One Hundred Days in Oman

One hundred days, one hundred nights

Of hot Arab desert, and brilliant sunlight

Of laughter, joyful glee, and smiles

It has been a long while

One hundred dawns, and one hundred setting suns

Some long beach walks, and short breathless runs

Some chips Oman and lots of rice

My host mother has a way with spice

One hundred midnights, one hundred noons

And many meals without a spoon

And with my host sister many deep talks

A few tears welled up from culture shock

One hundred afternoons, one hundred morning tides 

Several frustrating struggles inside

Several sub par grades beheld 

Too many Arabic words misspelled

One hundred evenings, one hundred wee hours

Numerous friendships like blossoming flowers

Numerous sights of beautiful things

Such of Nahal's hot water springs

One hundred days, one hundred nights

Since the day my heart took flight

Since I became limitlessly blessed

And my world view vastly progressed

Pie and other blessings

  

         On Tuesday the YES and NSLI-Y girls all went over to the US ambassadors house for an early Thanksgiving dinner. It was very enjoyable, the ambassador was very welcoming, members from all our respective host families were there, we met members of the embassy's staff, and the traditional thanksgiving food was delicious. Despite the turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, this Thanksgiving felt unfamiliar. It was very formal and reserved; there was no kitchen on the brink of chaos, with screaming aunts, no eating contest like mania where everyone stuffs as much into their mouths as quickly as possible, no debate over which apple pie is superior. Afterwards I was left feeling homesick for my crazy extended family, my disjointed immediate family, and the binding effect warm food and wine has on all of them. The true meaning of Thanksginging survived though. It was a night to wonder at my new home with my caring host family, my new friends who I have been blessed with, this beautiful country, the Amideast staff who work so hard to make this exchange possible, and so much more. 

Grocery list on an
embassy napkin.

         On Wednesday I was to melancholy to study for my semester exams that will take place this coming week, instead I ate oreos with peanut butter, talked to my US friends, and went to the beach. Most of my host family had taken advantage of the two day holiday and had left for Dubai. The house felt empty in a pleasant way the reminded me of home. 
        Thursday, turkey day, the day of thanks and counting blessings. I took an expedition to the cold store to procure the ingredients for apple pie and mashed potatoes. 

I had to go back for more apples.

My bigger dinner which will include stuffing, gravy, and pumpkin pie has been postponed for my host sister who will return from the UK soon. I spent the whole day in the kitchen very inefficiently baking apple pie with my mother's secret recipe. 

Crust, filling, and crumb topping.

Fresh from the oven.

I need practice so I serve slices instead of heaps.

After one failed crust, numerous cuts on my fingers from peeling sixteen apples, and lots of dirty dishes, I emerged with a beautiful apple pie covered in crumb topping. I did not burn the house done despite having to light the oven manually. I also made mashed potatoes which my host sister only liked after a large amount of lemon juice was added to them. 
We ate hot fresh pie with vanilla ice cream, followed by mashed potatoes eaten in front of the TV with pineapple juice. 
      A call from my father, brothers, aunts, cousin, and grandmother was the perfect end to the day. They shouted over each other, told me that camels have Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, and asked me to talk in Arabic, 

Mashed potatoes!

      I am left feeling thankful for everything in my life, both here and in the US. I have two loving families who are equally crazy, friends with bright smiles and kind words, and two extraordinary countries. I am also thankful for the leftover pie I will have for breakfast tomorrow.
         I will leave you with my favorite stuffing recipe which I did not have the chance to make today:




McVeigh's Home Stuffing

• 12 pieces of bread (whole wheat, whole grain, white, artisan, the more variety the better) 
• One small onion, finely chopped
• Three stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1/2 tsp.s salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp.thyme
• Two eggs, beaten
• Chicken broth

1. Leave bread out for the night or toast so as to make it dry. Then rip it into 1 inch chunks and place in a large bowl.
2. Saute celery and onions in 1 tbsp. of olive oil until softened.
3. Add celery, onions, remaning olive oil, cranberries, dried apricots, and seasonings to bread then mix thoroughly. 
4. Add eggs and 1/2 cup broth, mix again.
5. Add broth and mix until bread is well moistened. 
6. Bake in an oven proof dish at 350 F. 
7. Serve with gravy and enjoy!

