out general information and ask questions. After a week or so of my arrival, my sister came across a post asking for a South African tutor who would be interested in home-schooling her Grade 11 daughter as they are immigrating to Oman from SA. Lolly put my name forward and the lady and I met over coffee to discuss if this could work. I made her aware I have no professional teaching qualifications but many years of experience and she has decided that we should go for it and see how it goes. This will be my biggest challenge yet and will be a proper job for 6 months or so. This has many perks aside from the awesome experience that this offers. But in addition to that, it comes with a salary and I will get a work visa to stay in Oman. So it seems, killing many birds with one stone. We will start mid-April, on their arrival.

Once you are living here in Oman, you are meeting people all the time. This goes for anywhere in the Middle East. Here, it is not what you know, but who you know. So you want to know or be connected to everyone. These affiliations have brought about my English tutoring that I do once a week at an institute here with Omani children. I have a class of 20 between ages 6 to 12. And I know all their names! Not because I wanted to but because they are so naughty that if I cannot stop them mid movement, my class becomes very rowdy. Apparently I have ‘that class’ and everyone gives me sympathetic smiles each Thursday. My first lesson was nothing short of crazy. I had a soft toy thrown at me whilst writing on the board, two boys swapping names and I was introduced to twins whose parents named them the same. Yes, twins with the SAME name: Nasser and Naser. The slightest of slight difference in pronunciations and the naughtiest of boys. Each week I have been at the institute, I have to relearn which is which, based on their clothing for the lesson. But aside from naughties, I have some great kids. And it pays!

My first weekend in Oman, there was a rock concert called Sandstock that was happening at a secret location in the desert. It has been a few years running and apparently is quite the festival. So there was no way we were going to miss it, so off we went. Road tripping here in Muscat is lovely. You have mountains one side and the sea on the other with long straight roads. Unlike other Middle Eastern countries, you have to drive to find the desert. On arrival at the entry to the desert, I saw a baby camel. What a treat. They are quite fluffy and as we know, anything in baby form is adorable.

Arriving at Sandstock, we found a great campsite for the night. Not too far from the stage, but far enough that we wouldn’t have to worry about someone falling onto our tent. Lolly and I volunteered to be a part of the cleaning crew (meeting people!) and we got a free t-shirt! By the time the sun disappeared, there must have been a good 500 cars and over 3000 people. What a turnout for a concert that was organised without Facebook and by word of mouth with email. The music was great and many great bands played the classics for us as we danced the night away. Met some good people and recognised a few from previous encounters. For anyone who doesn’t know, the desert gets very cold at night. So cold, that you could need slops a.k.a. flip flops (I have learnt that slops is a South African term) and a decent jersey a.k.a. jumper. So cold, that I was very grateful to be sharing a tent with my sister as the one blanket we brought with just didn’t cut it.

The next morning, armed with our black bags, we went around picking up little bits of rubbish along with the other volunteers. One bag each was enough as most people were really good about keeping the desert clean. On our departure from the desert, everyone stops to inflate their tyres and stock up on snacks for the drive home. We also have a compulsory drink that we get. It is called Cardamom tea. And for everyone that visits, the moment you land, I will treat you. It is a delicious hot drink unlike anything you have tasted. The cups are very small however and so, often we end up buying two a person. Just like the Milo drinks – one is never enough.

As some of you may know, Ed Sheeran is performing in Muscat on the 27^th February and we are all going. It is an exciting time because not many artists come to Oman, with Dubai being next door as their first choice. So with his coming arrival, there have been auditions to be his opening act at a restaurant here in Muscat. I went along and auditioned two weeks in a row. What a thrill to be behind the microphone again! Not much is more exhilarating than standing behind a microphone demanding attention with just your voice. Albeit unsuccessful in the audition process, the journey has re-ignited a hidden passion for music that took a backseat whilst pursuing a scientific career. So my gorgeous blue guitar now lives next to my bed and I am starting to perfect some of my favourite songs with the aim of learning and writing many more. Yet another positive outcome is the meeting of people in the music industry here. Now friends, I have sung with them at their gigs with the promise of potentially getting more involved as time goes. Definitely adding to an all-round experience here in Muscat!

Every weekend there are events organised by fellow expats or locals with a couple events during the week. Last weekend, we were invited to go for a braai a.k.a. barbeque and a beach sleepover. We opted out of the beach sleepover as we had other arrangements but joined the gang (picture below) for a fun-filled beach day. Everyone meets at a point and off we go in convoy. Now, for Africans, you will know that there is something called ‘African time’ and I have been teased with ‘Tin time’ as often I arrive late and ‘in my own time’. Well, us Africans have nothing on the people here. There is a thing called ‘Omani time’ where some people arrived an hour and a half late to the meeting point. Everyone here is in no rush to get anywhere and everyone always smiles. So the best solution is to just go with the flow and drink Cardamom tea while you wait!

With this, we start another weekend here in Muscat. We have an Ed Sheeran concert to look forward to and some friendly get togethers. The Dusi Canoe Marathon 2016 count down officially begins and it’s a year to go before I tackle the 3-day race in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Training starts this next week as I have been fighting flu amongst all other things recently. Almost at the end of February and I hope that all of you reading this are on track to reach your goals and achieve your dreams for 2015.