christmas.in.oman

Being an Expat in a Muslim country, we tend to make a huge effort to get into the Christmas festivities because no one wants to forget the fun festivities that Christmas brings. Luke and I put up our Christmas tree yesterday and this is what it looks like: 

Of course there are no presents under the tree yet, but we will start filling it up with presents. I am very proud of our tree and I am happy to have a touch of Christmas in out home.



the.snake.story.continued.

Luke received this email from the Australian zoo after he sent the photos of the snake to them to identify what kind of snake our little garden snake is.... well here it is:

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Info <info@australiazoo.com.au>
To: lukebaskit@yahoo.com
Sent: Fri, October 29, 2010 7:01:37 AM
Subject: RE: [Fwd: FW: Luke Bassett]

Dear Luke,

Thank you for your email. I believe this is a Schokari sand racer
(Psammophis schokari). The Schokari sand racer has a variable colouration
and patterning, Three main colour forms are recognised: a striped form,
which has four dark, longitudinal stripes running over the upperparts; a
non-striped form, which is either unmarked or lightly dotted; and a
rear-striped from, with dark, longitudinal stripes only on the posterior
part of the body, which merge towards the anterior. The background
colouration is generally olive, tan or beige and there are also often dark
stripes running from the snout, past the eyes, to the rear of the head. This
variation in colouration and markings is believed to be an adaptation to the
particular environment that individual specimens occupy.

We would not recommend you catching or handle the snake, and strongly
suggest you use a qualified snake handler is you wish to remove the snake.

Thank you once again,

Kind Regards-

International Correspondent | Australia Zoo
Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah, QLD 4519
Ph: (07) 5436 2000 | Intl. Ph: +617 5436 2000
Fax: (07) 5494 8604 | Intl. Fax: +617 5494 8604
Email: info@australiazoo.com.au
Web: www.australiazoo.com.au

Steve Irwin Day November 15 - Steve Irwin was one man. ONE man can make a
difference. YOU can make a difference._________

After that email we decided to do some more research on the snake and this is what we found:

Basically we need to be very careful when trying to catch this snake. I am not looking forward to it and I think that we should get rid of this little bugger soon!

(Info from this website)



a.fishermans.experience.

Luke and I took Friday to the beach yesterday - Friday is her day so we always try and do something fun with her! She loves the beach, running around and swimming in the sea - it's a great way to get rid of some of her energy. While we were on the beach, the local fisherman were bringing in their fishing nets and it was a very interesting thing to witness. It took them about an hour to pull in the entire net which takes up a long portion of the beach. It is amazing to see everyone in the family working; from the young sons to the old grey grandpa - they are all involved and each have their own duties that need to be done. The whole thing is rather sad because they killed about 200kg's of bait fish and in the end they only caught 3 decent fish - 2 small barracuda and one medium sized Giant Trevally. And these fisherman have been doing this everyday for most of their lives, it's their livelihood. Fishing with nets is illegal all around the world, except Oman and it does so much damage to the sea and the eco systems. Here are some photos of the experience:



weekend.adventure.

Back at work today, it's a "Monday" for me. I'm feeling a little tired but lots of work to do today! Wow, I had a really amazing weekend. On Wednesday we had a lovely party with friends at their house, and then on Thursday we went camping on the beach for the night. Camping was so much fun and a great way to get out of Muscat and relax for a while. Friday had a ball, she played watch dog all night, growling and barking at the darkness, I am pretty sure nothing was there besides someone going for a midnight piddle. She also went swimming, on her own account - and I was very impressed with little Friday.
Kerry and I decided not to take tents so we slept under the stars, the temperature was perfect, not too many mozzies and a few good winks through the night, although I was woken up at 7am by Friday (who was fully of sand) jumping over my head - a few more grains of sand to add to my sandy bed.
Otherwise, we had great company, great food (Thanks to Dani and Hilal for the catering) and lots of fun in the sun. We went snorkeling, saw some really colourful fish, a jellyfish, a small turtle and also the weirdest looking fish I have ever seen in my life (it had a frill-like fin [means of movement] around the bottom of it, it had 2 big eyes, it was incredibly camouflaged against the coral, it was brown with a scale-like pattern all over its body - all I know is it looked very strange and I would like to know what it is and if it is poisonous or not), unfortunately I didn't have my underwater camera on me at that time so I didn't get a photos of it. Damn.
Anyway, here are some photos from the weekend of underwater life and beautiful Oman.....

Jellyfish

Lots of fun had by all..... ***Note for next time: take a tent so Friday sleeps though the night and doesn't growl at invisible intruders all night, take a stretcher to avoid sleeping in a mini sandpit on my mattress.



eid.al.fitr.

Eid Al Fitr starts tomorrow in the Sultanate of Oman, this joyous occasion marks the completion of the holy month of Ramadan! With Eid Al Fitr comes the Eid holidays for all people that live and work in Oman, all business and ministries are closed for 4 working days - this is a time of celebration for all the Muslims as they have been fasting for a month and now they are free to eat and drink whenever they like - and therefore I can also eat and drink whenever I like. Yay.