   

Three months gone by...

     Firstly, I will start by apologizing for these past two weeks without blog posts, I really have been lazy! Secondly, I will state what has already been in written in my title, today, November 25th, marks my three months in Oman! What an amazing three months it has been! I have gotten so close with my host family, made friends with many different nationalities, and seen some amazing sights! I am so thankful for everything that this scholarship has given me, thank you US Department of State! Here are some of the things that happened in the past two weeks.

1. Shia Muslims, including several of my friends, mourned the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein. This happened during the week of November 14th. Each night worshippers gathered in mosques or halls to grieve together. In some places the mourning occurs with a great deal of self harm but luckily most Shiites in Oman only beat their chests rather than using chains or whips.

Nizwa Fort, a rooftop view

2. YES Abroad and NSLI-Y went to Nizwa and Jebel Shams. We spent two days outside of Muscat traveling first to Nizwa fort and then to a mountain called Jebel Shams. The mountain was actually quite cold getting to around 40 degrees F, which made me realize how lucky I am to have warm Muscat weather. It also rained a good deal.

Some slight trouble at Jebel Shams

Happy National Day!

Rain soaked Muscat

3. Oman's National day, the Sultan's birthday was this past week on November 18th. In honor of Sultan Qaboos and Oman people decorated their cars and houses, my school played Omani music at the entrance, and a classmate handed out pins in the colors of Oman's flag with the Sultan's picture on them. The Thursday after national day everyone came to school in Omani dress, even the international boys wore dishdashas and cummas, and the girls all came decked out in their best Oman formal wear.

3. It rained in Muscat! My fourth rain shower since my arrival, but my first ever in Muscat that I was awake for. My host sister and I ran around in the rain for and hour until my eye was attacked by a vicious umbrella.

Hijra with my host family

We stopped in the morning to pick
good smelling flowers.

Mashakeek on the fire>

        We started the morning by packing the car and driving for two hours, everyone except my host sister who had to study for college midterms. Twelve o'clock found us over 120 kilos from Muscat, off road, jolting through the rocky desert. The only trees big enough to provide shade grew along a dried river bed, we found one that lent
it's shade to flat ground and unrolled our mats and unpacked our meal. The main course was mashakeek, a shish kebab type dish of goat meat marinated in garlic and tamarind, speared onto wooden sticks and smoked on a portable fire grill. Eaten with many different condiments: more marinade, ketchup, mustard, and a creamy white garlic sauce, the chunks of meat were greatly satisfying. As the last of the meat was cooking, a smattering of rain came down bringing a strong wind with it. It was not even enough to call a drizzle but it was the first precipitation I've seen so far in Oman. 

Ominous rain clouds over the desert of our picnic.

      My host brother, sister, and I then went for a walk in the stone filled desert. We attempted to walk to the mountains but were fooled and misjudged the distance. Meanwhile the rest of the family had tea and dates. After washing with bottled water my host family prayed in the shade of another tree, then we packed up and went home.

Nakhal, with all it's green.

     We then journeyed to Nakhal, a village which gets its name from the date tree: nakheel. We drove half an hour through the rocky, grey, flat, desert, when suddenly as we reached the mountains. Date trees and green grass erupted between them. Driving through the town the street curved to avoid water that rushed over rocks and ran right through the middle of the village. At the top of the slope the town is situated upon the source of the water became clear, fresh springs gush water over rocks and into the land below. The beginnings of the springs were crowded with people: mothers washing their children, boys swimming, and even a drum circle. Men sold donkey rides to children, and green mango flavored with lemon and chili. We hiked past all this until we found a pool deep enough wade in. As I reached the water I braced myself for the icy temperature of Vermont rivers, instead the water was shockingly warm. The mountain's springs are hot springs. My host dad, brothers, little sister, and I swam and played in the warm water for an hour. None of us brought changes of clothes so we were all soaked on the ride back home. 

And a happy new year!

