Site Search:
 
Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Anyone want to share a house?
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
 
Post new topic   This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Oman
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
kuberkat



Joined: 03 Jun 2005
Posts: 358
Location: Oman

PostPosted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 2:03 pm    Post subject: Friends Living and Taking Your Quarterlife Crisis To Oman Reply with quote

With all the taboos hanging in the air, the idea of sharing never even crossed my mind. In the teensy-tiny Omani town where I arrived two months ago, there were simply no apartments or villas to be found at the beginning of semester. Did anyone think of sharing? No way. It probably is because of the higher average age of teachers, thanks to the job requirements. Most have reached the age where they either have families or prefer privacy.
And on the subject of age, if tarka and maybeme are "Friends" age or below, brace yourselves, honeys. Rural Oman (yes, where the colleges are) is a patient place. Very not MTV generation, and in terms of tech it can be purgatory on a stick. The older professionals take this in their stride, but it is a monumental downer to say, techjunkie me. Being younger is an asset in many ways, but don't expect it to be seen as proof of your competence. This is not an industry where being a hot young thing is an asset! If you are younger, especially if you are a female, you may find that you have to prove your professional worth just a little more adamantly. Not that this will be a problem for you, I'm sure;-).
In the wild brown yonder outside the college walls, well, any woman gets loads of attention. Exponentially so if you're younger. Yes, even if you cover up in your most decent drab formless garb, or abbeya with headscarf! They smell you. Don't let it put you off, but be prepared for it and stick up for yourself. In public, you will be treated like a princess. As soon as nobody's watching, morals are easily misplaced, especially by the types you'd rather not get delightfully immoral with. Just stay in princess mode, and steer them back to it.
Oman is a beautiful place with delightful people, and your students will be adorable. But it is necessary to know that it can also be difficult, especially if you are a young woman. Why say that? Because I heard it, ignored it and then, bam! I felt it. Ouch. Fear not: there are many redeeming qualities, too, and you will have a great time.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
abufletcher



Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 779
Location: Shikoku Japan (for now)

PostPosted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:48 pm    Post subject: Re: Friends Living and Taking Your Quarterlife Crisis To Oma Reply with quote

kuberkat wrote:
Yes, even if you cover up in your most decent drab formless garb, or abbeya with headscarf!


I remember watching bemusedly as a group of my Saudi students (military) leered and commented on a group of passing Saudi females dressed head to toe in black (the classic "Guiness bottle"). They all agreed on which one was the most beautiful. At this point I figured they were just putting me on so I asked how could they possibly know which abaya'ed form was the most beautiful. They said it came from years and years of watching the way an abaya moved and that it was fairly easy to deduce the figure underneath.

This made me think back to my days playing high school football and how you got so you could recognize everyone by the small details of the fit (or ill-fit) of their uniform.

On another occassion I was showing my Omani students a photograph that I had taken of a Yemeni women also completely covered. Seconds after showing the photo a male in the front row (still 5 feet away) commented that she had a very beautiful finger! I had to do a double take and look at my own photograph and sure enough you could just barely make out one knuckle of her thumb clutching at her abaya.

The moral: Never underestimate the ability of an eager male to spot and appreciate a well-turned ankle -- or thumb as the case may be! Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 5:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Itr seems strange to me that the original poster cannot see that the norms in Oman might be different from what is acceptable in California ! Does (s)he really think the whole world is like his Western university town ?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
The Ciderman



Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 2:53 pm    Post subject: Sharing in Oman Reply with quote

I admit to having shared a house in a village near Nizwa a few summers ago with two other men! We were well off the beaten track so I doubt anyone noticed or cared and we got well paid for our sinful living.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Hector_Lector



Joined: 20 Apr 2004
Posts: 548

PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ciderman, I believe I was one of the other two men!

If so, we lived together in a manly way, none of your funny business. Beer, separate cars and eating out every day! No messing with girly stuff like cooking!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945

PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 7:07 pm    Post subject: Girly stuff Reply with quote

Who emptied the ashtrays and took out the rubbish in the absence of girlies, Hector?
Note for the politically correct: tongue firmly in cheek here.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
abufletcher



Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 779
Location: Shikoku Japan (for now)

PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2005 1:28 am    Post subject: Re: Girly stuff Reply with quote

grahamb wrote:
Who emptied the ashtrays and took out the rubbish in the absence of girlies, Hector?


My son says that if there's one thing he's learned from playing the Sims, it's that when your house gets too messy, you burn it down and get a new one! Very Happy


Last edited by abufletcher on Thu Nov 17, 2005 11:33 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945

PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2005 8:10 am    Post subject: Burning problem Reply with quote

I'd rather employ a cute Filipina to tidy up. Wink
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Hector_Lector



Joined: 20 Apr 2004
Posts: 548

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For �ashtrays�. read �garden�. The only rubbish was in the form of empty cans, which we binned (having first carefully placed them in plastic bags, so as not to offend non-drinking believers).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 3:46 pm    Post subject: Groan. Reply with quote

So, Hector, was the bin laden?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 6:44 pm    Post subject: Uncle Osama Reply with quote

I guess that one was a shade too subtle.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Hector_Lector



Joined: 20 Apr 2004
Posts: 548

PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I�m still trying to think of a witty answer.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
abufletcher



Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 779
Location: Shikoku Japan (for now)

PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

At this point, even a half-witty answer will do.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Russell Hadd



Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 181

PostPosted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 12:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

abufletcher wrote:
At this point, even a half-witty answer will do.


Well grambrain might even be able to manage that himself if he thinks for a while. Let's wait and see Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945

PostPosted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 1:05 pm    Post subject: Wits' end Reply with quote

Okay, Rushdie, I'll supply the half-witty answer and leave the half-wit answer to you. Wink
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Oman All times are GMT
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Page 2 of 3

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

Teaching Jobs in China
Teaching Jobs in China