We were off to Seeb, on the outskirts of Muscat (considered where the new middle class are building) where the beach is beautiful, there is a small souq and shopping area. Badriya, who's family is from Seeb and who took the week off because I came, met us. She showed us around the shopping area, helped me bargain for sandals for Caleb and Caroline for material. We had asked for her recommendation for a restaurant for lunch; however the family said, no restaurants are good, you must eat what we make! So Badriya and I left the group at the beach at 12:30 to go get the food, we had to stop for plates, drinks and a few ingredients and arrived at Mouza's where they finished up the cooking, including me grating carrots for the yogurt salad. Finally we get all loaded up, like 8 people in the car and are driving down the beach with this new Arabic song which features tons of famous pop stars. The song is about world peace (it is literally the Arabic We are the World-produced by the same guy) and they are all singing at the top of their lungs. I started crying under my sunglasses, it was the most emotional I got because of not being their sharing in their daily lives any more. But we arrive to the group at 2:30, lunch was supposed to be at 1 and they are COVERED in sand, it was so windy, that literally every part of them is sandy! 
We enjoy the amazing chicken & rice-it was so delicious especially because of the setting (the sidewalk pictured above borders the sands of the beach) and the hunger we were experiencing! We then were going to go to the mall to rest inside for a bit before heading to the other Festival location for the evening which is close to Seeb. The guys got a call from a friend and were off, so all the (sandy) ladies went to Mouza's to wash up, sit and rest. Aqela, her daughter, was selling material that was enough for a dress and scarf (lots of ladies have business out of their homes now- makeup, material, perfume, henna...) so several of the ladies bought some as a thank you for a wonderful day. They served us tea and gave us a tour of Mouza's home which included a small garden and overlooking a date farm. Such a nice restful fun afternoon of cross cultural exchange! Lynn like the Omani ladies didn't really like having her picture taken so we got this one below with the material she bought. 
Then after saying goodbye (and a tearful one for Tracy as they were leaving before the rest of the group and this was her last goodbye) the ladies headed to the Festival at Nassem Park. It was more spread out and as we got there earlier it wasn't as crowded either. There was a children's play area and large shopping exhibition (see above) with booths from many neighboring countries. Tracy, Shayna, Caroline and I sat outside for dinner (most of the servers at the Fest are Egyptian) and we enjoyed okay different bread with egg, cheese, meat and honey and three juices and 4 waters. Then our waiter came with the amount to pay and it was over 8 Omani Riyal (which is 20 dollars-most nights we had eaten for a buck or two). I got really angry and started arguing with him in Arabic and demanded he show me the sign with prices (also in Arabic but I could read it) and finally I got him down to about $12. I was almost shaking with anger (that he felt he could cheat us because not many tourists come to that park) and felt a little bad that the other ladies saw me do that, but then they told me that the entire time I had this huge smile on my face and looked like I was going to bust out laughing-I didn't realize that about myself! We waited until he brought ALL the change which took a while and then we headed out. Some nights we fell straight into bed but this night several of us ladies sat up and chatted in our room, they also ordered Pizza Hut (I skipped because we had that exciting dinner.
We were off to Seeb, on the outskirts of Muscat (considered where the new middle class are building) where the beach is beautiful, there is a small souq and shopping area. Badriya, who's family is from Seeb and who took the week off because I came, met us. She showed us around the shopping area, helped me bargain for sandals for Caleb and Caroline for material. We had asked for her recommendation for a restaurant for lunch; however the family said, no restaurants are good, you must eat what we make! So Badriya and I left the group at the beach at 12:30 to go get the food, we had to stop for plates, drinks and a few ingredients and arrived at Mouza's where they finished up the cooking, including me grating carrots for the yogurt salad. Finally we get all loaded up, like 8 people in the car and are driving down the beach with this new Arabic song which features tons of famous pop stars. The song is about world peace (it is literally the Arabic We are the World-produced by the same guy) and they are all singing at the top of their lungs. I started crying under my sunglasses, it was the most emotional I got because of not being their sharing in their daily lives any more. But we arrive to the group at 2:30, lunch was supposed to be at 1 and they are COVERED in sand, it was so windy, that literally every part of them is sandy! 
We enjoy the amazing chicken & rice-it was so delicious especially because of the setting (the sidewalk pictured above borders the sands of the beach) and the hunger we were experiencing! We then were going to go to the mall to rest inside for a bit before heading to the other Festival location for the evening which is close to Seeb. The guys got a call from a friend and were off, so all the (sandy) ladies went to Mouza's to wash up, sit and rest. Aqela, her daughter, was selling material that was enough for a dress and scarf (lots of ladies have business out of their homes now- makeup, material, perfume, henna...) so several of the ladies bought some as a thank you for a wonderful day. They served us tea and gave us a tour of Mouza's home which included a small garden and overlooking a date farm. Such a nice restful fun afternoon of cross cultural exchange! Lynn like the Omani ladies didn't really like having her picture taken so we got this one below with the material she bought. 
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