         Al Hijra is upon us. Today is the first day of the first month, Muharram, of the Islamic year 1435. The Islamic year began the day Prophet Muhammad and his followers set off from Mecca to Medina, which occurred 622 A.D. according to the Christian calendar.
       Though Mecca is now the city to which the Islamic pilgrimage of hajj occurs, in the beginning of Islam Muslims in Mecca were persecuted. Prophet Muhammad was known as a great peace maker. In return for moderating the tribal rivalries of the city, the leaders offered Muhammad and his followers sanctuary and the entire city converted to Islam. Before the pilgrimage Medina was known as Yathrib, but was renamed Medina (city in Arabic) of the Prophet.
      You might have noticed that 1435+622 equals 2057 not 2013. This is because the Islamic year follows the lunar calendar which causes dates of holidays to vary up to ten days.
      Hajra is not as celebrated as Eid al Fitr or Eid al Adha, though it is a national holiday. My host family's celebration involved a desert picnic in the middle of nowhere, and a visit to the village Nahal. 
    

Shawarma

A plain shawarma of meat, sauce, and bread, from
the coffee shop by my house, a great late night
dinner.

          Love at first bite. It came in a small green plastic bag that everything comes in here, it was tightly, neatly, wrapped in white paper. Less than 15 minutes before it had been just ingredients scattered across a restaurant's kitchen, now, still warm it was in my hands, my very first shawarma.
          Seasoned shawarma chicken, amba (a sweet, spicy, mango sauce), lettuce, french fries, and tomatoes, wrapped in soft, fresh, flat bread. The flavors were perfectly blended and balanced, with this masterpiece I discovered the best fast food on the planet. 

There is an abundance of these Coffee Shops/ Restaurants
which sell coffee, fruit juices, shawarmas and fried foods. 

A shawarma spit that roasts the turning
meat electrically. Photo Credit.

                     Originating from Turrkey, shawarma is very popular through out the Middle East, it is some times referred to as Middle Eastern Taco. Here, it's sold in all the local fast food places called coffee shops, as well as Turkish and Lebanese restaurants. It is often prepared in a room made of plastic boarding attached to the side of the restaurant, with a window that opens into the street where shawarma is ordered and bought. The common price seems to be 300 baiza, or $0.78 USD per wrap. A traditional Middle Eastern fast food, shawarma, makes me wonder how McDonald's and Burger King survive here, I

would never take a plain Big Mac over this sandwich.

What makes the taste of shawarma so special, is the chicken or sometimes lamb inside. The seasoned meat is slowly roasted on a vertical spit and cut directly from this spit as the sandwich is assembled. This spit roasted meat is what gives shawarma it's unique taste. 

            I had my first shawarma two weeks into my stay, and I've had it many many times since. It's what we eat when our host mother doesn't feel like making dinner, when we're hungry after Arabic class, or on the ride home when our driver stops for prayer. Each shawarma comes with different ingredients added to the base of chicken and flat bread; some have garlic mayonnaise, hummus, or no sauce at all. Some have vegetables, some don't. The better wraps have fries and lettuce. I've found that the shawarmas with more ingredients tend to be better that are just chicken, sauce, and bread.  Though I've had several great shawarmas since, I'm still haunted by my first shawarma, which I believe was the best. 

Applying for State Department Scholarships

        

So several weeks ago YES Abroad applications opened up! YES Abroad is the program that brought me to Oman, for free. This exchange program is aimed to create greater cultural understanding and increase people to people communications between the United States and countries with significant Muslim populations. It started in 2009, several years after it's sister program YES which sends students to the United States from countries with significant Muslim populations. It is a full year exchange open to high school students, applicants must be in grades 9-12. There are only sixty five spots so it is highly competitive, but if you're eligible and interested in going abroad you should definitely take a chance! Learn more about YES Abroad here!
        Though YES Abroad is the State Department program that has a special place in my heart, there are several more: NSLI-Y (language exchange) and CBYX (Germany)  are two other year long scholarships available. There are also summer scholarships and learning opportunities, for a full list go to http://exchanges.state.gov/, this list includes scholarships for non-US students to travel to the United States. Most are aimed at high school and college age students. If you think you might be interested in an exchange year,  please apply!
Warning: NSLI-Y applications are due November 5th.

