What is this?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14212640
And this?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/somali-children-at-risk-of-death-on-the-front-line-2317187.html
And this?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14021340
And these are just a few from today's headlines.
Ana orid an abkee.
Day 25: Cough-y Grinds
Saturday, June 25
Ana ta'abana wa orid alnam.
My cough is back. Damn air-conditioning. (Maybe it also has to do with smoking shisha last night...)
You would think that for a 6+ million dollar project, they might at least be able to moderate the temperature within the building.
Ana ta'abana wa orid alnam.
My cough is back. Damn air-conditioning. (Maybe it also has to do with smoking shisha last night...)
You would think that for a 6+ million dollar project, they might at least be able to moderate the temperature within the building.
Day 24: I Finally Ate.
Friday, June 24
I mustered up the courage to go to church again today, and found the right [Protestant] service this time. How do I describe the feeling of peace and contentment that I felt there? It was as if I'd come home, or as if I'd finally eaten a meal after starving myself for a long time. The feeling is tough to describe. A lot of times in Christianity, we talk about spiritual hunger -- about spiritually craving God the way our bodies crave food. It's hard to understand until one experiences that feeling of hunger and then appeasement. People talk about being on spiritual rollercoasters, riding up and down from one retreat to the next, or from one Sunday service to the next. For me, perhaps because I haven't experienced that spiritual high from attending a church retreat in a while, it's been more of a feeling of spiritual starvation. Maybe because I haven't been to church in a while; maybe because I haven't been part of a fellowship in over a year; maybe because I feel like I've wandered off the racetrack, but I've been feeling starved. It's kind of like this empty feeling, a void that nothing can seem to fill. When I'm busy and surrounded by people, I'm happy and perfectly fine, but when I'm alone, this feeling of loneliness creeps in, and I'm hit by a craving for love. Most people, myself included I will confess, will try to satisfy this craving by going out and finding someone for the night, or hanging out with friends, or busying theirselves with work. But it's never enough -- however great the temporary happiness is, it's only temporary, which means that at the end of the day, we're left looking for more. Yet when I went to church today, asides from feeling ashamed for having wandered so far off the path, I felt content, for the first time in a long time.
I didn't do much today after getting back home from church; just took a few hours to finish reading Shantaram. It is a heartbreakingly beautiful book, and I highly recommend it.
I mustered up the courage to go to church again today, and found the right [Protestant] service this time. How do I describe the feeling of peace and contentment that I felt there? It was as if I'd come home, or as if I'd finally eaten a meal after starving myself for a long time. The feeling is tough to describe. A lot of times in Christianity, we talk about spiritual hunger -- about spiritually craving God the way our bodies crave food. It's hard to understand until one experiences that feeling of hunger and then appeasement. People talk about being on spiritual rollercoasters, riding up and down from one retreat to the next, or from one Sunday service to the next. For me, perhaps because I haven't experienced that spiritual high from attending a church retreat in a while, it's been more of a feeling of spiritual starvation. Maybe because I haven't been to church in a while; maybe because I haven't been part of a fellowship in over a year; maybe because I feel like I've wandered off the racetrack, but I've been feeling starved. It's kind of like this empty feeling, a void that nothing can seem to fill. When I'm busy and surrounded by people, I'm happy and perfectly fine, but when I'm alone, this feeling of loneliness creeps in, and I'm hit by a craving for love. Most people, myself included I will confess, will try to satisfy this craving by going out and finding someone for the night, or hanging out with friends, or busying theirselves with work. But it's never enough -- however great the temporary happiness is, it's only temporary, which means that at the end of the day, we're left looking for more. Yet when I went to church today, asides from feeling ashamed for having wandered so far off the path, I felt content, for the first time in a long time.
I didn't do much today after getting back home from church; just took a few hours to finish reading Shantaram. It is a heartbreakingly beautiful book, and I highly recommend it.
Day 23: Rock This Party
Thursday, June 23
Yeah, I went to a party here. It was SHWEEET. 90's-themed party at the Al Bustan Intercontinental Hotel (I think the place used to be a palace, no joke.) It was a lot of fun -- I realized how much I missed the good old music of the 90's//early 2000's. As much as I love Prospect Street, it does get a bit tiring hearing the same songs at every eating club every weekend. Besides, we got free mixed drinks at the Al Bustan. Win.
Day 22: Accents
[Wednesday, June 22]
They're sexy.
