Oman, that's awesome!: Pterodactyls or the Boogie Man?

One of the great things about Oman is the people’s willingness to accept you into their culture. Recently, the Center of International Learning hired a new driver to pick us up in the mornings and drop us off from school in the evenings. Although our driver Abdullah was phenomenal, unfortunately he had to move on, and our new driver Mahfooth has some big shoes to fill. Since day one, Mahfooth has been persistent on inviting us students to his home for a traditional time of tea and dates. After a long day from 8 to 5, most of us are tired and don’t want any kind of more of them "cultural experiences."

Today after school, however, I decided to accept Mahfooth’s invitation to his home town of Boshar, meet his family, and explore the hot springs that are near his house. Boshar is a little town next to Muscat that was built next to Muscat’s craggy mountain range. When Mahfooth and I arrived, he was very eager to show me the hot springs that are tucked in next to the mountain. Many from his town walk there after work to bathe and afterwards, pray in a one-room building that was considered one of the town mosques. I saw that there was a path from the springs that continued into the mountain, and so I asked Mahfooth if I could scout ahead to see where the path went. He looked at me, alarmed. He then explained that no one who has taken that trail has ever returned. He strictly warned me to never go there because of the many dangers that lurked on the trail. I tried to ask him what these dangers were, but he wouldn’t tell me anything else, except that if I hiked that way, I would never return. What could be back there? Wild boars? Charizard? The boogie man?

We then returned to his house, which was actually built on some ancient Portuguese ruins. It fascinates me how people can live normal lives with that kind of history in their backyard. Mahfooth opened the door for me, we took our shoes off according to Arabic tradition, and we sat down. Two of Mahfooth’s sons served us Omani coffee and dates, and then we all spent some time talking (or rather, trying our best to understand one another). The time with Mahfooth and his family was not only enjoyable, but also a part of my character development, something that we value so highly at the Academy. Mahfooth and Omani culture, in general, have taught me this, and it may sound cheesy, but it's still a valuable lesson to keep on learning: you have one life to live; therefore give.