Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Good Life
So now that I’m stuck here, I have to make the best of my life right? I have to actually use my brain and be creative. It’s a tough world I tell ya’. Why do I need to be creative? Well, because I live in Salalah, where little is happening on the outside, where life revolves around repetition, and few women have a productive life. You have to either have a network in order to know what, if anything is going on behind closed doors OR you have to create a life for yourself. Otherwise, if you’re an expat like myself, you can choose to live a life of solitude or live in a little bubble of the same few people living a life as close to what you’re used to back home. Both suck. So how did you find that balance? Give me ideas.
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There's lots you can do in Salalah. Here's some ideas:
ReplyDeleteDevelop a hobby (photography, gardening, writing a blog/ book).
Go to the gym regularly.
Register for an on-line study/ enroll at Dhofar University.
Get a job (there are quite a few out there)
Meet people outside of your regular circle by going to places you don't usually go to (market, playground, new restaurants etc)
Organize events such as a BBQ and ask friends to bring along a friend or a colleague.
Bake a big cake and then go round to the neighbors and give them a part of it.
Set-up your own business. There's so much that hasn't been done yet in Salalah.
There's probably so much more you can do.... But here in Salalah you've got to scratch the surface a bit to see the possibilities that lie below.
shueshue who are you? female i am certain. you must be in salalah right?
ReplyDelete.... why are people trying to find out who shueshue is? Maybe those ANONYMOUS people who are asking should first say who they themselves are before expecting others to do so! It would be the polite thing to do right?
ReplyDeleteSo Mr. or Ms. "Anonymous".... WHO ARE YOU??????
As salam alaikum Rania.
ReplyDeleteOk yalla get in contact with me..we need to meet up soon.. i feel ur having low point of expat life..i cant say i been through it despite living in khaleej 23 yrs of my 27 yrs of life.
Have you got kids..what are their ages ?
Bring along toys and sippie cups what ever it is they may need and come spend a few hours here with mum & i.. how bout saturday ??
umm ququ.. srry nto logged in again.
hiyyach Allah
Dear Rania,
ReplyDeleteI feel like you have written exactly how I feel lately. I am not in quite the same situation as you - that is, I am an expat in Salalah, but I am not married to an Omani. However, who we are married to seems to be the only difference, and since they are both men, not really the point of contention. We are here 'cause we also made a plan, and I must say that recently I am having much more trouble sticking to this plan than my darling - and he's equally baffled by my recent mood swings and 'irrational' ideas as your other half.
Why? I do not know. I really love Salalah. I like Oman. I like its people. I feel welcome. I love the nature. I like the souq. I do not miss the blizzards and freezing rain. I do not miss the malls and hypocrisy. I even have a job. I love my job. It makes me happy.
So what is this melancholy? Why am I, why are you, restless and sleepless? I don't think I've had a good night of solid deep sleep in the last month ... why do we feel stuck? I am pretty sure, from your posts, the tone of your writing, young children, etc. that we are of a similar age. There are NOT that many expats or, as you wrote, "same few people living a life as close to what you’re used to back home" that are anywhere near our age. That is the first problem, and certainly not the only one.
Furthermore, the options of solitude or contained bubble, to use your words, both suck, suck, suck! I miss my family ... like crazy sometimes ... and I know you miss yours ... The reasons we chose to come here and create a life for ourselves are noble, commendable, more than justifiable and right. Our lives are better here. I am not blind, I am not stupid, I can clearly see in how many ways our lives have grown, benefited and improved since we were lucky enough to come to this little haven - and the ways are too numerous to expound upon here.
But, and there's that little hiccup, my mind knows all of these things and yet at the end of each mental list of just how good everything is, my mind lurches into a little 'but ...'. And, of course, it never finishes the thought. It's like a little psychic joke: "..., but ..." - BUT WHAT? And then my heart does this little jump, and I can feel myself tensing even as I sigh, and anxiety kicks in ... and I don't even know why! It's most frustrating ...
I have also been thinking along the lines of 'I must think of doing something creative with my time, all this precious time we have here, time that is our life, time that could end tomorrow for all I know, the time that so many people would sell their souls for'. Really, when people talk about having a lot of money, winning the lottery, being rich, I do not think they do it because they want to buy THINGS - they want to buy TIME, time in which they can be free from worries and cares about material necessities of life and be free to solely do the things that they love and enjoy.
And now, after an entire lifetime spent 'home', worrying about the next paycheck, paying this bill or that, now we find ourselves with all this time we wished for for years ... and, now what? Now we don't know what to do with it.
I am a creative person, and I'm not tooting my own horn here. I like reading, writing, making things with my hands, music, art, good films, good food, good cup of coffee, a good friend or two to share the coffee and life's little surprises with. I even have a number of 'irrational' (so I've been told) business ideas. But what do I choose? How do I decide this is it? What if I'm wrong?
Anyway, I will stop writing now - just wanted to let you know I feel ya ... have to go make dinner ... but I will get back to you, share some of my ideas ... Perhaps what has been missing for both of us is someone to understand, share with and get support from. And maybe we just find that elusive something we are searching for - together.
Goodnight.
AS SALAM ALAIKUM.
ReplyDeleteTime, i like ur post. Im so pleased to see a good bunch of ladies here in salalah who have a big mind and creativty as their middle names mashaAllah. I think my idea of opening my front door for ladies/kids morning is going to flow right into place soon. So time maybe ud liek to join Rania and have a kids/ladies morng at my house... ud be most welcome.. it would be a pleasure to meet u both as im freindless here in salalah..jstr my hubby's tribe that live here. im the odd fish out of the indian ocean lol.
Ill set up an email and post the addy here just for us to connect so that non of us have to display personnal info on blogs. Or is there a way to message people via blogger and only we can see it ??
tata & ma salama for now. cheer up ladies.. sme days of entertainment are on the way and they wont cost anything.
Maybe some of you ladies can put up your email cause I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to meet some women in Salalah. I am a teacher at the college and find my first year here a little lonely. :)
ReplyDeleteAs salam alaikum.
ReplyDeleteOk Ladies ( AND I MEAN STRICTLY LADIES,ITAQ ALLAH BROS.)
Here is an email addy where u can contact me..ladies feel free..inshaAllah ill mail/call u back and we can arrange a day to meet up at my place.
sweetnessofsalalahblog@hotmail.co.uk Umm Ququ
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shueshue for gods sake :P tell me .. spotlight on you now xD
ReplyDeleteIn Salalah u maybe lonely if you are an expat missing your family but here you can go mughsail,haffa there is also a cinema house in haffa ,mate money is good in Salalah many indian resturants pleanty to explore go to muscat, go to dubai ,plan afamity trip to salalah.
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