Boot Camp - Days 13 - 18

I did wonder how the tone would change throughout these Boot Camp updates...now I see. The enthusiasm is still there...honest...but this and the last post have been summing up more than one day! To be honest it is really good fun and I've enjoyed it and seen the benefits of it. But the daily updates become a little bit difficult when the exercises and routine are the same, pretty much every session. No bad thing, just not great journal material! Although the heel pain was an issue and I'm very pleased to say that has been resolved thanks to these heel inserts.

So, day 13 to 17 much the same. Good fun, getting better results and heel pain diminishing.

Day 18

The unimaginable happened.

I...did...the...0530 session....

We were going camping as early as possible so for me to make all the sessions on the right days, this was the only option. And it wasn't as painful as I thought! It was actually quite refreshing to do something out of my normal and comfortable routine.

So I was up at 0430, left at 0500, arrived in the dark and could barely see where I was going. Whilst we were waiting I fell off the small step near the edge of the beach! How ironic it would be to severely injure myself on the last day and in such a benign way! 

And trying to stretch the thigh muscles in the warm-up was funny...trying to do this in the dark really plays havoc with your sense of balance! Go on, try it with your eyes closed!

I was expecting elite athletes but no, it was a normal, average, varied boot camp personnel. In actual fact it has most attendees than the other groups. We had to divide into 2 groups as a result.

The sun rose, the Fajr prayers were called in the background...it was actually a really enjoyable hour. Very peaceful and focussed. I may be tempted to do this session a few times on the next BC I do...but I really don't know how they do it for 18 sessions! Those that do aswell as the instructors are incredibly dedicated.

We did the week 6 test and I am so happy with my performance...reminding myself why I chose to do BC. It wasn't about losing weight but getting fit. My body measurements have barely changed actually (either no or minimal gain/loss; although I did lose 4cm off my hips!)but it's the fitness level that has definitely gone up:

Having done stats at school I will now present the improvement in percentages!

Beach run:           25% increase
Push up:              40% increase
Sit up:                  31.6 % increase
Burpees:              19% increase
Mountain climb: 55% increase

I'm down for the April boot camp...can't wait already!

Well, that was a first...

...and judging by my research, we have gotten away lightly since we have been here.

We've just got back from a lovely weekend away and were ready to settle down with a cup of tea. Next thing we know the front door opens and there is a Muslimah standing in the doorway!! Door bell NOT rung, door NOT knocked!

She talks to the Captain and he calls me to join in and figure out what is being said. I understand Allah Khareem, daughter and khamsa...the penny drops...especially when she says in clear English with the universal money sign of rubbing her fingers and thumb together, "I need money". Oh...cr*p. What do we do??

She was a very pretty young woman in a simple abaya and hijab, nothing to suggest she was needy and in need of charity...should have raised alarm bells...but then I look around the door and there is a gorgeous little girl, probably no older than 2 years old.

We were so stunned that someone had actually come to our door that we gave her some money. I had gone back in to the living room to call my neighbour to see what she had done...she hadn't reached that side of the square...and the lady on the porch called out to say thank-you to me. And left, got on her mobile and then carried on. I only saw her call on one other house.

What would have she done if we were still upstairs unpacking? Or I was bathing the kids?

Newspapers advise you not to give money to the beggars in the car park - easy to do when it's not your space and you are in a public place. But when it is my own home and a stranger actually comes through the door uninvited makes us feel very uncomfortable. I am annoyed that we were put in a situation in our own home, in which we felt pressured into giving over money. What will she do if we say no? What is she going to do now that we have said yes?  Is she going to tell her friends that the the naive expats in that house over there will give them money...?

I've asked hubby to talk to his Omani colleagues just to find out what is the done thing to do. Although I feel I know the answer as I've been on the internet this evening; I have never heard of door to door beggars and am rather shocked to read that it is a regular occurrence; everyone had a story to tell.

