A Visit to Medical Clinic

         So yesterday I woke up at 6:00 am with stomach pains, specifically the feeling of several knives sticking into my intestines. Hoping it was just part of the constipation I'd been having, I went back to bed. Then at 10:30 am (Friday is a weekend day here) I tried to eat breakfast. I barely choked down a cup of milk tea before crawling back to bed.
        I napped until 3:30 pm, which was lunch time. I barely made it to the table. After a couple spoonfuls of yogurt sauce, I was done. I could barely sit up. So I stumbled back to bed. I was so nauseous I couldn't even drink water. Finally, after watching me shiver while wrapped in a wool sweater and a blanket while lying in a un-air conditioned room (outside temperature was about 91.5 degrees F), and after I vomited when I tried to drink orange juice, my host mother decided to take me to the hospital.
       It was Friday, the holy day, so most of the private clinics were closed. My host mother drove me to Badr Al Samaa in Ruwi. I was treated by an all Indian staff that spoke passable English and a little Arabic. I had my temperature and blood pressure taken and a quick consultation with the doctor. I was then given three injections: one in the hand, on in the forearm, and one in the butt, to treat my fever and nausea. I also might have gotten one in my elbow crease, but the nurse spent so long trying to find a vein I couldn't tell if she actually gave me anything. Through the entire visit my host mother held my hand, stroked my hair, and was generally amazingly comforting and helpful. After paying the bills we left.
     Only to have a nurse chase us down in the parking lot. We'd left without a prescription that I needed. After revisiting the doctor, we went to the clinic's pharmacy, where I was given four medications to take, and one more on an "as needed" basis. The entire visit took about an hour. Shots, medications, and doctor's visit all added up to a total of 24.1 OMR or 62.59 USD.
     The visit was much shorter and cheaper than any doctor's visit in the U.S. that I've ever had. I didn't have an appointment, I just walked in and was treated. The facilities and room that I was put in were identical to what I would have seen in the U.S.
     When we finally left I was tired, dehydrated, and, at long last, hungry. The drive home seemed much shorter, with much fewer speed bumps than the drive to the clinic. At home, I ate my first meal of the day, leftovers from lunch: rice with yogurt sauce and chicken. Then I called my dad for that casual "I went to the hospital today, got three shots, and a bunch of medication" conversation that every parent loves to have with their child who is seven thousand miles away. I went to bed at 8:00 pm and slept for thirteen hours.
      So what made me so sick? My host mother and I think it was some mango juice I'd had the night before the ordeal. I'd gotten it at an outside food stand, I felt a little nauseous when I drank it, but I attributed that to my empty stomach. I feel much better now though I am still tired. I decided to skip the YES Abroad trip to the Royal Opera House in favor of a day more of rest.

Two Most Recent Vlog Entries

      So for an unknown reason Blogger will not recognize these videos exist, but they do! Check out my vlogs on packing and travel! I hope to fix the problem soon!
      I have not yet decided how to do vlog entries in country. They take more time than written entries, and require me to use headphones which makes me more antisocial. There's also the part about the crazy American who talks to herself in her bedroom.

9/11: A Dozen Years Passed

         September 11, 2001. A day the will never be forgotten in American history, the day the Islamic extremist group, Al Qaeda, attacked the U.S. and took nearly three thousand lives. Being only four at the time, I missed much of the widespread panic and devastating loss that struck the nation. Despite this, one of my earliest memories is watching and rewatching footage of the South Tower of the World Trade Center falling. In seconds, stories upon stories disappeared into a cloud of dust and debris. 

          My family was lucky not to lose any of our relatives or friends in the tragedy. However, 9/11 affected us anyway, we were swept up in the grief of our nation, and the blame and stigmas that were placed on the Muslim population. The American people did not consciously chose to discriminate against Muslims, or at least I would like to think not. Although growing, the U.S.'s Muslim population is very small. I had no Muslim neighbors or classmates, so when I heard the words Muslim or Islam, it was usually in the news, along with the words: terrorists or Al Qaeda.

        It easy to fear unknown. For many Americans, that's what Islam is. An unknown force that inspired nineteen terrorists to kill thousands of civilians. The truth is, any religion can be used to justify hate. The 9/11 attacks caused a few violent people to eclipse the billions of peaceful ones. Society helps us create subconscious links in our mind, associations we can either consciously ignore or accept.  

        Now I am here, in Oman. Living in the Middle East. Every morning a wake to my sister's alarm for prayers, I listen to the daily passage of the Quran at school, and I hear the call to noon prayer, no matter where I am in the city. My new friends and neighbors are almost all Muslim. It has become so normal to see women dressed in hijabs and abayas. 

