a fond farewell to sandy

Friday, April 13: Tonight we go out to the Turkish restaurant in Nizwa for a farewell dinner for Sandy, Malcolm’s wife.  Malcolm and Sandy have been married a long time, and for many years of their marriage they’ve lived apart.  Malcolm spent 10 years working in Saudi Arabia and in other places, while Sandy has kept their home in Britain. For about six years, while their children were young, they both lived together in Turkey.  They share my love for Turkey and Sandy can even speak some Turkish, which she’s happy to be able to practice at this restaurant.  She teaches Theater Arts at St. Helens College and I can see how she would be an excellent teacher.  She’s creative, smart, fun-loving, energetic and lively.  I’m sure her students adore her.

Malcolm & Sandy at the Turkish restaurant

I only met Sandy for the first time when she came to visit Malcolm over Christmas here in Oman.  When I met her, I took an immediate liking to her.  This says a lot for me, because I don’t warm up easily to women.  Maybe because I had a difficult relationship with my mother, I have always stood back and let women make an effort with me; if they don’t make that effort first, I generally keep my head down and go on my merry way.  I don’t know why that is so; it simply is.  Don’t get me wrong, I have longtime girlfriends, especially a group from high school, Rosie, Louise, Charlene and Martha, and my closest friend Jayne, another Brit. When I went to Egypt in July, 2007 I became close friends with Lisa, a Pennsylvanian-turned-Muslim. Again, it was Lisa’s outgoing and fun-loving personality, and her confidence in an easy alliance with me, that made us friends.  These are my dearest friends and you can see I count them on fewer than two hands!

Sandy and me at the Turkish restaurant

I feel around Sandy like I feel with my nearest and dearest friends, even though we’ve known each other only briefly.  When she arrived in Oman this time, she came with gifts in hand: the book Odyssey with the Goddess, because she knew I was planning a trip to Greece, the DVD of Shirley Valentine, and some wildflower seeds.  She also presented me with a book I asked her to pick up for me in Britain, One Thousand Chestnut Trees by Korean author Mira Stout.  Later still, she presented me with another book: Unsuitable for Ladies: An Anthology of Women Travellers by Jane Robinson.

It isn’t because of the gifts that I like her, although that’s an added benefit!! It’s because of her thoughtfulness and a general affinity that we share.  We can see things clearly as they are, and we can openly talk about these things.  We have a similar outlook on many issues.  She believes in the power of women, and is against the subjugation of women, as am I.  We share a similar sense of humor and a sense of awe; we are similarly critical of problems and inconsistencies in people that we can see.

Sometimes you cannot put your finger on why you like someone.  Sometimes it’s just how you feel when you’re in their company.  With Sandy, I feel I can be myself, and that’s all okay.  She’s not judgmental; she’s encouraging.  I feel we are part of a mutual admiration society.

Sadly, Sandy takes off Saturday night for home.  Malcolm will go to Britain to visit her and their family this summer for 6 weeks, during his annual leave.  But I won’t see her again until she comes back to Oman next December.  It will be a long eight months…. 😦

Fare thee well, my friend! 🙂

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a morning walk through the dusty town of firq

Friday, March 23:  This morning I start my walk at 8:00 a.m., a little late here in Oman because it is now baking hot outside as soon as the sun comes up.  I usually walk along my little 4km walking trail, but this morning I decide to walk up the main road through Firq, the town adjoining Nizwa, where all the businesses are lined up on either side of the road.  I don’t normally think this an interesting walk, but I think my readers might like to see the kinds of businesses that operate in this town.

the al diyar hotel

It has been very dusty weather here in the last 4 days.  There’s a constant haze in the air, causing many of my colleagues to suffer with respiratory problems. Luckily I’ve been spared.  I wonder if this dusty haze is because we haven’t had any rain in a good long while.  The last time I experienced rain in Oman was in early November, right before the Eid.  When I went to Salalah in late January with my sons, I heard there was some rain in Muscat, but where I was driving through the Empty Quarter, there was not a drop in sight.

White pick-up trucks or SUVs are the order of the day in Oman, because of the heat and they don't show the dust so much.

Can you imagine this?  In a place where there is little vegetation and an abundance of rocks and dirt, it’s no wonder there isn’t a constant dust haze in the air.  I don’t know how long this will last, but it isn’t pleasant, I’ll tell you that.

the Shell station where most of us stop for petrol and Nawras (phone or internet) cards

I’m not sure you can see the haze in the air in these pictures.  The one with the Nissan truck above shows it.  Usually Oman has clear blue skies and not a single cloud.

a typical Omani restaurant where mostly men eat, so I haven't gone here

I park my car at the Al Diyar hotel, the first place I stayed upon my arrival in Nizwa.  I start my walk, past the Nissan dealership, then past the Majan car wash and the Shell station where most of us stop for petrol or Nawras (phone or internet) cards.  Then I pass a colorful little restaurant where I’ve never eaten.

