- Rita Rudner
This blog is much shorter than usual but we just wanted to send you a quick note of good news. After several years together Tina and I got engaged on the evening of Feb. 19th. I know, I know, most of you are rolling your eyes saying “about time buddy”.
I took Tina on a surprise trip to her favourite spot in Oman in the very south of the country - the city of Salalah. At sunset we went to our favourite white sand dunes that crash into the turquoise Indian Ocean. With a blind fold on I told her to wait a few minutes and then follow my foot prints. Sounds nice, but very poorly executed. I peeked over the dunes to see Tina walking in the opposite direction, thrown off by all the camel prints. Thankfully, with a few shouts she got back on course.
Since I am a terrible shopper I opted to propose in a slightly different way and do the heavy buying together later. Previously, I had an Omani man take me through the old market and select special antique Omani wedding rings for each finger. They each have unique meaning.
Thankfully she said yes.
In true Oman form, moments later as we stood on our isolated sand dune a Bedouin man came racing towards us out of nowhere. After finding out what we were doing he offered us his rings too and drove off declaring Oman our country. I don’t think he has the authority to grant such a gift but the gesture was nice.
We enjoyed a special dinner on the beach that night and spent the next few days relaxing in the southern region.
In the weeks previous we have been busy with varying work duties. Tina helped put on an Aladdin production and then we each took separate student groups out on week-long trips in the country. Tina ventured into the mountains on a multi-day hike and camp trip. I took students down south for five days. Many of the pictures on the side of this entry are of the scenery, camels and rugged mountain people from the latter trip.
We are glad now to be back in Muscat, rested and happy to share our news with all of you.
