Hello my wonderful followers. Long time no blog...


As I write this, I am sitting here enjoying my favorite snack: a bagel and coffee. I am at a place called "the bagel bar" in the Dubai mall. I've been to a few malls in my life, but nothing quite like this. Aquarium, ice skating, huge theater, indoor skiing, shops galore, all types of food- even a bagel place. There was even a little mini-mall leading up to the real mall. Not to mention, the mall also happens to be right next door to the tallest building in the world- the Burj Khalifa. I am starting to understand what everyone meant in Oman when they talked about how much more laid-back and humble things are compared to Dubai. There is money here, and lots of it from what I can see. 

Anyway, this post is not suppose to be about Dubai. I am officially finished with my third stop. I am now one third of the way done with my project. I had a much better week this week after missing last Friday due to another battle with a stomach bug. I recorded a few of the songs my students created, helped out with the kindergarten graduation, and said goodbye to everyone at the school. I will miss some of those students for sure. And I hope they get a music teacher for next school year. The kids deserve it. There are some promising young musicians at Al Injaz. 

I am looking forward to laying low and taking it easy in Armenia for a week. Honestly, it will be nice to see some people I know and not have to go through the stress of memorizing a bunch of new names. I am also going to do some serious reflecting on the past three stops and planning for the work in Africa. My next two countries are Ethiopia and Tanzania, and I’m sure there are many new challenges that lay ahead. AH! I’m ready though. Excited to keep going.

Having said that, sometimes I do find myself doubting the legitimacy of this whole thing. I find myself questioning my motives and my ability to follow through on my plans. I have gotten a lot of help from family and friends along the way, but it is challenging not having someone who has done this before to go to for advice. I am learning a lot though, that is for sure. It is so cool to be able to experience so many different school cultures and meet with the school leaders that help create that culture. 

However stressful it may be not having specific guidance as to how to do things, that is also what I am enjoying the most about this year. I have complete freedom to design and implement everything as I see fit. I have my backers from kickstarter to think about, and the desires of the schools that I partner with, but ultimately this is my creation, and that is a very freeing thing. I go back and forth though. Would I rather be comfortable working for someone else or struggling working for myself? Perhaps this is something I will be thinking about for some time.

I have been working on editing together the video footage I have been taking from the different schools and some of it looks pretty cool. Not perfect, but I’m excited to share the final project with y’all when it is ready at the end of the year. 

All for now. More pics and videos of Oman from Armenia. 

Until then,

-T

Bonus: check out Thendup Sherpa and I rehearsing his song "Puppy Love" in India.

It is midday here in Oman and the temperature is hovering around 101 degrees fahrenheit. It’s hot. Too hot. It’s Friday, but the weekend has already begun here. Like most countries in the Muslim world, we get Friday and Saturday off, not Saturday and Sunday. It will be a little strange going into work on Easter this year. 

Someone asked me about how developed Oman is, so here's what I think. Before I came to Oman, I knew it would be relatively developed here, but I had no idea how Westernized this area of the world has become. For better or worse, there is just about every fast food chain available all over the place. There are a couple big malls with all the big brand names. The malls seem to be the place to hang out on the weekends (nothing compared to Dubai though, people keep telling me). This makes sense, as it is way to hot out to do anything outside from about 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The malls are not too different from back home in the US at first glance, except the majority of shoppers are dressed in relatively conservative Islamic clothing. 

I have one more thought for this post. As Americans, the impression that we get from this part of the world through the media is not exactly the most positive. Most of the Arabic language I have heard in my life up to this point has been related to terrorism and war. I’m pretty certain that is true. Oman is a peaceful country, but I can’t help but think about the kids in Syria and Afghanistan etc. that look and talk a lot like my students here. They are just trying to go to school and grow up too, which sucks, because they are caught between some nonsense that they can’t control. It’s easy to get numb to seeing the same images over and over again in the news, but it get’s more difficult to not feel anything when the kid on TV looks just like Mohamed in class 2A. 

I still have about three weeks left here. Then I will take a trip to Armenia for a week. My school in Ethiopia doesn’t need me until the 19th of May, so I have a week to spare, and Armenia is close enough that it is worth it to take a trip up there and see some friends. 

Thanks for following along on this journey of mine. I appreciate all of your feedback. Keep it coming! Feel free to let me know what else you would like to hear about or if you have any suggestions.

-T

For this post, I was prepared to blog about all the things that are different here in the Middle East. The traditional dress, the desert landscapes, the call to prayer, the gender norms, the censorship, the friendly people, the nice cars, Islam, oil, etc... But a student today made me stop and think.

I was getting to know some the 11th graders at my school here in Oman (there are only 10 of them) and I was asking them about the music they like to listen to. Eminem, Taylor Swift, One Direction. They told me they like pop, rock, country, r&b. Then I asked them a little bit about life in Oman. I said something like, "what are some things that make you different from kids in other parts of the world?" After a long pause, one girl said, "Nothing makes us different, really. We are just normal teenagers." And that was interesting to me. Because here I was, making all these assumptions as an outsider, but, despite the differences that I see between these guys and other kids are the world, they really are just like students anywhere else. 

And I think that is the major lesson I am starting to learn on this trip. You can go into a school anywhere, and no matter how foreign a place may seem on the surface, people are pretty much the same anywhere. The human condition. It's a wonderful thing.

No more to say right now, but please check out these videos of the senior students in Darjeeling. Stay tuned.

-T