Sh'wa and the Third Day of Eid

Fur rubbed in spices, meat, and
banana leaves.

My host dad removing the meat
from the bone.

      On the third day of Eid I tried sh'wa which is a traditional dish of Eid made from the sacrificed goat. To make sh'wa you rub the goat heads and some cuts of meat with a mixture of spices and garlic, these are then wrapped in dry banana leaves, then in burlap, and placed in a stiff wire container. This is placed in a charcoal pit, covered with

sand, and left overnight.

Goat Brain

 In the early afternoon on Thursday we went out back where the wire basket where the sh'wa was. It had been cooked at a family friend's house because my family didn't have the pit required for cook it. Now, with a lot of excitement my family removed the banana leaves and set to obtaining the meat. My older sister was most excited goat cheek, my host mother for the eyes, my host father for the brain, and my little host sister for the tongue. Quickly they peeled the skin and fur from the meat and the meat from the bone. It was a startling transformation from animal to food.
       I tried goat cheek, tongue and a nibble of brain, all for the first time. I wasn't brave enough to try goat eyes though my host mother offered one, which was very gracious of her, considering how much she loves them. Goat cheek was my favorite of the three fleshes from the goat's head, but I didn't like the idea of eating anything's cheek, so I switched to the sh'wa that came from the goat's hind quarters. I noticed my host brothers weren't very adventurous is their meat choices either. We ate our sh'wa with rice, tomatoes, and onions. 

All the different kinds of shoo'wa

     After lunch I found out that the US government had come to agreement, the shutdown had ended and the debt ceiling raised. At five we left for my host mom's village, where we stayed the night with her father and sisters. The had the perfect end to Eid, a picnic dinner in a park with much of my host mom's extended family. There was a lot of laughter, and the cousins played together in the grass: the older cousins tossing and swinging the little ones. Everyone had ice cream from a vendor, and my host sister and I found a set of swings and flew high under the almost full moon.

    

Goats' Heads and the Second Day of Eid

What I woke up to this morning.

Chopped meat. 

Liver

          I awoke this morning to find a lot of roughly chopped goat meat piled in our kitchen. I missed the sacrificing and the initial butchering! Luckily, there was still plenty of work to do! After a breakfast of milk tea and sweets, we began working on the meat, excepting the intestines and the testes. My host dad set to work removing the meat form the bones, while the rest of us chopped it into pieces. I was given the liver and heart to cut up because they were much easier, and I was the worst at cutting.

Goat intestines, which I'm told my
host mother will cook. 

Meat for the freezer

    As I was being handed my first goat organ, I was hoping that given the recentness of it's death, it wouldn't still be warm, it wasn't. Goat liver is gelatinous, almost a cross between meat and flan, which made it very easy to cut, but also made me a little squeamish. The heart looked more like regular meat, and brought me back to bio class sophomore year, when someone brought in a sheep's heart and lungs for us to look at.

Fresh goat head.

Seasoned goat head, before being cooked.

      After the cutting was done some of the scraps were put into a pot and cooked for lunch, the rest were frozen, and the neatly cut, uniformly sized, meat was set aside for sho'wa.
       My host mother then turned to the goat's head, or as it turned out, heads. Many people don't want the goat's head, so some people collect them and sell them. We ended up with two extra heads. My host mom rubbed a mixture of spices and garlic all over the goats' heads, and then stuffed the spices into it's nostrils, mouth, ears, and neck. At first watching this, I was off put, then I remembered how a turkey is stuffed and felt much better.
         My host mother then made rahal, Omani bread, with the help of my little sister. Our lunch became cooked meat and rahal. I don't know if I've ever eaten meat the same day it was killed, but it was delicious. Except the liver, this was my first time trying liver, and I disliked the texture and taste.

Rahal

       The rest of the day was restful, after lunch most of my family took a nap, watched TV, and relaxed. Around five we had tea and more rahal. My little sister discovered kittens and their protective mother under our car, and my older sister and I reluctantly turned to our neglected homework. 