Between the British co-workers in the office and the Arabs in town, not to mention all the Pakistani/Indian/Asianpeople that are everywhere, added to my chameleon tongue (props to Hazami for the phrase), I should come back with an interesting accent myself.
They're sexy.
Between the British co-workers in the office and the Arabs in town, not to mention all the Pakistani/Indian/Asianpeople that are everywhere, added to my chameleon tongue (props to Hazami for the phrase), I should come back with an interesting accent myself.
Day 21: Mission Globalization -- Mickey D's and Cross-Cultural Marriages
Tuesday, June 21
We officially moved into our new offices at the Royal Opera House today! The offices are very nice -- much more office-y looking than the little cubicles in our old office (which was just a temporary locale while the Opera House was being constructed). Now that we have separate offices spaces -- I get to share one with Alison, yay! -- each space is separated so that one has to go outside of one's space and walk down a hallway in order to enter the next - which is very inconvenient when the rest of the logistics team is located in the space at the end of the hall, and a bit sad - I liked being able to see everybody's faces all at once! Anyways, my only real complaint about the new office is that the building is freaking cold. I think the thermostat was set at 17 degrees Celsius, which translates roughly to somewhere around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, I think. For someone who wears cardigans in 80 (hell, I can wear 'em in 100) degree weather, definitely way too cold.
It was a relief getting outside into the warmth of the sun and Marie's oven of a car for our lunch break today -- to McDonald's! Alison screamed with excitement, literally, when Marie suggested we eat there. We took a picture of the food -- I got a free glass with the "large" value meal, woot! -- but I don't know how to upload it from Alison's phone, and I figure y'all know what a Mickey D's meal looks like already. It's amazing how McDonald's is everywhere, no matter where one goes. Kind of like Starbucks...
So the conversation of the day revolved around relationships [of course it would, that's what girls talk about], and the difficulty of maintaining cross-cultural relationships. Basically, the gist of it is that according to common knowledge (and experience), it is quite difficult to be in a serious relationship with a person from a different cultural background. Whether this culture be national, familial, or - often most important - religious, it is near impossible to date outside of one's culture. For me, I have two takes on the situation, also based on my dual cultures: American and Korean. America is supposedly the melting pot of cultures, where anyone can date anywho without any problem. True in some cases, quite false in a lot, as my Korean side jumps in. America is more of a tossed salad than a melting pot, and more often than not, people stick to their own cultures. Case in point: my Korean parents want me to marry a Korean boy. Although they probably wouldn't disown me if I married outside of my race (I think), it would most likely deal a large blow to my family if I were to marry someone my parents didn't approve of. So many families are broken, and so many children estranged from their parents, all for the cause of "love". And more often than not, it's because of irreconcilable cultural differences. In a world where we're supposedly moving forward, connecting with people from all over the world and calling it globalization, why do we still have problems with cross-cultural relationships?
We officially moved into our new offices at the Royal Opera House today! The offices are very nice -- much more office-y looking than the little cubicles in our old office (which was just a temporary locale while the Opera House was being constructed). Now that we have separate offices spaces -- I get to share one with Alison, yay! -- each space is separated so that one has to go outside of one's space and walk down a hallway in order to enter the next - which is very inconvenient when the rest of the logistics team is located in the space at the end of the hall, and a bit sad - I liked being able to see everybody's faces all at once! Anyways, my only real complaint about the new office is that the building is freaking cold. I think the thermostat was set at 17 degrees Celsius, which translates roughly to somewhere around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, I think. For someone who wears cardigans in 80 (hell, I can wear 'em in 100) degree weather, definitely way too cold.
It was a relief getting outside into the warmth of the sun and Marie's oven of a car for our lunch break today -- to McDonald's! Alison screamed with excitement, literally, when Marie suggested we eat there. We took a picture of the food -- I got a free glass with the "large" value meal, woot! -- but I don't know how to upload it from Alison's phone, and I figure y'all know what a Mickey D's meal looks like already. It's amazing how McDonald's is everywhere, no matter where one goes. Kind of like Starbucks...
