Vol 2 House and Neighborhood

The house that I’m staying at is being rented by Eric and Val and their 2 kids, Tristan, 6 and Haley, 5. Val is a hygienist at the office I’ll be working at. Very large, traditional Omani 3 storey house that came furnished with a blend of quality and cheesy furniture. My room is on the ground floor. All 6 bedrooms have their own bathroom.

The hot water comes from a tank on the roof and by the time it gets to my bathroom it is lukewarm at best. Not so great now when the temp is 75 but I think I will appreciate it when it is 110.

These photos were taken from the roof of the house. There are lots of empty lots and houses under construction. They are all cinderblock. All floors are tile and the walls are tile in the kitchen and bathroom and thin plaster over the cinderblock in the rest of the house.

On my second day here I took a walk around the neighborhood and the architecture is so beautiful. All of the houses are white!. The front doors are all quite beautiful and ornate but difficult to photograph because all of the houses are surrounded by a cement wall with locked gates. The gates are lovely too. These photos were taken on my first walk through the neighborhood.

The people are friendly, though they do stare. You have to ask before you can take their photo so I’m going to need to learn to say that in Arabic. All of the locals smell fantastic! This is a country famous for its perfumes. I am not a big fan of perfume but I will definitely be splurging on some at some point.

I took it easy the first day. Everyone was concerned that jet lag would take it’s toll any moment. Val and Eric took me to the office and showed me around. Very large and sleek. Separate waiting rooms fro men and women. The office is still under construction and is very disorganized. I have my work cut out for me. All of the shelves and cabinets are still not in so storage is an issue. Fortunately, since the office, (and the small shopping center it is in), has only been open 6 weeks, so the schedule is still light. I have had two days of work so far and have seen only a couple of patients. Everyone in the office is very nice.