School Field Trip

The Captain and I helped out today on Bear's school field trip to Wadi Fanja. She's in year 2 (Grade 1) and it was a geology and fossil hunting trip. We were so excited! Geology and fossils are our thing in this family.  I had this vision of the teachers trying to keep the Mitchells in check as they wander off along the wadi or up the hill!

We had a group of 4 children each and went through the questions listed and talked about the formation and types of rocks evident in the area. It's a great thing to hear little children talk knowledgeable about igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.

It was also amazing to see the range of ability in this one class, from the kids who copy others work and really have no interest in what's around them to those who could articulate their answer and were writing in more than one full sentence in joined-up writing.

Hubby has limited patience when it comes to dealing with more than 2 children at a time so it was fun and quite lovely to see him keep his group in tow! (He would make a great teacher...apart from the patience!) Well, not so much the group but the one boy who absolutely needed to run off and get that 27th rock and put it in his backpack!

Quote of the day heard by the Captain: One of Bear's friends runs up to him and says " Look! Look what I've found! It's igneous rock!....Or it could be dog poo......"

We found nummulites in another location near Al Khoud.

I read that there are fossilised stromatolites near Al Khoud too as well as other parts of Oman.

'The earliest fossils known in Oman are of stromatolites from Mukhadba near Duqm (570 million years ago). Stromatolites are dome-shaped or pillar-like structures built by primitive single celled algae which secrete calcite and trap sedimentary particles.'

So that's my next plan to try and find these.
[when I've found or taken a picture of these, I'll post it!]

So well done Mrs. K. and Mrs. H - this was a brilliant trip (I'm a little biased admittedly, I love this subject)...what better way for them to learn and study than out there in the field.


Post-edit: here is a picture of Bear the evening after her field trip...reading the core text from my University days. Those of you who don't know her, she is  actually reading it properly! (She was reading at 4 years old...never ceases to amaze me...)

Passport update...I'm without an identity!

Well, I really did think it would be straightforward. I mean, efficiency and security must have been at the forefront of the Embassy Management’s mind when they implemented the new rule to send passport applications to the central office in Düsseldorf, Germany. Surely?

What is more secure than walking to your secure Embassy with one of the most important documents you will possess, in your OWN hand, handing it over YOURSELF along with the form and then being able to pick it up YOURSELF and walking out of the secure Embassy with your new very important personal document in your OWN hand and costing only the price of the renewal application?

Oh, ok…maybe handing to a courier representative (I’m not having a go at the courier here; it took about 36 hours for the application to get to Düsseldorf from their offices in Seeb) and winging it 3328 miles to Europe, not knowing whose hands the application is in and then to hopefully have it couriered back, is more secure and efficient.... Really?

Meanwhile, costs:

- COURIER - 20 OMR (£32.40) to Dusseldorf;

- ACTUAL FEE - I’m a little confused here… http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/howlongittakesandurgentappplications/DG_174109 quotes £77.50, http://centralcontent.fco.gov.uk/en/passports/fees quotes £119.00.

- RETURN COURIER - quoted €22 (£18.62/11.500 OMR) return courier service.

- Minimum total = £128.52/79.200 OMR/€152.

So this is the general situation…I should let you know the progress I am making. I received an email last night from the Foreign Office in Dusseldorf saying thanks for my application, but before they can proceed they need the following:

“1) Fill in section 2 on page 2 of the C1 application form, if any one of your parents was born in the UK or,
2) Send us a copy of your naturalisation certificate.”

Both my parents are British and therefore a Naturalisation certificate was never required.

You may remember that the original issue was that I was not born in the UK. Oh, and I was not born after 31.12.1982. I read it as being born after that date whether in the UK or abroad. But it seems they are two separate criteria.
Lesson learned: fill in ALL sections of EVERY form and you might get somewhere.

So I think I need to complete that part of the form and the central office do not accept scanned copies then that’s at least another 15 OMR (£24.30) to send. It would be so much easier for me to discover this problem in my own Embassy here in Oman. I could recomplete the form and return it in a morning. Email correspondence (I'm currently waiting to hear back from Alan in FCO) and resending the form will add at least 3 days to this process.

