Our Travels

OK no paddles involved but went on a boat yesterday in the 42 degree Oman heat! We made a plan to be at the marina at 8am...and the islanders we all were we finally launched at 9am so it wasn't to bad. This was to beat the scorching heat as it is still the height of summer in this gloriously sunny region! All our boat drivers...hubby and two mates are kind of first timers to driving/captaining a boat so were trying out the speed of the boat much to my dismay and wished from the back seat that I had darts to play find the bulls eye on the captain's back! The sea was a bit rough so the ride left a lot to be desired. Basically I was just worried that my two year old would bounce off the boat and none of us had life jackets and they were sitting in the back of the car! Responsible parents we are not, but I blame the heat because we forgot some life saving sh!t in the car! We didn't forget the coolers with the beers though haha. It's all about hydrating in the heat. We foun...

So my seven year old started back at school 3 days ago and it's already the weekend! We survived the first three days and he's been enjoying going back to school. Of course the first morning of school and he announces that he's too tired and may have to stay home, to which I replied he may not! We dropped him to his classroom and his new teacher took the time to engage with him to which he answered her questions nicely. When he went into the classroom, relief was all over his face when he saw his usual friends and off he went without a look back at his parents. Three days in and he's happy with his class. My little one will start at a creche nearby at the end of the month so that will be good for him also. Today after we dropped off Master Seven, Master Twe and I went to the park and he played for about half an hour. I love the park as only the two of us were there and with the shade under the big trees it wasn't too hot. Later on I took him to the Children's ...

Tau started back at school yesterday. Now he is Grade one. When we arrived, his best friend was already in class and some of his other mates from last year were there too. So immediately he sat on the mat with the others and didn't bother to say goodbye to me. I had to go to him to say bye. I got the class schedule and it was swimming day yesterday so I went back to school 2 hours later to drop off his swimming gear and the teacher commented that he was doing really well as if he had always been there! phew...is all I can say. I was expecting him to hang onto me a bit longer like he did in Wellington. During our time in NZ I put him in Year one there so he could spend time with his peers. I guess because they were all new faces he wasn't too keen for me to leave. I stayed for about 10 minutes the first morning until he was comfortable but after that he was okay except he kept complaining that he didn't want to go. So I'm relieved that he's happy to return to his sc...

Beautiful sky in Muscat after rainy days. Very refreshing and clean. The dust has been pushed to the ground so it's clear skies all day. Just beautiful.

My friend Millie and I made it to see Aida last month at the newly opened Opera house in Muscat. Well it opened last year but I finally managed to make a show. Last year almost all the shows were sold out as they brought in sought after acts for the first year of the Opera house. They had Domingo, Andreas Bocelli, The Russian Ballet, Japanese drums and if you snoozed you lost out. I was over the moon when my opera going friend called to say she had a spare ticket for me to see Aida by Verdi. It was performed by the Warsaw National Theatre and it was beautiful. The colours on stage and the beautiful performances and voices were just magical. I enjoyed every minute of it. Last night we went to see Jessye Norman an American Opera singer. It was an enjoyable performance and the lady had a mesmerizing voice but I found it weird to listen to opera in English! Not that I understand Latin or Italian but somehow it sounds more intriguing than in English. Nevertheless Ms Norman had a very allur...

OK I'm so over being sick now. I've been sick on and off for a month now. Last week I went to the doctor and he prescribed more antibiotics when I was just on another course from Samoa. And because I'm a doctor in my head I decided it was all a scam and didn't get the antibiotics but only the cough medicine and paracetamol! Like I didn't have enough of that at home. I was ok by the week-end when it was time to pick up our guests and take 'em out to dinner clubbing  that night. The next day was the usual recovery day and by evening all was well with the world. It's really cold here at the moment and I think this is where the problem lies. I tend to catch a cold fast when I get chilled...*gasps dramatically* reminds me of those characters in Jane Eyre books who 'catch their death' outside. Well I think the sooner I realise I'm a real life 'sensitive lady' the lesser I get sick. So since yesterday I'm dressing like I live in Italy. Je...

So we were honoured with a visit from the Shamal crew this past week-end. The Admiral and the Commander have reached Sicily on their catamaran, have docked it there for the winter and are on their way home to New Zealand for Christmas. They caught a boat to Malta and flew to Dubai to see their daughter then hopped over here to catch up with all their friends in Muscat and are on their way back to Dubai to continue home to see their family for the holidays. These two survived the pirate ridden Gulf of Aden, sailed the Red Sea and went through the Suez Canal through to the Greek Islands and finally docking their boat in Sicily. They've stopped in many places along the way to sight see and their stories are always colourful and interesting about the people they meet along the way. They're very inspirational and such lovely people. If you want to read about their adventures go to  Shamal Adventures . 

How I love the week-ends these days. I've just finished teaching the evening classes today. We had the final test today and the students were complaining that the test was hard though scanning their answers they were quite capable of answering all the questions. And then of course I have the other lot who just want to get the answers from their mates. What we call cheating they call helping each other!!! It's strange but its a different culture where being competitive is not really in their vocabulary. They would rather help the next person who's having difficulty. I think its great in other aspects but in the classroom it's a headache. Last week another teacher found out that her students were sharing answers via bluetooth on their mobiles during tests. ouch! I just disallow phones, talking and copying. Though they abide by the rules you can still catch some with their necks stretched over their mates' shoulders. I threaten to subtract marks and then I get one apol...