So the conversation of the day revolved around relationships [of course it would, that's what girls talk about], and the difficulty of maintaining cross-cultural relationships. Basically, the gist of it is that according to common knowledge (and experience), it is quite difficult to be in a serious relationship with a person from a different cultural background. Whether this culture be national, familial, or - often most important - religious, it is near impossible to date outside of one's culture. For me, I have two takes on the situation, also based on my dual cultures: American and Korean. America is supposedly the melting pot of cultures, where anyone can date anywho without any problem. True in some cases, quite false in a lot, as my Korean side jumps in. America is more of a tossed salad than a melting pot, and more often than not, people stick to their own cultures. Case in point: my Korean parents want me to marry a Korean boy. Although they probably wouldn't disown me if I married outside of my race (I think), it would most likely deal a large blow to my family if I were to marry someone my parents didn't approve of. So many families are broken, and so many children estranged from their parents, all for the cause of "love". And more often than not, it's because of irreconcilable cultural differences. In a world where we're supposedly moving forward, connecting with people from all over the world and calling it globalization, why do we still have problems with cross-cultural relationships?
Day 20: Double-hit Wonder + Seafood Pizza
Monday, June 20
Today, I mustered up the courage to try out two new phrases: Sabaa al-khayr and Masaa al-khayr (Good morning and Good evening) to the guy at the front desk of my apartment. I've memorized the words off of a sheet of Arabic vocab and have been rolling the words around in my mind for the past few days without actually trying them out because I keep forgetting the exact phrasing and/or am afraid to bungle it so badly that nobody will understand me -- which, by the way, has happened before several times.
So now the front desk guy thinks I speak Arabic. He was so impressed when I came in after work saying masaa al-khayr. Actually, he knows I can't speak Arabic but knows I'm interested in learning, which means that he can speak to me in Arabic anyways, even if I don't understand a lick of what he's saying. I don't even know how to say "I don't understand". I think tomorrow I'll ask him his name. (Yes, I've been here almost three weeks and still don't know the name of the man who hands me my keys every day when I get back from work.)
Today, I tried seafood pizza -- I'm generally a good old pepperoni or mushrooms topping type of pizza girl, but man do they make interesting pizzas here in Oman! Call it Italian with a twist of Arabia. Anyways, my co-workers and I went to lunch at a cute pizza/Italian restaurant in Jawaharat al Shatti, a strip mall next to Shatti al Qur'm, a beach with a gorgeous view. The pizza was, as one of my previous roommates would say, "nom-licious". That is, possibly the best meal that I've had here thus far. Ironic, huh?
Unfortunately, I feel lame taking pictures of "mundane" things like food and the daily view, and I know I'm going to regret it later, but I didn't take any pictures, so I guess you'll have to come to Oman to check it out for yourself.
Today, I mustered up the courage to try out two new phrases: Sabaa al-khayr and Masaa al-khayr (Good morning and Good evening) to the guy at the front desk of my apartment. I've memorized the words off of a sheet of Arabic vocab and have been rolling the words around in my mind for the past few days without actually trying them out because I keep forgetting the exact phrasing and/or am afraid to bungle it so badly that nobody will understand me -- which, by the way, has happened before several times.
So now the front desk guy thinks I speak Arabic. He was so impressed when I came in after work saying masaa al-khayr. Actually, he knows I can't speak Arabic but knows I'm interested in learning, which means that he can speak to me in Arabic anyways, even if I don't understand a lick of what he's saying. I don't even know how to say "I don't understand". I think tomorrow I'll ask him his name. (Yes, I've been here almost three weeks and still don't know the name of the man who hands me my keys every day when I get back from work.)
Today, I tried seafood pizza -- I'm generally a good old pepperoni or mushrooms topping type of pizza girl, but man do they make interesting pizzas here in Oman! Call it Italian with a twist of Arabia. Anyways, my co-workers and I went to lunch at a cute pizza/Italian restaurant in Jawaharat al Shatti, a strip mall next to Shatti al Qur'm, a beach with a gorgeous view. The pizza was, as one of my previous roommates would say, "nom-licious". That is, possibly the best meal that I've had here thus far. Ironic, huh?
Unfortunately, I feel lame taking pictures of "mundane" things like food and the daily view, and I know I'm going to regret it later, but I didn't take any pictures, so I guess you'll have to come to Oman to check it out for yourself.
Day 19: Need Somebody to Love
Sunday, June 19
(I know, it's midway through July now. Don't fuss.)
I actually don't have much written down for what happened today, other than that it was a fairly quiet day at the office. Nothing out of the usual -- Saud brought me tea with milk; I got frostbite in the air conditioning; my co-workers complained about the lack of productivity; I copied over 100 pages of contracts (talk about mundane.); Alison had to stay behind at work til late again; etc. etc.
