English Cafe'

Every fortnight the University of Nizwa hosts an event called the English Cafe'.

It is a time when students and faculty and others come together and only English is spoken there. It is a good opportunity for the students to practice their English.

They serve coffee and tea and put on some sort of a skit or show and a slideshow.  There are questions proposed and time for discussion.  Last nights topic was about friendship.

Before it began, I met the wife of another teacher here.  She is from NY & pregnant with their first child.  We had a good time talking about birth-n-babies.  That was fun for me, as I never tire of that topic.

The event takes place outside and there are tables & chairs set up.
The kids were able to run around & were totally safe.  There was only 1 other baby there.
The students love children!  They get heaps of attention on campus.  Our friend Conor said that if Rob & I ever wanted some child-free time, we could just drop our 3 off at the Uni & come back in....a week or so! We actually probably could & they would be perfectly safe & adored.

My girls have become good friends with several of the students and it was great getting to see them.
We sat at a table with Fatma.  Although Noah was mingling with a table of pretty girls most of the evening.

Camilla volunteered to help with an activity on stage.  She was adorable.
She had to stick her hand in a bucket of ice to try to find a 50 baisa coin. She came out with a very cold/wet hand but no coin.  After a lot of applause, they handed her a coin anyway.
Conor volunteered as well & he didn't get a coin either---but they didn't give him one.

We look forward to attending the next English cafe' in 2 weeks where the discussion will be environmental issues.  I hope littering is brought up.  It is out of hand here.  We need to start a campaign to clean up Oman!

Constant attention from the students

The lovely mosque on campus

Noah makes friends with Sayid (sp?), a Bedouin student.

Charming Noah...

Camilla on stage.

Conor entertaining the crowd.

Mira & Camilla with Fatma & Ahlam, special friends.

How this "toy" got placed in the kid's section of Khimji's Mart, I do not know!!!

LOL!!!

Um, this isn't Spencer's!!!

Wow, & ooooopppppssss!

People watchin' from the carpark

Noah fell asleep in the car on our way to Khimji's Mart (our local grocery store) so I stayed in the car with him while Rob took the girls in to do some shopping.

People watching in Nizwa is never dull. I can't help but constantly say to myself, "I live here!" It is just sooooo different.

 The majority of the traffic in & out is Omani men in dishdashas and Omani women in abayas;  usually quite a few children too.
There are many Indians & Pakistani too living in Nizwa.



So, the "whiteys" (totally being silly here saying that) really do stand out. Out of respect of the culture  & to avoid anymore attention than you already get, most white women wear modest clothing in public.  Arms covered, long skirts or pants...no head coverings but some do.  I have my standard uniform: an ankle length skirt & a light weight long sleeved shirt & sandals.

 As I am people watching I see a very out of place tourist.  She is wearing a tight red tank top with white bra straps hanging out.  Scandalous! Definitely not something you see here every day.
Didn't she read her Oman guide book prior to visiting here?!
Seriously, not cool around these parts but Westerners are often forgiven for their faux pas.


The car parked right next to me had an Omani lady & her very young, less than 1 yr old, child on her lap waiting for her husband to come out of the store.

She was loving on her son & kissing him & he was giggling (I could see this but not hear it) & then she made eye contact with me and could see that I was taking it all in, the beautiful interaction between her & her son.

We smiled at each other.  And the look we exchanged was nothing more than "awwwww, sweet baby".


  Then she had him blow kisses & wave at me & it was so precious. A Mother's love & pride...♥ universal...

What IS this???

 

A chicken? Some sort of a turkey??

It was just walking down the street at dusk yesterday---rather big too.

Frankincense: not just a gift for Jesus

I love how frankincense seems to clean the air.

We burn it frequently around here and I find myself craving the scent.

Coming from the Boswellia tree, Frankincense comes in many grades.  The highest quality to most Omanis is silver but most westerners feel that hojari smells better. This probably has something to do with the climate in which it is burnt.

We brought a lot of frankincense back to the USA to give to friends and family and I think the majority enjoyed it. Imagine me dividing it up from a large bag into many little baggies. It looks a bit dodgy.

A lot of people said it reminded them of church.  And for those that don't like incense anyway, this was probably way too strong for their liking.