I cannot go ANYWHERE until I get my passport and visa back.

I should pay attention to my own opening words of my blog: “a contemplative and thankful glance at the mountains, the sea or the blue sky and sanity is quickly restored!”

Watch this space….

Sources
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/howlongittakesandurgentappplications/DG_174109
http://ukingermany.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/how-to-apply/oman#much

Great news!

This news deserves a post to itself...welcome back Mr. Gee!!

Our friend has been in Afghanistan the last few months.

He came home last weekend (our weekend). YAY!!!!

********** WELCOME HOME !!! **********

So, we can't wait to see you all at the end of the month.

The last week or so crammed in to one post!

~~ We’ve booked another weekend at the desert camp for when the Gees are here. I’ve had a very nice email conversation with the manager, what a friendly, warm man. Well, he obviously wants my money but that’s beside the point!

***

~~ The Captain’s work was extended by another 4 days. So we travelled to see him for the weekend; we enjoyed a lovely hotel but I had a wicked cold just so I maybe did not appreciate it as much as I could have. I think my Echinacea helped knock it on the head. We got there for lunchtime on the Thursday and had a lovely lunch by the pool. Dinner out at a favourite local restaurant. Something else I didn’t do justice thanks to my cold.

So that night, I’m ready for my bed, so are the kids. A massive mix up with the kids bed as we had already moved rooms because there was a huge corporate party poolside. Basically the sofa wasn’t a sofa bed as it was in the other room so I had to call the Captain, who was in the bar with his Dad, to go to reception and sort something out. Something LOUD was going on in the bar…apparently a band, 2 lads…with eyeliner…dressed as pilots and 2 girls dressed as air hostesses...Hmmm. Just found out it was the hotel house band, Gypsy. The Captain wishes to not comment....

***

~~ I may have said in the beginning that I was not going to blog anything political or controversial...not my thing...but I couldn't not say anything about the current political climate in lands not so far from here.

Some of my new virtual friends have offered comment on the situation. I am not knowledgable enough to offer an intelligible argument and/or conversation; I can only say I can't help but be worried about what the future holds; Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen… I have no opinion as far as Mubarak is concerned, I’m in no place to comment, I do not know enough about his rule or his history. But if his people, or should I say the people of his country (not sure they want to be referred to as belonging to him…) feel they need to protest then something is not right and may not have been for 30 years. However I am more shocked, not about the way he has ruled (as I said, I don’t know enough) but the way the police have dealt with the protesters; the crowd stopping for prayer…to be blasted by a water cannon… But on the other side, Muslims uniting with non-Muslims in a joint cause is a reassuring sight to see especially after the clashes at New Year...

I saw a lady called Mona Eltahawy on Al Jazeera speaking very clearly and in a way that outsiders such as I could understand. So I’m checking in to her blog. As Shy Rebellious Arab Girl blogged, I’ve had Al Jazeera on a bit too much as well….it’s a change looking at some other medium for a bit!

That’s all I’ll offer on the subject if you don’t mind. I’d like to keep my blog! ;-)

***

~~ I took Bear to one of her friend’s birthday parties on the weekend. I wasn’t intending to stay but some of the other mums were there so I thought I’d catch up with them. It was a girls’ party so the face paints and nail varnish were out. The birthday girl’s mum asked us if we wanted ours done and I was the only one who said I’d have my face painted! There are photos and video lurking somewhere on someone's camera! These girls are from the same class at Bear's school and they are the loudest group of girls I have ever known! I am good friends with their teacher so, CK: I take my hat off to you!!!! And that was just the girls!