My Eid holiday plans: Luke, Friday (our puppy) and I and heading off to Masirah island at 3am tomorrow morning. Masirah island is off the south Oman coast, it is about 550km drive to the island from Muscat. We will then take a ferry across to the island and head for the campsite. Actually "campsite" is the wrong word to use because there aren't any ablutions or running water, we will be basically pitching tent on the beach. We will be joining a bunch of friends there, and there will lots of laughter, fun and happiness. The island is apparently beautiful and the fishing is really good. Luke is mainly going to be spearfishing and I am going to snorkel and swim in the sea. I am very excited because I recently got an underwater camera and this is going to be the perfect opportunity to put it to good use! I am hoping for crystal clear water. I am taking my "big" digital camera, my underwater camera and my Polaroid camera - so hopefully I will return with some great photos to share with you all. Happy holidays...... 

the.most.beautiful.day.in.oman.yesterday.

Besides the fact that it was 34 degrees Celsius and 89% humidity, yesterday was a stunning day in Oman. I took Friday (our little puppy) down to the beach for a swim and a little run to get rid of some of her energy, and I was welcomed with this sight. The sea was like a milk pond, no waves, no wind and clear blue water...I regretted not putting on my bikini!

todays.Omani.experience.

When I decided to moved to Oman I was given lots of advice from friends and family; people expressed their concerns about a white woman living in an Arabic country, not only a while woman, but a blond white woman, about how woman need to cover up and be aware that the Arab men will stare at you, don't feel threatened etc etc etc. So far my personal experience hasn't been so bad, I always make a conscious effort to cover my legs and shoulders and never show too much skin when I am in public. The stares from the men aren't that bad at all (that doesn't mean they don't stare) but most of the time its a bashfull look or subtle stare which doesn't really bother me, I barely notice it!
Today is the day I got the BIGGEST stare so far (if you could call a stare big?!), it is definitely number 1 on my top 10 list of stares from Arab men. I was driving in my car, turning the corner onto the road where my office is, and due to a little congestion, driving in the opposite direction was a male Omani in a dark grey Dodge Charger. He is the culprit; his head did a lightning fast turn in my direction and then his head sort of titled backwards in a "OMG" kind of way.
I drove off chuckling to myself, and that was the end of that Omani experience.

cyclone.phet.

These are some pictures of Cyclone Phet that hit Oman in June 2010, we acted like "storm chasers" and drove down south to see what we could find, this is the day before the cyclone hit land.

The rain in the distance.

This is one of the "blow holes" in the coast rock, due to the cyclone approaching the surge was really big causing the waves to blow up though the holes in the rock. What an amazing sight.

my.office.

This is a picture of my office. The Little Pink Tea Pot is for my green tea - this is not just the green tea you buy in a supermarket that is mass produced and comes in little tea bags, but this is the real deal green tea from the mountains in China. A friend of mine gave it to me to try out, she is a Tea Guru who grew up on a tea farm, it comes in a compact ball and looks like this...

I am actually drinking some of it right now!! Yummy.

I am very happy in my little office, there aren't too many people around me and I can pretty much do what I want - at the moment it's mostly blogging!!

The sounds I can hear around me at the moment are mostly ladies speaking Arabic to eachother (I really wish I understood Arabic, I think it would make life in Oman a lot more entertaining!!), a cell phone ringing and the soft noise of my computer. Life in the corporate office is not so bad...

ramadan.mubarak.

Ramadan is the holy month of fasting for all Muslims. "Ramadan Mubarak" is a phrase used amoung Muslims to congratulate eachother on holidays, it literally means "Blessed Festival".

It is Ramadan at the moment and the Muslims are fasting (they have to refrain from food, drink and sexual activities from dawn until dusk). As soon as the sun goes down they full their bellies with food and drink, and most of them stay up all night eating and drinking to make up for lost time. Now, Muslim's arent supposed to drink alcohol, but who knows what happend behind closed doors??!!

During this month, it is granted by the government that all Muslims only have to work 6 hours a day, so they all arrive at 08h30 and go home at 14h30 - should I be fasting?

my first blog.a new chapter.muscat.oman.

I moved to Muscat, Oman on the 21st April 2010.

This is a new chapter in my life; a new adventure, a new experience, a new journey. I am here to push my limits, learn new cultures, meet new people, try new things, find the adventurous person inside me, explore a country, and one day go home knowing more.

I have been in Oman for just over 4 months now and it has been an interesting experience. It took me exactly 102 days to find a job and start working, and I have just only recently got my residence card - what an experience. Oman forms part of the Middle East and is an Arabic country like the rest, where everyone is Muslim. Oman is a beautiful country with a very rugged landscape; there is the rocky mountains and the most stunning turquoise blue ocean.