19 December - first photos

Hello

I've attached som photos today

One is of where I am staying..then there are a few of hills and mountains, with some Omani houses. Oman is like Saudi Arabia in that there are lots of rocky hills and mountains, and between them are the cities. Nearly all of the buildings are finished in a white render, and in a modernist/art deco/islamic style, its a real mix. Then there are a couple of shots of a sunset yesterday, I suspect they are all very nice here considering the amount of clear skies.

The weather is really good here, its not too hot and there is a nice breeze...better than the snowy and icy conditions back home.

Lastly, there is a photo of where I go for breakfast, and sometimes for lunch/dinner..and i have a funny story for you.

Yesterday I went for lunch, it was a buffet. So I was like hmm...what to have. The waiter said I should start with a soup, so I went and got some tomato soup, and he added some croutons. I sat down, smelled it and thought, you know what..I'm not going to like this. I had half of it, with difficulty, Tomato soup is not for me...I knew there was a reason as to why I'd never eaten it before. So, main course I had a chicken curry with rice. I had learnt my lesson though, I took only a small amount to taste it first - it was very nice. So I had some more. I complemented the chef, lol.

For dessert, i had jelly and watermelon. Watermelon. How on earth are you suppose to eat watermelon in public? Its full of seeds! I debated it in my head, and thought I should eat away and quietly spit the seeds into my plate. This was working well...until somebody came and sat on another table, and their seat was looking right at me! I couldn't do it in an elegent manner at this point, but I thought I've just got to do it, he must have seen me a few times and felt a certain degree of disgust, as he kept trying not to look at me, LOL!

I start work tomorrow morning, here they work everyday except friday, and half day on thursday. I will meet Saed tomorrow as he has been away for a few days.

That is when I will have more info on my apartment..and my resident card. I cannot get an oman SIM for my phone until I have that...and as I don't know exactly how long I'll be at the hotel, I'll tell you when I know more.

I went to a shopping centre that was kinda huge..abit like the arndale centre but bigger.
Hasham - your pw is the same as your itunes pw.

I will try to update again tomorrow.

Hope everybody is well, and that you are drinking enough water