Anyway, I had a wonderful, very interesting chat with a couple of the ladies, both muslimahs. They told me how children are introduced to learning the Qu’ran and how they learn to pray, amongst other things. This family have someone come to their house to teach the Qu’ran and Arabic. I had so many questions and they were so open and receptive and full of answers when they had them and honest when they couldn’t answer. They asked me about my background and they didn’t appear to judge…we were all mothers and knew that it didn’t matter what faith we take, we want the best for our children. I said that I felt I was allowed to choose my way as I got older and I feel I’m finding it now….and so I’d like my kids to have an open mind and find THEIR way. If it means learning all about other faiths and ways of life and educating themselves in the process as they go along then that’s even better. It was such an insightful half-hour.

Friends and family, I’m not planning to convert, don’t worry….but stopping yourself 5 times a day and finding peace does feel rather appealing!

***

~~ Canadian family and friends: rumour is, a Tim Horton's is to open in Oman! Now will you come and visit?!!!!

***

~~I've had my hair cut. Short. I decided I was spending far too much energy trying to grow it long when it really wasn't happening. There was no way I was going to have a long thick mane of hair that I have in my dreams so why fight it :-( BUT I feel so much more confident now and more than one person has said it has made me look younger!

Like this ... but NOT BLONDE!

***

~~ Major crisis narrowly averted in the Mitchell household. The Six Nations Rugby is on. OSN are not showing it, it seems....much cursing and a raised voice from The Captain's end of the sofa filled the air last night as he searched the however-many channels we have on our television. Thanks to Muscat Mutterings I found out that it's being shown on Jazeera sports. Which we don't receive. But thanks to the fabulous institition that is the BBC (they do get some things right), he is able to watch it online through the television. We're currently watching his national team, Scotland, play France. Eeek....

~~ On the to-do list this week:

- Muscat Festival…still haven’t been yet

- A museum or two…I missed Bruno Barbey’s photography exhibition. Seems to be a habit of mine…

- The kids' school sports day

- Quiz night at the Dolphin! Should be interesting!

Boot camp update - days 9, 10, 11, 12

26.1.11 - Day 9
It hurts a bit to run still. I’m not worried but more frustrated to be honest as I don’t know why it’s happening. It’s more through my heel now. Ice/heat packs haven't helped. I thought it was my new Birkenstocks making my feet ache...but that just doesn't ring true!

Most of the ladies go for coffee after each boot camp session! After all that hard work, I really don’t like the thought of undoing it with a latte and a pastry as MUCH as all my friends know that that is what I love! Just not after a super hour of exercise! But today…Ingebjorg asked me to come for a coffee and I couldn’t say no ;-)  She is just adorable and it’s a shame she isn’t staying in Oman for much longer. She’s a lot younger than me but we click. I think she has struggled to find friends of her own age here. (She is here with her Mum, Dad and sister). I mentioned there were a couple of younger girls on the evening session so maybe she’ll go to that one occasionally.

29.1.11 - Day 10

I’m running on my heels now, which is something. I couldn't run the last couple of sessions.
But it has been really aching. It seems to have spread around the sides now. The instructor has recommended heel inserts so as to lessen the impact. He says I run like him where I run heel to toe but very pronounced and on the side of my feet…oh, I can imagine the pictures you’re all conjuring up of how I run!!!! LOL!!!! So I’m going to look for those inserts and give them a go.

31.1.11 - Day 11

Silicon heel cups in. And what a difference already! So much more comfortable but still a residual ache. It must be my trainers. I have completed 2 half-marathons in my first decent pair of trainers without a problem. I have worn them out so I had to get new ones for Boot Camp and that’s when the problems started :-/

2.2.11 - Day 12

I went for the evening session…the instructor must have been in a bad mood…we were beasted!! But I actually think that they set the exercises according to the ability of the group. I am one of the fastest runners in the Desperate Housewives group but one of the last in the evening group :-(   Not doing much for my confidence! However, I did better in the tests; not by much admittedly but heading the right way.

However, I still have foot pain BUT the difference is incredible with these heel cups. The pain I have I think must be residual so I really hope that goes soon. Full length inserts were suggested to at least support my high instep too.