The Omanis are really really friendly. And they're very varied as well. They work in all sorts of jobs – one of the hotel maids is an Omani. You don't really see that in UAE, Kuwait, etc. Their skin tone varies a lot too. Oman used to have an empire in eastern Africa, so a lot of Omanis are very dark. And one of the languages spoken here is Swahili. They also have a language called Jabalia, which I thought I heard is vaguely Hebrewish.
I got a phone call on the hotel phone on Wednesday night (the last day of the week). It was some Omani guy, and he asked if I was one of the Americans studying Arabic at the University of Dhofar. I said yes, and he asked if he could practice English with me. He said he wanted to visit relatives in the West, and he could practice English and help me with my Arabic. I told him I would give his name and number to our program director (which I did). He was polite, but it was a bit weird. He said he was downstairs in the hotel if I would like to meet him, and he would be like a brother to me, and I would be a sister to him. I said I couldn't make it. In the States, that would have been really creepy. But I think he was legit. They're really friendly here, and there's not a lot of crime. People leave their cars unlocked and idling while they grab something from the coffee stand.
Speaking of coffee stands, there's a little food stand at the university. I just ordered my first tea from them. At first I was a little concerned because it was a teabag in what looked like hot milk. Then I realized, it's actually milk AND sugar! It was really really good. You gotta love the Gulf for sweet tea.
No comments:
Post a Comment