Missives from Muscat: You Win Some, You Lose Some

Given how successful Friday's outing to Nizwa and Misfat al 'Abreyyin was, it was kind of inevitable that we'd have some ...not outright failures, but...ok, outright failures. Some days you love being abroad, because it's beautiful and exciting and stimulating. Other days, you just want to go home.

Yesterday my roommates and I woke up and our internet wasn't working - our password had expired, so I didn't get either of my video-chat dates that I had planned. That made me already kind of grumpy (a lot grumpy). We decided to go into Muscat, rather than stay out in the Seeburbs (our suburb is named Seeb, get it?). We picked out a place to visit in Muscat - Shari'at al-Hub, which runs along the beach and leads into al-Qurm shopping area. On the map this looked simple, and we thought, hey we're up early (ready to go by 9a) so let's go into town now, stroll around, have lunch and come back during the siesta. Everything here, except lunch restaurants, closes between 1-4pm, during the hottest part of the day.

Our hotel manager, Haitham, was at the front desk when we came down and asked how to get a cab. In the morning in Souq al-Khoudh, it's completely empty, so flagging a cab on the street would be impossible. In addition, we were a little nervous about haggling; there are no metered cabs here, so you negotiate a price before you get into the cab. We'd heard everything from 1.5 rials (~$4) to 5 rials (~$13) to get into town. Ever so generously, Haitham drove us to Shari'at al-Hub, showing us a few other places along the way. He dropped us off at the Starbucks with the most incredible view.

We then walked along the beach, which was strewn with with unbroken seashells. We then walked up to al-Qurm shopping center, about 2 kms south. We were the only people on the sidewalk. It was boiling hot - over 100 degrees and 70% humidity. We didn't want to take a cab, because we knew as soon as we gave up and got in a cab, the shopping center would be around the corner. Cars and cabs kept honking at us - the three crazy foreigners walking in that intense heat. By the time we made it to Al Qurm, we were drenched and drained. We sat on a bench in the mall for a good ten minutes, in the A/C, just to cool off before going into any stores. Defeated, we ate a (relatively) expensive lunch and caught a cab back to Souq Al Khoudh.

After a nap, we thought we'd do some grocery shopping and laundry. Trying to be efficient, we gathered up our laundry and went to the laundry place across the street to put our clothes in the washer...only to discover that they only have dry cleaning here. For everything. And you pay per item of clothing. So, per pair of underwear, per sock...

I'm sure that most people have washing machines in their houses, so it's only crazy foreigners that need laundromats. But it was the straw that broke the camel's back - not only had our attempt to get to know Muscat failed, but it made us feel like the city was entirely inaccessible without a car (to get into the city from the 'burbs, and to get around the city itself). It's like LA. You just need a car. And then on top of that, we had no choice but to do laundry by hand in the bathroom (we bought a bucket for this purpose during our later grocery outing). Handwashing is fine for a hot minute, but for six weeks - it's a lot to put up with. Nothing ever feels fully clean, and my room is strewn with clothes at the moment, in various stages of drying.

It is hard not to be sidetracked by these defeats, little as they seem - they add up to a lot of discomfort, and make it difficult to feel physically comfortable to take on the big emotional discomfort of being away from home and out of your comfort zone (24/7, for months at a time). I can only hope to weather these frustrations gracefully, and learn to expect less and be content with the simple. And I can express my gratitude for the things that keep me going: for the sweet emails, texts and video chats from friends and family, functioning a/c & internet (when they function), lemon-mint juice, and for the wonderful, brilliant and exceedingly compassionate man I have somehow convinced to be my boyfriend, who talks me back off the ledge more often than I think he realizes. At the end of the dirty laundry, weird food, the fridge that freezes everything no matter what temperature it's set at, the bathroom that is always soaking wet from the overzealous showerhead, speaking like a 1st grader in Arabic (on a good day), and weathering through the crazy heat...I am thankful to be here. Tomorrow is another day...inshallah.