Eid(ish) Mubarak!

Jewelry, henna, make up, and all

        Today was the first day of my first Eid. We woke at 7:00 a.m., giving my host sister and I around three hours of sleep for the night. She's says  it's tradition to stay up very late the night before Eid. We rose, and put on our make up, since I don't normally wear make up I followed my host sister's directions and left my eye shadow up to her. Then we dawned our Eid gowns, jewelry, shaylas, lipstick, and heels.

My outfit, minus the heels.

        I tottered out of our room, and my host father remarked that, with my new outfit, "I was Omani now." Which I smiled at, but I was preoccupied with trying not to trip over my dress with my four inch heels. We all piled into the car and drove to my host uncle's house where several extended families were gathered. By the time we arrived my shayla had fallen down at least four times without my noticing, much to the worry of my host mother.

Ar'ssia, left, with grape sauce, right
bottom, and butter, right top.

         At the house I managed to tie my shayla tightly enough to stay on. We greeted all the women there, the men had gone to pray at the mosque. All the women were beautifully dressed with abayas or fancy outfits, many were decked in henna and gold as well. My host sister and I took pictures of our outfits with our phones. Then we had a breakfast of ar'ssia, mashed rice with chicken, with grape sauce and butter, which was delicious.

       After we finished eating, the men of the family came in to greet us, bringing with them eidya, hundred baizas or one rials as monetary gifts. I got 200 baiza extra for saying "wid mubarak" to an uncle, he was happy I was trying to speak Arabic. While this was going on the TV showed Sultan Qaboos praying at his fathers mosque, Sausan, my older host sister, told me that he prays in a different part of Oman each year, this year he prayed in muscat.

        After all the eidya was dolled out we grouped together for a family photo, with Sausan and me awkwardly above everyone else because there wasn't enough room and we had to stand on chairs. After a few minutes of conversation, the men left for a neighbors house.

       Sweets, fruit, and coffee were laid out on the floor and us women ate. There were grapes, kiwis, bananas, peaches and pears. I didn't recognize most of the sweets but I tried almost all of them My host mother brought the coconut cake and date dessert we had made. There were cookies, a pudding type dish made of cooked spiced sugar with pecans, and mandazi, a small donut like ball. We all ate our fill before returning to the couches to converse once more. While everyone was chatting I was the only one to see my toddler cousin take a 100 baiza note out of his mouth, examine it and pop it back in, before waddling off.

Sweets and fruits for the women's midmorning meal.

        It was nice to see so much of my extended host family. I had met many of the women at a cousin's birthday party, but many of the men were new faces. There was a lot of fast Arabic, not that I would understand it were it slow, but many relatives made conversation with me in English. We talked of henna prices (apparently I was ripped off), Obama's political party, and that Egyptians were Arab, which is something I wasn't sure of before. I found out I have several Egyptian relatives

Sisters' henna

       After returning home and switching outfits, my host sisters, my host mother, and I went to my host aunt's for a short lunch of biryani, salad, chicken, and goat. Then we headed back to the house for a much needed nap.

       We will be sacrificing a goat tomorrow, and it remains tied in our backyard until then. Tomorrow I head to my family's village, and then later to Nizwa, to celebrate Eid with our extended family that lives outside of Muscat.

Preparation for Eid al-Adha

       Eid al Adha is almost upon us! Though it changes dates and times every year, this year the celebration starts Tuesday, October 15th. It is a three day long Islamic holiday celebrating the story of Isma'il and Ibrahim, and Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his greatest possession, his son, to God.
      So we celebrate Ibrahim's obedience to God. It coincides with the pilgrimage to Hajj. Most families sacrifice a goat, cow, or ox in honor of the Ibrahim's sacrifice. On the first day of Eid all the men, plus the women who choose, go to Sa'laat al Eid (Eid prayer). Then the da'biha (sacrifice) is given, my host family will be sacrificing a goat. On the first day everyone dresses in their best clothes, there is a lot of food and family time. Eidya, which is a small amount of money, is given to all the children, including those who are in college or don't work in my family.
     While Eid has yet to begin, a lot of preparation is going on. Purchasing of food stuffs began the week before as well as cooking and cleaning. Here is what I have been doing in the days before Eid.