Majan FURNITURES

Majan FurnitureS is the furniture store used by the university to furnish our flats.  This is where I bought my purple futon.  I love how sometimes non-English speakers make plurals out of non-count nouns.

Bank Muscat

Bank Muscat is the bank of choice for the university. Our salary is paid into our accounts here.  This particular branch houses the ATM machine that double-charged me for a 100 rial withdrawal ($270 twice, or $540, when I only got $270!!).  What a hassle that was, but I finally got reimbursed!!

the Falaj Daris Hotel

The Falaj Daris Hotel is the nicest hotel in town, with two pools, a poolside restaurant, a bar that caters to Westerners, and a gym.  Attached to one side of the hotel is an Arab bar and a Hindi bar.  I’ve spent many nights here meeting friends or colleagues for a drink or two.  I know I can come here to escape the loneliness that is part and parcel of the expat life.

flowers along the way

the mountains along the road in the haze

the Turkish restaurant, one of the few decent restaurants in Nizwa

Many nights we sit outside at the Turkish restaurant at plastic chairs and tables set up in the parking lot, with a football game on the big screen.  Now that it’s getting hot, we probably won’t be doing this much.

it's a Friday morning, like Sunday morning in the USA, and most businesses are closed, with metal gates across the doors

I discover a little park and playground I've never seen before

Oman United Insurance

used furniture for sale

pretty trucks all lined up in a row

one of the University of Nizwa buses

the Toyota dealer where I bought my 2008 GMC Terrain

I finish my walk about 9:30, drenched in sweat.  After a shower, I put on my pajamas and stay inside my flat the rest of the day, where I nap and dream of flowers and trees and rain….. 🙂

guido comes to nizwa

Tags

Nizwa, Oman, Travel

Saturday, December 3:  I drive to work from Muscat early on Saturday morning and leave Guido behind to explore Muscat on his own.  I give him instructions on how to take a shared taxi to Nizwa from the clock tower roundabout, and he shows up near my house at around 4:30, soon after I get off work.

guido at the nizwa souq

Tonight I’m exhausted from getting up so early, so we simply go to visit the Nizwa Souq, where we wander companionably among the shops.

sitting outdoors at the Turkish restaurant

We have a fun time just browsing.  I’m looking for some jewelry for my daughter Sarah for Christmas, and he’s looking for a little Omani flag pin to put on a hat where he pins all his travel flags.  I come across a little bookstore where I find several books I want on Oman, but one in particular is Oman Off-Road.  I know I want this book, but I say I’ll wait until payday.  I’ve been traveling so much in November that I don’t want to spend one cent unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Guido at the Turkish restaurant

I point out the Nizwa Fort so Guido will know how to get here tomorrow, while I’m at work. I also speak by phone to one of the many taxi drivers I have in my telephone contact list about taking Guido tomorrow to Al Hoota Cave, Bahla and Jabrin Castle, all of which I’ve already been to see. They want to charge him an outrageous 20 rials (>$50) for this trip, which is no more than 100 km of driving and no more than 3 hours.  I think this is highway robbery but he’s willing to pay because it’s his vacation.

After our walk around the souq, we have dinner at Al-Masharef Turkish Foods, a little Turkish dive restaurant in Nizwa where I eat quite frequently.  There we sit at the white plastic tables on a wide expanse of asphalt parking lot.  He orders some Fish Tikka and I order a variety plate of hummus, baba ghanoush, and tabouleh with pita bread.  It’s delicious as always, despite the restaurant’s decidedly unglamorous setting.

my delicious meal at the Turkish restaurant

Sunday, December 4:  Sadly, I have to work all day today, but while I’m at work, Guido visits Nizwa Fort, Al Hoota Cave, Bahla Fort (which he can only see from the outside because it’s closed for renovation), and Jabrin Castle.  While at the Nizwa souq complex near the Fort, he says a Pakistani man tells him he has beautiful blue eyes!

In the evening when I get off work, we go across the street to the Falaj Daris Hotel, the favorite watering hole for all the expats in Nizwa.  We drink wine and chat, or rather Guido chats and I nod as if I understand.  We eat a nice dinner there and as we’re leaving I run into my friend Lazina from the College of Applied Sciences.  She is sitting with an Omani man named Mohammed who she often hires to do tours throughout Oman.  He tells me to call him Moo.  I think, Voila!  Here is the man who can take Guido to see some of Oman while I’m at work the next couple of days.  I ask him about Jebel Akhdar, where I am planning to take Guido tomorrow, Monday, after my class ends at 1:00.  Moo says we could come up the mountain and spend the night at his flat and he can take Guido hiking on Tuesday. I take his phone number and resolve to call him tomorrow.

We come back to my flat where we sit and watch my favorite Italian movie, Bread and Tulips.  I figure this will keep him quiet for a while plus make him feel at home.  I’ve seen the movie so many times, I fall asleep on the couch halfway through.