        Living here has given me the chance to see how similar everyone is. I am seven thousand miles away from my childhood home, and still, girls gossip about boys, worry about their looks, and paint their nails. Boys play video games, and do pull-ups in doors ways. Many things are eerily similiar to Vermont. The greatest similarity of all: everyone loves their family and hates the news of deaths from war.

Our First Week

      So our first week was busy! We met our host families, which for me, was matched perfectly. We had several orietnation workshops, and we did various outings to the souq (a market), City Center (mall), and two tourist attractions: The Grand Mosque, and Al Alam Palace.
     The beautiful Grand Mosque that can hold 20,000 worshippers. It has breathtaking wood carvings, mosaic ceilings, and stained glass windows.

The Grand Mosque (Main prayer room, courtyard, and one of the minarets)

The world's largest chandelier found in the
main prayer room of the Grand Mosque.

For the purposes of respect all visitors to the Mosque
must cover their hair and wear conservative clothing.

Al Alam Palace in Old Muscat

Medresa

        It was my first day of school today! I woke up at 5:40 a.m., and was out the door (after my host father helped with the gate latch) by 6:20, headed to Azzan bin Qais International School. Five YES Abroad students attend ABQ: Caillean, Davan, Mae, Shanya, and me.

I've never had a uniform!

        The eleventh and twelfth graders had a meeting filled with announcements, then we went off to class. The only problem was, Caillean and I were but in the wrong one. We meant to enroll in the AS track which follows the British curriculum and replaces Arabic with Introductory Arabic for the foreign students. Somehow, we found ourselves in the bilingual track. After heading to the Dean's office with another misplaced girl, we arrived in the right classroom, unfortunately, we had already missed the majority of homeroom.

ABQ YES Abroad crew!

      I met many new people today, and I pushed myself to sit away from the other YES abroaders at lunch, and to sit with a cluster of girls from my class. I was worried much of the conversation would be in Arabic but to my surprise most of it was in English. Many students and staff helped me know where to go, and figure out how I am getting home (we had not yet been added to the bus route), everyone was kind and talkative.
     Azzan bin Qais is much stricter than my school in Vermont. At my old school we didn't have a
uniform, we could chew gum, wear baseball hats, and we addressed out teachers by their first names. Now, I dress in a longsleeved, button up, white, collar, shirt, and pull over a floor length sleeveless dress made from grey, heavy, fabric, this makes up my uniform. My hair must be pulled back and bracelets are not allowed. Every teacher and staff member is Ms. or Mr., and we to greet stand them when they enter the room.
    I enjoyed my first day of school, though it felt slightly hectic. I am lucky to have Caillean's familiar face in my class, especially at the times when neither of us know what we're doing or where we're going. Hopefully, we receive our schedules tomorrow, and I manage to find the right bus home.

Here to Stay, insha'Allah

My dad and I at the Burlington International Airport

       Last night after twenty four hours of traveling, three plans, two layovers, and three microwaved airplane meals, we landed in Muscat, Oman. In the dark of the night we drove to a hotel, and after late night sandwiches, collapsed in our beds.

Our four hour layover in Zurich, that
 caused many group bonding games. 

      Today, was our first time seeing Oman in the daylight, we've spent most of it at orientation, which takes place at the AMIDEAST offices. We've been through a survival Arabic course, host family info, and just general tips and guidelines for Oman.

My first Omani meal!

     Lunch was the first Omani meal of the trip. We ate out at a restaurant in the family section, it was my first time eating on the floor, eating with my hands, and eating in a restaurant with family and nonfamily sections. The food was delicious, we had shuwa, a delicious rice dish that I don't remember the name of, an Yemeni flat bread covered in sesame seeds and honey, and barbeque chicken. Both the food and conversation was delightful.
       Right now, I am off to meet my host family.

On the Eve of Departure

     "I'll see you in ten months." I can hardly believe it, but this is the phrase I've been uttering at almost every conversation's end these past couple days. I have come to realize all the amazing things that will happen without me, the birthdays, parties, and laughs, that will carry on. About to leap into the unknown, I am so tempted to fall back into comfortable. That is what will make leaving the hardest. I will miss my family, friends, neighbors, and teachers. I know the coming year is full of tears, frustration, and homesickness, but I also think it could be the best year of my life.
        I have watched tomorrow approach for months, but I never truly believed it would arrive. It will be a bittersweet day as I hug my dad goodbye, and board my plane alone. Finally, after an application, selection event, acceptance email, orientation, and all the anxious days in between, the adventure, which started as a small thought in a fifteen year old girl's head, is about to take off.
        My bags are packed, documents scanned, and travel clothes laid out, one restless sleep from now I leave Vermont for ten months. I am as ready as I'll ever be, excitement and nerves are duking it out in my stomach. Here's to the unexpected, the different, and the amazing, but for this minute, here's the the last night in my bed.

Here's a goodbye tribute to beautiful Vermont which has been my home for the first sixteen years and three months of my life.