– Mike Murdock
In an effort to be informative albeit maybe not quite as interesting or eloquent as our previous Blog entries, I’ve decided to give a bit of a run down on a few of the things we encounter in daily life in Muscat.
1) The School:The campus of the school where we work is actually quite impressive. It contains probably the most greenery in one place that we’ve seen here. Although the searing heat has limited my touring of the 1 KM squared campus, from what I’ve seen it is very nice. The fields have grass that feels like turf and the cost to maintain the grounds is astronomical. This is because although labour is extremely cheap in Oman, the grounds must be watered with ‘drinking water’ quality H20 because the fields will be being used by children.
The main entrance is through the doors in the round part of the building (commonly known as the Rotunda). My office is found on the second floor and looks out into the rotunda space and is quite substantial in size as two people used to be in it. Joel’s office, on the other hand, was one of the last office’s to be assigned. My belief is mainly because they were unsure whether to condemn the area due to air-con leakages/ mouldy concrete or because it is actually just the back area of the PE storage room and they weren’t sure where else to stick the new PE guy. Either way he is yet to be hooked with a telephone, no one can find him because you actually have to leave the building to enter his office and he often finds some of the Indian workers from the cleaning staff (fondly referred to by Joel as his new friends) taking ‘siestas’ in his office on their breaks.
2) Grocery Shopping;
One of the first warnings we received regarding this essential part of life was to avoid going between 7PM – 10 PM. Advise we both just assumed was ridiculous because we figured we could overcome any obstacle Oman could throw us. In Oman, it seems that family shopping time is 7-10 PM after they have been to Mosque for prayers following sunset. The result is a ‘high collision zone’ in the parking lot, long lines at the ‘vegetable weigh stations’ and cashiers and basically utter chaos involving too many shopping carts in one place at one time. People are all very friendly though, and to make it though all you need is to breathe deeply and not be in a rush. Needless to say we have adjusted our shopping times and have started following advice we receive.
We shop at two main Grocery chains here. The first is called ‘Lulu’s Hypermarket’ which turns into a giant Las Vegas- style lighted building come sunset. Our ‘on the way’ home grocery store is called Safeer Hypermarket, although not quite as clean or containing as good of a selection, it is well …on the way home. We haven’t had trouble finding any of the things we love from home; they have almost all we need from Doritos to Tostitos Salsa. The only thing sadly missing is really nice fruit and veggies… but go figure we are in the desert. (Oh yeah no perogies either)
3) The Gym:
Most people here become members of a 5-star hotel such as The Intercontinental, The Hyatt or the Radisson for their Gym needs. However, at ~1000$ per person per year, I guess it can be said that we cheaped out and joined a local health club called the Future Gym that is below where some of our co-workers live. It has a Mixed Gym area and a Women’s area. We both find it quite interesting to be in our respective gyms and see the local Omani’s come into the change rooms in their full traditional wear and come out in lycra and tank tops to get their sweat on, especially the women!
4) The Shwarmas!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with these wonderful culinary creations, we suggest you get down to the Middle Eastern/ Lebanese area in your parts and pick yourself up some of these delectable treats. Shwarmas consists of a pita slathered with garlic mayo-y stuff and filled with shavings of meat (either chicken or lamb) that have been roasting on a rotating spit for who knows how long, the occasional French Fry and just enough lettuce to make us believe this is actually better for us than a Big Mac.
There are many of these cafes that serve Swarmas in our neighbourhood but after a good two weeks of careful exploration we have decided on a neighbourhood favourite. It is the Istanbul Reef Cafe where one large (we can only assume) Turkish man sits at a desk outside (a la Godfather style) and barks orders at the men that run from cars and tables taking orders from customers and the large sweaty man that stands beside the roasting meat and creates the swarmas single handedly. They are fast and cheap ~ 70 cents (how can we afford not to.) And since this place is also on our way home, we have often looked at each other on the drive from school and said one word… ‘shwarma’s… and dinner that night is served.
5) Hummus- Sweet - Houmous (However you want to spell it)
From those of you who know me… you may know of my secret love for hummus. It is not beyond me to admit that I have been known on occasion to make a quick stopover from work or school and purchase a vat of hummus and some pita bread and chow the entire vat in one sitting. The only reason this didn’t occur on a daily basis was because of in my opinion the astronomical cost of deli made hummus!!
Well, being one of the best Middle Eastern creations since well oil (?), this stuff comes cheap here! In fact Joel and I purchase the stuff in cans! It has become a great after school treat that I can finally enjoy at 25 cents a can!
