Wednesday, June 8
Today, I completed my first official week of work at the Royal Opera House. It feels kind of funny, since in most other parts of the world, Wednesday falls smack dab in the middle of the work week, so fondly called "Hump"day for being the hump to get over before being in the the latter half of the week. My bosses left for some business in Dubai for the weekend, and whether it was their missing presence, or simply the fact that it was the weekend, the atmosphere in the office was quite cheerful and relaxed. Heels kicked off under office desks, Facebook breaks, and jokes frequented the environment. After work, Mish'al, who is on the national committee of Oman (for UWC) got in contact with me, and introduced me to his cousin, Abdullah, who is my co-year who attended the Atlantic College in Wales. Abdullah and his cousin, also Abdullah, came by and picked me and Alison up to show us around the city. They drove us around Muscat, pointing out different landmarks and commenting on central areas, such as the Muttrah Souk. We dropped by the Sultan's palace just so we could get a look, and took a couple of pictures outside - although it was too dark to get any really good pictures, the building is gorgeous.
It was quite interesting to spend the evening with these fine young gentlemen - according to Abdullah, when Omani youth want to hang out, they pretty much pass the time driving around town, looking at things and chatting. I'm not sure how accurate his statement was (I have yet to meet any other young Omani thus far), but I guess I was surprised, seeing how difficult that custom is from the antics of most university students at home in America. Also, I was also a bit surprised to find that Abdullah's family is the only to attend the United World Colleges. This is interesting, because Mish'al is a member of the supposed national committee, which selects students to represent Oman at UWC. But according to Abdullah, the only Omani to ever attend UWC have all been members of his family. I couldn't help but wonder if this was due to bureaucracy or if it was just a lack of unawareness about UWC in Oman. But I digress.
One thing I noticed was that I felt quite American hanging out with these two guys. I think we culture-shocked each other. I had assumed that they would be more accustomed to the sometimes overt culture that is characteristic of most western societies, particularly Americans, but I guess that there is still a big difference, which can sometimes make one feel slightly uncomfortable, or out of place. It was weird, because even at UWC-USA, even with all our different cultures, I realized that we all adapt to another culture, the UWC-USA culture, that allows us to get along so well together, no matter how different we were. But then again, perhaps I was fooling myself, since during that moment I felt more American than I had in a long time. It was a disorienting realization, to say the least.
The Sultan's palace at night:
Today, I completed my first official week of work at the Royal Opera House. It feels kind of funny, since in most other parts of the world, Wednesday falls smack dab in the middle of the work week, so fondly called "Hump"day for being the hump to get over before being in the the latter half of the week. My bosses left for some business in Dubai for the weekend, and whether it was their missing presence, or simply the fact that it was the weekend, the atmosphere in the office was quite cheerful and relaxed. Heels kicked off under office desks, Facebook breaks, and jokes frequented the environment. After work, Mish'al, who is on the national committee of Oman (for UWC) got in contact with me, and introduced me to his cousin, Abdullah, who is my co-year who attended the Atlantic College in Wales. Abdullah and his cousin, also Abdullah, came by and picked me and Alison up to show us around the city. They drove us around Muscat, pointing out different landmarks and commenting on central areas, such as the Muttrah Souk. We dropped by the Sultan's palace just so we could get a look, and took a couple of pictures outside - although it was too dark to get any really good pictures, the building is gorgeous.
It was quite interesting to spend the evening with these fine young gentlemen - according to Abdullah, when Omani youth want to hang out, they pretty much pass the time driving around town, looking at things and chatting. I'm not sure how accurate his statement was (I have yet to meet any other young Omani thus far), but I guess I was surprised, seeing how difficult that custom is from the antics of most university students at home in America. Also, I was also a bit surprised to find that Abdullah's family is the only to attend the United World Colleges. This is interesting, because Mish'al is a member of the supposed national committee, which selects students to represent Oman at UWC. But according to Abdullah, the only Omani to ever attend UWC have all been members of his family. I couldn't help but wonder if this was due to bureaucracy or if it was just a lack of unawareness about UWC in Oman. But I digress.
One thing I noticed was that I felt quite American hanging out with these two guys. I think we culture-shocked each other. I had assumed that they would be more accustomed to the sometimes overt culture that is characteristic of most western societies, particularly Americans, but I guess that there is still a big difference, which can sometimes make one feel slightly uncomfortable, or out of place. It was weird, because even at UWC-USA, even with all our different cultures, I realized that we all adapt to another culture, the UWC-USA culture, that allows us to get along so well together, no matter how different we were. But then again, perhaps I was fooling myself, since during that moment I felt more American than I had in a long time. It was a disorienting realization, to say the least.
The Sultan's palace at night:
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