Friday:
       My host mother, two host sisters, and I hit the stores for Eid dresses. We went to al Seeb, where, after no luck in the first store, we went to al Seeb Mall. We went into shop after shop, looking through brightly colored dresses embrodered with beads, gemstones, or flowers. Some dresses were traditional Omani, some Indian or Pakistani, still others looked like prom dresses found in the US.
        The stars aligned, I ended up with a traditional green and gold dress for the first day of Eid, a green shayla, and green and gold shoes.  I also got a white, blue, and brown cotton dress for the remaining days with a brown shayla. Four hours after we started, we headed home, where we accessorized and finalized our outfits.

To the left are dresses similar to what some girls wear to prom, to the
 right are more traditional dresses, like the one I will be wearing.

Saturday:
      A baking day. My host mother woke us up for a quick breakfast and a day in the kitchen. First, I made chocolate cookies with my little host sister, while my older sister made a coconut and semolina cake. Then everyone (two sisters, two brothers, and my host mother) except my host dad worked to construct desserts made from spiced mashed dates, Marielle tea biscuit cookies, and coconut.
    We kept some desserts for the Eid holiday to share with family, and my host mother put together plates of sweets to give out to family friends.

Desserts made of tea biscuits, mashed spiced dates, and coconut.

Sunday:
    In the hot midday sun we set out in search of henna. The first salon we went to was full, and we then went to four or five more trying to find good henna. My host mother was insistent that we get Sudani henna, not Hindi. We took a break at a supermarket halfway through, where I found earrings or questionable quality that matched my Eid dress.
      The salon we ended up at was very close to our house. We waited over an hour munching on sweet chili pepper flavored Doritos chips, but my little host sister and I finally got our henna.

My henna before it dried. 

     When we returned home, I found our sacrifice waiting in the backyard, bleating to the annoyance of my sister.

My family's sacrifice. He's very cute, but I'm trying not to get attached!

Monday
          The final day before Eid! My host parents are fasting, which is optional before this Eid, unlike Ramadan. Almost everything is ready, we've cleaned the house everyday since Friday, and it is sparkling. Our Eid clothes are ironed (I tried to iron mine but my host mom was scared I'd burn it, so I only ironed my shayla), our nails are cut and filed, everyone is showered and fresh.
          My host mother spent most of the day sewing her beautiful Eid dress, I wish I had her and my own mother's talent for sewing! We watched The Message, a film about the birth of Islam, before we all went to bed.

A Trip to Dubai

         This week all the YES Abroad and NSLI-Y students had to pack their backpacks and head to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The reason for the mid-week, missing school, vacation is visas. Our student visas were not ready upon our entry into the country and we had to be out of the country for them to be processed. Luckily, this trip was really fun and provided for some bonding time with the NSLI-Y girls. Our trip included: five hours at Wild Wadi Waterpark, a three hour Dubai night tour, a visit to the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa inside. I learned that Dubai is home to the 1st, 2nd, and 4th tallest hotels in the world, as well as the tallest building- the Burj Khalifa which dwarfs the Empire State building.
         I didn't get any pictures at Wild Wadi Waterpark because I am paranoid about my camera and water.

 Above and below are two views from out hotel room in downtown Dubai, which had a 24 hour Coldstone Ice Cream shop on it's first floor.

The hotel above is the beautiful five star Atlantis which is located on one of Dubai's man made islands.

 Another hotel, one of Dubai's many buildings that has colorful lights.

The Dubai Mall, with over 1,200 stores. I was worried about getting lost in it.

Candilicious, a huge candy store in the Dubai Mall.

I found a friend! 

A view from the top of the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world! I was terrified, who knew I was afraid of heights?

After a flight delay scare, we made it back to Muscat on Tuesday night. It was nice to be home, Dubai is so big, with skyscrapers instead of houses, the streets were full of taxis and no one walking. It seems like a city to move through, not to live in. Being in Dubai made me realize how lucky I am to be in Oman.