So today, I thought I'd write about one of the topics that's come up in the many conversations that my hubby (Alison and I have been branded a married couple. I am clearly the more affectionate in this partnership) and I have engaged in during our time together here in Oman.
Human nature and the desire to be loved. Not quite sure how we started to end at this topic, but after talking about ex-boyfriends and bad boyfriends and why girls cling to them, it really boils down to that song, "Need Somebody to Love."
Why is this? Because at the root of everything -- no matter how much money one makes or successful one is -- is the desire to be loved. This is the reason why there are so many wealthy, successful people out there who seem to "have it all", but are never really satisfied. This is the reason why so many people in our daily lives are unhappy. We are all searching for something, something to fill up that emptiness inside of us, to banish that fear of being completely alone. I have a fear of being alone - whether forgotten or not cared about - and that is actually one of my biggest fears and pet peeves. One of the easiest ways to belittle somebody, to make the person feel insignificant, unneeded, and even unwanted - intentionally or not - is to forget him or her. It's funny how people make such a big deal out of hate. If you ask me, hating is not worth it. It takes too much effort, and the fact that one must actively hate somebody makes that person important enough to be worth hating. Apathy, on the other hand, is a cold, brutal bitch. Most people envision hell as a place of fire and wrath and great burning and God's hatred upon you. A pastor once described his version of hell as God not caring at all anymore. And really thinking about it, that version scared me more than any threats of brimstone and fire. For somebody to completely and totally detach another person from his life - that, I think, leaves a deeper wound than hate. If we maintain this wound metaphor, hatred is a messy and bloody wound. Apathy is a deep puncture that leaves a scar that never heals. Why is that? Because at the end of the day, nobody really wants to be alone. Everyone needs somebody to love, be it another person, some spirit, or even a pet, and everyone needs somebody to love him or her.
According to Sajjad, though, the reason why people are never completely satisfied is because of the human nature of greed, which I think is also valid. But that's a tangent for another day.
(I know, it's midway through July now. Don't fuss.)
I actually don't have much written down for what happened today, other than that it was a fairly quiet day at the office. Nothing out of the usual -- Saud brought me tea with milk; I got frostbite in the air conditioning; my co-workers complained about the lack of productivity; I copied over 100 pages of contracts (talk about mundane.); Alison had to stay behind at work til late again; etc. etc.
So today, I thought I'd write about one of the topics that's come up in the many conversations that my hubby (Alison and I have been branded a married couple. I am clearly the more affectionate in this partnership) and I have engaged in during our time together here in Oman.
Human nature and the desire to be loved. Not quite sure how we started to end at this topic, but after talking about ex-boyfriends and bad boyfriends and why girls cling to them, it really boils down to that song, "Need Somebody to Love."
Why is this? Because at the root of everything -- no matter how much money one makes or successful one is -- is the desire to be loved. This is the reason why there are so many wealthy, successful people out there who seem to "have it all", but are never really satisfied. This is the reason why so many people in our daily lives are unhappy. We are all searching for something, something to fill up that emptiness inside of us, to banish that fear of being completely alone. I have a fear of being alone - whether forgotten or not cared about - and that is actually one of my biggest fears and pet peeves. One of the easiest ways to belittle somebody, to make the person feel insignificant, unneeded, and even unwanted - intentionally or not - is to forget him or her. It's funny how people make such a big deal out of hate. If you ask me, hating is not worth it. It takes too much effort, and the fact that one must actively hate somebody makes that person important enough to be worth hating. Apathy, on the other hand, is a cold, brutal bitch. Most people envision hell as a place of fire and wrath and great burning and God's hatred upon you. A pastor once described his version of hell as God not caring at all anymore. And really thinking about it, that version scared me more than any threats of brimstone and fire. For somebody to completely and totally detach another person from his life - that, I think, leaves a deeper wound than hate. If we maintain this wound metaphor, hatred is a messy and bloody wound. Apathy is a deep puncture that leaves a scar that never heals. Why is that? Because at the end of the day, nobody really wants to be alone. Everyone needs somebody to love, be it another person, some spirit, or even a pet, and everyone needs somebody to love him or her.
According to Sajjad, though, the reason why people are never completely satisfied is because of the human nature of greed, which I think is also valid. But that's a tangent for another day.
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