Recent Events

[disclaimer: this post originally had photos (honestly, what post doesn't? but the server doesn't seem to want them at the moment. apologies.]

Many apologies for a short hiatus, especially when during that time, much happened that needs commenting on. Unfortunately, I caught a rather nasty sinus/cough/cold bug which lasted nearly a month, so I finally broke out of my stubbornness and saw the doctor the other day. I now have plenty of drugs and have been happily drinking loads of tea, and sipping chicken soup (with a slice of fresh ginger for a good kick :)). And thus begins another round of updates ...

24-26 February (Saturday-Monday): Rustaq
Rustaq was my first extensive research visit. Thanks to Julia and her husband, I stayed with a local family living in the village of Khafdi, about 20 km outside of Rustaq proper, while I conducted my field visit to the Rustaq Women's Association. The experience was quite unique, as I could have probably opted to stay in a hotel during that research visit, but living with a family, communicating with them solely in Arabic and interacting with them on a daily basis (although they refused my help when I offered it, insisting that I was a guest). The family was not well off by most standards of living, but to the Omani standards, it was quite comfortable ... bedroom, bathroom (squat toilets woo!), and satellite TV is all you need, I suppose. The matriarch had borne 12 (!) children, and about half of them were in the immediate area. I even got my hands henna painted one night (and subsequently had to stay up til 2 am in my clothes, standing awkwardly under the ceiling fan, coaxing the paint to dry faster).

I think that the Rustaq OWA sets quite a standard in terms of providing adequate information and experience for my research. They were the ones that offered to write a piece on regional traditional dress for Julia's use in her own research,** and were quite enthusiastic about mine. My first day, I toured the building; the first floor held offices, classrooms (for preschool, computer and sewing classes), kitchens, while the second floor comprised mostly of classrooms for the 300 or so pre-school/kindergarten age children attending. The outside courtyard was quite large. I interviewed the director, Aliyah, posing my standard questions about her position as director, interest of local women in the association. That evening, I attended a lecture event (subject was intended for younger high school/20-something females and centered on respecting one's parents), and then headed to Rustaq's famed hot springs (amazing!) before heading back to Khafdi. My second day was spent exploring parts of Rustaq area (I felt like the ladies felt it was their responsibility to show me around town) after another religious lecture, this time on respecting one's husband, held at someone's home. The audience was obviously a group of mothers and grandmothers. Before I left on the third day, Aliyah presented me with a nice booklet about the Rustaq OWA, basically answering all my questions in paper form. Now all I need is a good translator ...

** digression: I don't know if I had mentioned this in the past, but I have been working on a volunteer basis with Julia, the director of a recent effort called the Centre for Omani Dress. After I told her about my Fulbright project and learning more about what the centre does in terms of preserving Oman's dress identity, I decided to use that as an angle for my OWA visits, asking directors of the OWAs in major regional centers (like Sur in the Sharqiyah region and Nizwa in the Dakhiliyah area) to provide a written account of regional dress. Rustaq provided the example and the idea.

Many high school aged females are keen to patronize the OWA by attending classes that maximize their skills so that they can attain jobs after high school graduation. In many cases outside of the capital area, a girl completing high school is still such a major achievement. Many girls complete it and don't continue onto college or university; they either get married or obtain jobs in the area. The OWA helps them in both cases.

27-29 February (Wednesday-Friday): Bidiyah
Originally, Bidiyah was not on my list of "official" OWA visits, but when one has connections that gets you to connect with the appropriate OWA officials without the need of ministry letters and other bureaucratic-ness, one usually runs with it. This time, Julia's husband's friend came to the rescue. Every month, Julia's husband Mohammed goes on a desert crossing (right through the middle of the dune of the Sharqiyah sands ... even the Bedu think him crazy!) with a huge caravan. His friend, Bader, is the rescue operations help since he is a native of Bidiyah, where the adventure starts. And Bader's family was quite involved with the local OWA and thus was the start of my unofficial (yet extremely enjoyable) trip to Bidiyah.

My time in Bidiyah showed me just a glimpse of the various emotions and experiences that will happen this year, traveling from one part of the country to the other. It may have been the particular family I was staying with (which was quite interactive, boisterous, energetic, educated and overall quite fun) or the fact that I had never been to the Omani desert and have been utterly bewitched by the 10 colors of the dunes and the extreme fineness of the sands that made me enjoy my time more in Bidiyah than in Rustaq. Perhaps it was because it was the weekend, and I was not bound by my research limits and a certain amount of objectivity that I must maintain when I conduct these official visits. It was probably a combination of all of them.

