Thoughts on National Day

Before you bite my head off, remember that I'm one person with an opinion. I didn't post patriotic schpeal on National Day (November 18th) because I didn't feel like it. I am torn between being happy and being pissed off. Not exactly a good combination, right?

As you all know, National Day celebrations are continuing in every Wilayat. Tens f thousands of school children trained for months (missed out on SO much school), performances, dancing, parties, balloons, badges, scarves, lights, fireworks, the whole thing. Every company/organization threw a party, even families covered their houses in flags and picture of Sultan Qaboos. People decorated their cars (at great expense), and there was the magnificent military show. 

All in all, a continuing party. It hasn't stopped yet. Yesterday was Ibra. Tomorrow is Sur. Salalah was on Thursday. It's just non-stop. 

ON ONE HAND:

Everyone was happy (not sure about the tens of thousands of kids), His Majesty made an appearance at the military show, people got to eat cake (Lots of Cake), people got to be wild, paint their cars, have parties, watch fireworks, do something different. Overall, tons of people celebrating something that many of them haven't even fully comprehended (kids especially). It's been fun.

ON THE OTHER HAND:

I'm no party-pooper (well, yes I am), but hear me out here. We are on the brink of an oil crisis.  Actually, we're already in the crisis.  Companies and government organizations are being pressured to cut costs (I have witnessed this and worked on this firsthand). 10% , 20% cuts. That's a lot of money. This is the WORST TIME to be spending millions and millions and millions on Wilayat celebrations and shows, etc. And in my opinion, it's completely unnecessary. Really, it is. Some of the shows were insanely boring and a repetition of the same stuff. Renaissance, Oman before and after, etc. 

45 years means a lot to us, but I can think of better (and cheaper ways to express loyalty and happiness).... ways that aren't just 'for show' if you know what I mean. 

For example:

1) I would have been 100% content if His Majesty had given a speech to the people of Oman. A sincere, genuine, informal, speech. Televised live. A real moving inspiring speech. His personal take on the past 45 years. I would give anything for a speech like that. Why not? I just don't get it. It would mean SO MUCH to every single Omani and non-Omani living in this country. 

2)  Major cities can have a march for Oman. Walking from point A to point B. Happy thousands of people walking for National Day. Minimum cost, right? 

3) Light up the streets, play a few songs on TV, get people together, give speeches, you know... like normal people do. 

4) Ok, you can have some fireworks. They're expensive, but they mean  a lot. 

5) Have cake. For heavens' sake, have your cake.

Overall, I was disappointed with the amount of money wasted on celebrations across the country that mean nothing. Everyone was celebrating the Sultan but he seemed so distant, so far away from it all (apart from the military show). National Day shouldn't just be about spending money. It should be about genuine patriotism. A mature understanding of the past 45 years and the way forward. 

Le fin. 

Read before ....

Foreign Policy has published a rather interesting and somewhat balanced (in my opinion) piece called Insulting the Sultan in Oman. I highly recommend reading it before it is quietly removed off the Omani version of the world wide web. I'm not entirely sure whether the busy creatures monitoring the internet in Oman will appreciate reading the F-bomb and the Sultan in the same sentence.

His Majesty's Speech

Opening lines of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said's speech in Salalah yesterday morning at the opening of the annual session of the Council of Oman.

"Dear Citizens ... our gathering in the city of Salalah today as we prepare to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Reniassance has undeniable symbolic significance because it was from Dhofar that Oman's modern Reniassance began and it was there that the first steps were taken towards the achievement of its hopes. And here we are today, in this splendid land, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its progress, during the course of which its achievements in many fields are plain for all to see and have changed the face of life in Oman, enabling it to assume a position of eminence at both regional and international levels" ~ October 4, 2010.

.

The speech was nice, but predictable. No big news as many expected. Perhaps November 18?

Blogger's Block

Dear Readers,

How often do you check the blogs that you follow? I check almost everyday. It's kind of depressing, but what to do! I follow 8 blogs regularly. I wonder how often people read my blog? I stole an application from Sting's blog to monitor the number of times people upload my blog. 300 in two days isn't bad, eh?

My weekend was rather dull. I had to bring work home for the weekend (ugh) and spent most of my precious time working. I also *drumroll please* tidied my room (a task I usually dread). I did four solid hours of reading. How can one ever get bored of good fiction? Thank you Amazon.com.

I spent some time in the garden talking to the birds. The flocks of parrots are leaving Salalah for the monsoon (or so I think. I'm not a bird expert). While I was out there, I took a couple of pictures of trees. The flame trees are so beautiful at this time of year. Sadly, they only blossom in May. The rest of the year they're just dry boring trees. During May they burst into flames (literally) and turn red.

I then had to take a picture of a new lemon that has grown on our lemon tree. We rarely get lemons, but in this humid weather, the trees seem to be having a blast.

Finally, to conclude my dull weekend, I drove through town and while stopped at the 23-July-Nahdha street traffic lights, managed to QUICKLY snap this picture of our beautiful new mosque. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque Salalah is supposed to be inaugurated sometime in June, but we haven't heard anything yet. It's not 'open' yet although it's well-lit during the evenings. Rumor has it that His Majesty is coming down to Salalah to inaugurate the mosque. How wonderful that would be if it's true. Dhofar misses him very very much.

So, basically that's the end of my dull weekend. I need to travel. I seriously need to travel. I'm one of those people who loves airports, suitcases, passports, airplanes, and boarding announcments. I intend to spend the rest of my life travelling and exploring the world. How that is going to happen, I don't know, but I'll give it a try. Yes, I am a Dhofari girl, and it's kinda TABOO to travel alone, but you never know, I may strike a deal with someone and tell him 'I'll marry you if you'll travel with me'.

Travel where, they ask me? Well.... here goes:

(1) India: I want to travel through India (in the North) and visit temples. I also want to visit the Lotus Baha'i temple. An Ashram would be nice.

(2) Austria: this is a must. I want to visit Vienna and eat ravioli and visit anything related to Mozart.

(3) Brazil: Amazon is a must. Actually, I'd like to visit several countries in South America.

(4) PARIS! No, I'm not interested in having my photo taken in front of the Eiffel Tower. I want to explore Paris through the 'back door' (i.e not as a tourist). I also want to spend quality time sitting at small cafes watching people.

(5) Prague! City of intellects.

(6) I want to visit the valley of Angkor in Cambodia. Feasible? YES!

(7) Definitely Egypt.

(8) Northern Lights in Canada!

(9) An Amish community in the US

The list gets longer .....

Do you love travelling? Where would you like to go and why?