Yesterday, I moved into my new house with my host family. Our program director explained to us that the middle class in Oman lives at a much higher standard of living than the middle class in the US, but I'm not sure I expected such a wonderful experience. I have my own room and bathroom!
More than simply being elaborate, there's a cultural relevance to a majority of the items included in the household. A large aspect of the Arab culture is the insistence upon welcoming guests, this understanding is also stressed heavily in Islam, and partially explains why I was offered my ow room while my two sisters and two brothers share rooms and bathrooms.
If surveying the country of Oman you would find an UNBELIEVABLE number of bathrooms per resident. SIT, the organization that brought me to Oman, recently moved its headquarters in OMan from its old building into a house, which they converted into an office. In the SIT buildin there are at least six bathrooms! The necessity for bathrooms comes from the ISlamic culture that requires that people bathe regularly and stay clean, having rules for cleaning one's body before prayer. Furthermore, the necessity for cleaning comes from the climate in Oman, whihc causes much more sweating that this American is used to! People regularly bathe upwards of three times a day, which is not a shower in the thirty-minute-style customary in the west, but rather a two-minute rinse.
Cleanliness extends to some strange areas as well. The first day, after my flight landed in Muscat, I found a restroom near the baggage claim. Inside the restroom, I found a lack of toilet paper, which is always frustrating, and noticed a hose (similar to a kitchen hose that is used to wash dishes, complete with squirter) next to the toilet. At this point in time, I did not assume that my lack of toilet paper could be in anyway solved by the presence of this kitchen hose, but--you guessed it--that's what it's for! Omanis think it's disgusting that Americans simply use toilet paper after they use the restroom; Omanis prefer to wash themselves after they go, with under-pressurized stool-side water. Often times, families will then use western toilet paper to dry off.
Moreover, imagine being a foreigner and arriving in the United States two weeks before Christmas. Everywhere you go, you hear the music, you see people on their best behavior (because Santa's watching, and because of the religious signifance of the season), churches gearing up and getting full people are shopping for gifts for their families (and traffic is terrible), signs in the stores all wish you Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings, etc.
Ramadan is currently taking place in Oman, complete with music (or Qu'ran readings heard publicly in stores and radio), people on their best behavior (dressing in traditional Omani clothing and covering more than usual), Mosques filled at every prayer time with men, everyone is looking t give gifts to their families and also they are buying new clothes and getting haircuts in preparation, traffic is terrible, and Pepsi bottles as well as supermarket ads declare Ramadan Kareem! Eid comes at the conclusion of Ramadan, and is a time in which families get together (after having fasted for a month) and eat and enjoy spending time with each other. People buy new clothes and exchange gifts as well as money. My sisters have been explicit abut the excitement that happens before Eid.
I have so much more that I could say, but I always hate reading long blog entries. If you read this, please send me an email to stay in touch. I am trying to figure out a way to skype, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to know.
to collect my thoughts over the course of the trip