I suppose the name of the wilayat of Bidiyah relates to root of the word "bidaya" (the beginning), as it was literally on the edge of the Wahiba desert. This family seems more well-off and educated than the last family, perhaps by the number of children (8 instead of 12 ... although that still seems like quite a lot). I had my own spacious guest room and private bath (Western toilet woot!). The family owns 6 goats, which are value in themselves, and they have full-time help (a sweet Indonesian by the name of Noor). Like always, I spent most of my time with the women and children of the family (except on those occasions when Bader's brother in law would drive me and family around town and into the desert), and I really liked the dynamic with the women of the family (Bader's mother and 3 sisters -- one is in Australia).

Jihad (pronounced locally Gihad) has 2 sweet girls, Hamama (meaning dove) and Ghazala (?) and is pregnant with a boy. We were all discussing what she should name her son, and it seems that they all enjoy the name Omar. Jihad's eldest sister Aliyah joked around and said that I should name my future children "Oman" and "Bidiyah" ... showing the sweet and easy going nature of the family. It reminded me a lot of my family -- everyone in each others' business, but still very energetic and all their different personalities meshing together to form a great network of support. Aliyah's 2 kids, Waleed and Raya are 4 and 1.5 respectively. She used to work as a teacher in the local OWA kindergarten for 10 years, but when the directorship changed** her salary decreased for about RO50/month to RO15/month. She quit and went to teach in a private school. Zahara words as a nurse in the local's hospital emergency room. On the days I was there, she came in from her night shift, with news about all the injuries that silly young Omani inflict on themselves after driving like maniacs without their seatbelts on. Her 3-year-old son Mohammed is quite the chatterbox and terrorizes all around him, but is quite sweet. He likes cars and can name all the cars his uncles have, and he also fearlessly enters the goat pen during feeding time, while his cousins shriek and run as a goat escapes. Bader's mother worked in a school and the hospital before retiring. She was also part of the original group that founded the local Bidiyah OWA. She wears beautiful traditional clothes, including her sarwal (pants) with silver stitching and intricate hand embroidery. It looks quite worn with pride. I spent much of my time with these women and children, mostly eating and conversing of course. They taught me how to eat Omani style with my hands (there is quite the technique to it and I had been doing it wrong all along, dribbling half my food on my clothes and back on the plate instead of my mouth like a baby ...), and informed me about the lives of their families, the life of the community, the history of the community, their involvement in it, and of course, their impressions of America and American politics (the subject honestly cannot be avoided ... but extended conversation about it is always steered in another direction, and I am saved from sometimes ludricous conspiracy theories).

One day, I will have to back to Bidiyah ... not only for a desert crossing (the concept sounds so "un-Aisa" but I want to do it!) but to spend time with such a fun family. They kind of remind me of my own, which is probably why I took to them so quickly.

** Digression: Through Bader's and Aliyah's connections, I was able to meet the current and former directors of the OWA. I was quite displeased with the way the first interview went (with the current director), as she spent most of her time commenting on the inefficiency of government agencies to help out the OWA and complaining (probably the first time I've ever heard an Omani actually complain) about financial insecurity. This went on for 2 hours late into the night when my stomach was yearning for dinner. The next evening, my former director was more obliging to my questions and actually answered everything that wasn't answered the night before. She even provided me with written text!


Flat Omanis
During my day in between trips, I spent the morning with Julia and the Centre for Omani Dress. We presented 5th graders information about traditional dress so that they could write to their Scottish friends about it for their Flat Stanley project (Stanley is apparently a coloring book character). Anyway, the kids had decorated "Flat Stanleys" with Scottish dress (modernized of course), and Julia thought it would be a neat idea to make "Flat Omanis" out of felt, glitter, puff paint and all the art supplies one could imagine. It was great fun; the kids knew a lot about their dress identity and learned even more ... and leashed out their creativity (and possibly hinted at future fashion designer careers).

This past week was quite tame compared to that whirlwind busy week, but I was grateful ... I could recover from somewhat of a culture shock at being in 2 very places in one country ... and also to recover from whatever sickness I contracted from whoever I was in contact with ... Who knows what this week will bring? Next time I'll mention something about learning flamenco and consequently Spanish and upcoming trips!