OMAN

Driving to Oman

Coconuts on the way to Oman

more streets

Starfish we found in the water

the pool at hotel

our little room

beach

 Country's flag

 The Dhow boats

 On the boat...upstairs

The place we snorkeled

Snorkeling

We took a weekend trip to Dibba, Oman...Just about a 4 hour drive to the tip of Oman, right above the UAE. It was very relaxing and beautiful. The border was very quick and easy to cross, and a we just got a bit lost on the way to the hotel.  We stayed at a little resort called Golden Tulip. It had a pool and beach and was in the middle of no where...nothing around to walk to but mountains and beach. It was very tranquil. We saw fish, hermit crabs, starfish, and manta ray. On Saturday, we took a boat trip on the traditional Middle Eastern boat called a Dhow. We went snorkeling, fishing, and ate lunch. It was heaven. Below are some pictures/videos from the trip. Hope all is well. School is starting to settle down here. I have a student teacher from the local college who is really helpful because she can translate into Arabic for the girls. She is also helping me with the class...don't necessarily feel like I am the best mentor for her..because this is all new for me too:) but it has been good.

September

Finally moved in the apartment and started school. Things are still a bit chaotic..but will hopefully settle down soon. I teach at a rural school (seems to be my theme) about 30 minutes away from where I live, on the way to Al Ain. Many similarities to the rural school that I was at in AZ.  Great staff of teachers, 800 girls grade 1-5. I am teaching 1st again, though they are similar to Kindergarten or even preschool in the states. We are currently learning to write our names, and sit in our desk. Arabic and English have very little similarities so immersing them in bilingualism is a challenge.  The letters are extremely different, and they read from right to left instead of left to right like us.  I have 2 classes of 20 girls. One for half of the day, then a 30 minute break (not lunch here...the girls bring candy and junk food from home, eat and run around for a bit) and then another class in the afternoon. The whole school (800 girls) takes break at the same time, with no staggering of grade levels...and no adult supervision. If you can only imagine what it looks like! So we just take them to the cafeteria, and run for our lives. 
My apartment is beautiful. Brand new building..2 bedrooms, 2 bath.  It's like being in college again; almost the whole building is teachers. There are 4 high rise buildings that have been bought out by the employer to house those of us in the city. The only problem is they had to rush to finish for our arrival, so some things are still in the process...like missing lights, constant construction. We are still running off a generator.  We were given an allowance to furnish the apartment, including all utilities..Which was hard at first, but was fun getting to buy all new stuff. I am saving, so I went with the cheapest I could find...including a small fridge, little oven, but it’s nice to be able to design it on your own. Now that I'm settled in…..always welcome to visitors!

 Courtyard of school

 My favorite sign

 Another odd sign

 School wear

 Abaya for school

 Apartment

Rooftop pool:)

 
 Futute rooftop gym..

Apartment

Dubai Mall

Took a trip to a mall in Dubai. Takes about 1 1/2 hours on the bus..or hour in a fast cab home:) We wanted to take the tour to the top of the Buj Khalifa, which is the tallest building in the world!...but you have to book a days in advance, or pay a high price. ..will do later. This mall was gorgeous and huge! Three floors, a 2 story aquarium in the center, ice rink, movie theatre, amusement park, and restaurants.  We even ate at Chili's..after 7 of course because no food places were open until sunset. If you wanted to drink water, you had to do it in the bathroom. It was hard too, because there were chocolate stores everywhere! Seems to be a theme. There was also every store you could imagine..most all the ones from home as well. Now I can see why they warned us about spending all our furniture allowance on shopping;)...but I was good, no worries.  My favorite part was the aquarium. It was just in the middle of the mall, as decoration.  There were all types of fish, sharks, and manta rays/stingrays...very peaceful.

Shark

 Could'nt fit

 lots of chocolate

Grand Mosque and Henna

http://www.visitabudhabi.ae/en/what.to.do/mosques.and.other.places.of.worship/sh.zayed.mosque.aspx

 Real gold

For Grams

Desert Safari

 Erika in traditional dress

Desert safari...took the land rovers through the desert for about an hour..then stopped for camel rides, dinner, and hookah....very nice evening.