November/December 2007

(trail Marker in the Eastern Hajjar Mountains)

Like life, this trail just keeps going! I cannot believe it's been TWO months since I updated. Well, this entry should explain my tardiness:

November 2007--THE Hike
SO, in early mid November, eight adventurous and quite daring guys embarked on what was supposed to be a mild to medium grade, 2 day hike across the eastern mountain range along the Gulf of Oman--The Eastern Hajjar Mountains. We only peaked at 2100 meters, but I started at 600 and went almost straight up the first day!

Here was the plan: 4 guys start in the interior (myself included), at Wadi Bani Khalid (a beautiful spring-fed oasis where the mountains meet the Wahiba Desert) and trek across the range to Wadi Tiwi, which empties into the Gulf of Oman. Another team would start in Tiwi and head to W. B. Khalid. We'd swap cars, camp under the open skies, and all would be well. Sounded fairly simple to everyone on board. Well, nobody planned for enough water (I packed 11 liters, all of which seemed to evaporate before my eyes!), about everyone suffered varying degrees of heat exhaustion and blisters and fatigue (even the most seasoned trekkers on the trip!!!), and we barely made it down by dark the second night. However, it was incredible:

Wadi Bani Khalid
























Top of the Eastern Hajjar Mtns.


(an old cave village--Besheen)

Wadi Tiwi
Here I am on top of Wadi Tiwi:






(This is the last picture I snapped before the descent)











This is pretty much how we all felt after the trip:
(Soles saved by Gorilla Tape!!)


December 2007--Holiday Spirit
We started December with a tonsilectomy--Emma's. She suffered it like a champ! The only problem we had was we found out that she DOES NOT like ice cream!! Unbelieveable. Here are a couple of pictures.

















TAISM also had its Elementary school Discover Oman, when the elementary school shuts down for a week in order to venture out into Muscat and beyond to foster a greater respect for this country. Here Emma's "discovery" at the fish souk:



I went into Kai's classroom and cleaned a fish his class brought back from the souk, but, alas, there are no pictures. Most of you have cleaned fish, and some of you have cleaned fish with kids looking on, so you can imagine the eventual mess 16 kindergartners made with guts and eyes and curious fingers...No pictures needed.

After Discover Oman, it was time to finish out the semester with TAISM's annual Elementary School Holiday Extravaganza. Emma had just returned to school after her surgery, so she was not really up on all of the performances and songs. So she pretty much just stood there, lost, thus gaining her more attention:


















Kai's performance included all of the elementary school besides the EC classes. It was GREAT. Each grade had a song to perform, and the entire ES performed as a group. A feat to pull off, but it was a huge success. Here are a couple of Kai:















A few final parting shots of us as I end this blog, but before I go I want to extend one final holiday thought. 2007 offered us all many trials and tribulations, but we are all still part of each others' lives. We suffered the hard times together and we celebrated the good--it's the influence we've had on each other that gives us our greatest strength. It's the memories we share that enrich who we are. 2008 promises only to offer another 364 1/2 days of life; how we fill each one depends on our outlook with each imminent dawn. For the Riddles in Oman, Life is one GREAT adventure, and we have more treasures in our chest than gold could ever purchase. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Love to you ALL.











SEE YOU IN '08!!