May in Oman

May 25, 2006

As we get closer to the end of school, time seems to go quicker. It may be that our lives feel busier, or maybe it has to do with all of us getting into a routine. In either case, the updates on this blog have been few and far between. We have been very busy, just not with the sort of adventure one imagines when picturing Arabia. Lawrence of Arabia meet Mia of Muscat.

My birthday was a nice, laid back affair. We had some friends over for grilled fish and lots of wine. Taj even went to bed in the middle of the party, which allowed everyone to feel better about staying. Although I am 36, I really do not feel any different. I am thankful that Ellen, Taj, and now Mia keep pushing me to understand new perspectives. Each day is new and life is never boring.

Our Anniversary took place on May 13^th. We had stir fry at home and then went out for “ice” (ice cream) with Taj and Mia. Mia slept and Taj kept getting cold headaches. It was not very interesting, but we will make up for it in the coming years. Ellen celebrated Mothers Day on Sunday the 14^th. I had the date on my calendar, but was surprised to hear of some people celebrating it on the 11^th. Then, I found out the Omani Mother’s Day is on the 11^th, while the American Mother’s day was still on the 14^th. Phew, I thought I was in trouble. Anyway, Ellen was able to get away for a Thai Massage. It was her first time away from Mia.

Last weekend (remember we have a Thursday/Friday weekend here), I did a short Triathlon. This event was called the Sandy Triathlon. It was very low key and quite short. However, we did have a large inflatable “Red Bull” arch for a finish line and the “Red Bull Girls” were out quenching the athlete’s thirst. In typical Oman fashion, the race started 20 minutes late and only a few people actually knew the course. The rest of us were advised to follow the flour that had been poured on the sand to mark the route and watch out for cars and quad bikes that also use the area we were on. The swim was about 300 meters, the “sandy bike” was 10 kilometers (although you had to get off and push for about 200 meters), and the run was a quick 3 km. The toughest part for me was when I crashed on my bike and lost all my water. Since it was 95 degrees out, this turned out to be quite a drag. Anyway, I finished 6^th out of 12 people. The guy who won is the best Omani tri-athlete and the woman who came in last had never done a triathlon before. As you can imagine, the demand for such events in Oman is quite low.

This morning I helped a friend participate in another athletic event. The Fahal Island Swim is a pretty serious open ocean race that starts at an Island 2.5 miles from the finish. Each swimmer needs a support boat and that is what I provided to my friend Matt. At 6:30 am, I kayaked out to the Island and waited for the race to begin. It was almost cool at this time of day and the paddle was wonderful. The island is large, but is also simply a sheer cliff coming out of the water. The swimmers need to wait for the gun while standing in the water, because there is no beach. At 7:30, 80 swimmers took off, some setting a blistering pace. I set Matt’s “line” and he was smooth and steady for the fist 4/5^th of the race. For the first hour and a half, we avoided jellyfish and gazed at feeder fish trying to escape a larger predator below. Matt also saw a sea turtle and a stingray swim underneath him. However, just as we were getting close, this current caught us and we were being pushed toward India. We were never in any danger, but I wondered if Matt would make it to the finish. Finally, after battling the current head on for 20 minutes, we decided to go towards shore (and closer to the rocky coast line) which lessened the current. Matt plugged on for another half hour or so and crossed the finish line with a smile.

5/26/2006 Taj’s birthday by Momma:

My little boy is 2 years old today! I can’t believe it! It seems like so long ago that we were in the Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater, basking in the glow of newborn Taj and our family of 3. Now we are a family of 4 living in Oman. Time flies but, as Greg pointed out; we are definitely smelling the roses along the way. Life is good.

Last night we had a party for Taj- complete with homemade birthday cake, helium balloons, little kids and adults. It was great to see that Taj recognized it as a special time. He put on his “fancy” clothes, ran to the door to greet everyone, smiled the whole night, played with his balloons-fascinated, sat wide-eyed as we all sang “Happy Birthday”, ate (and wore) ice cream, and checked in for numerous hugs throughout the night. I was so happy for him!