September 9 - 10: Thailand: the Floating Market

We finished school on Thursday Sept 8th (3½ weeks into the school year) at 2:10, came back home to finish packing our bags and headed out to the airport at about 4:30 (about as fast as we could!!). We had a short flight to Dubai, a 5 hours layover then flew to Bangkok, to arrive there at noon on Friday, Sept 9th.
We went for a dinner cruise on the river that night (our hotel was on the river), then headed out Saturday morning to the Floating market, with a stop at a coconut farm on the way (one of their major industry). It was so cool. The coconut farm looked somewhat similar to our .... sugar shacks. Everything is outdoors, naturally, but they boil the coconut sap, obtained from the coconut flower, just like we do with maple sap. The coconut sugar is as sweet as maple sugar, and doesn't taste like coconut. One would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two if they were placed side by side. They also produce coconut oil, coconut soap, grated coconut, and then burn the discarded coconut shell to feed the fire to boil the water. It is amazing to see how nothing from the coconut is wasted.
We didn't drive to the floating market; we parked some distance away and then took a narrow elongated boat to get there, through small canals that looked like "water streets". It was a really nice way to get there. As we got closer, traffic became heavier (? - it still floated!!). We ended up at a dock, where we got off, but a lot of the merchants were selling their stuff from their boats (mostly fruits, veggies and food for immediate consumption). Other merchants had their shops on shore, by the waterways. We bought coconut pancakes from a lady; these pancakes were naturally sweetened by the coconut - they were very good! We also had coconut ice cream, which was refreshing as it was hot outside. Once our visit at the market was over, we went back into our comfortable van (leather seats) for our 90 minutes drive back to Bangkok to visit various temples (that will be my next blog entry!)

Coconut flower, from which they get the sap to make coconut sugar (left)

Jacqui grating coconut

Coconut sap boiling - just like maple sap!

Cooling off the "sugar" after the sap has been boiled

Placing it in a big "muffin" tray, to make small patties of coconut sugar

Pretty flower at the coconut farm

Leaving the "boat" stand to get onto the various canals to get to the Floating Market

Look at the size of the canal; not very wide

The sign says it all - in 2 languages!

Shops along the waterway

At the main intersection of the floating market

They cook from the boat!

Fruits for sale

Coconut ice cream for sale

Making coconut pancakes

The sign says it all!

Coconut pancakes - really good!

Pancake Lady!

Our lunch, well ... after the coconut pancakes and before the coconut ice cream: chicken noodles

Sunday, September 4th - Going to Thailand next week!!!

The start of the school year has been fine. There are a few problems but you just have to roll with the punches and go with the flow. Laugh it off is the best way to cope with it!! All in all, it's really nice to be back. We've walked on the beach a few times, spent some time at the Crowne Plaza by the pool (and in the gym!!), revisited some of our favorite restaurants and just got back into a routine, which is nice. Jacqui has a lighter work load than last year (24 periods instead of 30, out of 40) and I'm also down to 18, from 24 (however I have a department of 7 teachers ... there is no way I could do what I need to do if I had 24 periods!)

We have been at school since August 16th, students have been back since the 23rd (but most of them only came on the 28th), so this is our second full week and already, we are looking at holidays. Eid (a religious holiday) is coming up and it was either 4 days off if it was on Sunday the 11th, or a full week if it was on the 12th, depending on the moon. Well the moon was good to us and Eid is on the 12th, which means we get next week off and will thus travel to Thailand. We are really looking forward to it; the chance to discover another part of the planet is always exciting!! This post might be boring, but the next few ones will have a bunch of pictures from Asia! It should be fun!!

Wishing everyone a good labour day weekend, and Bonne rentrée à tous nos amis profs!

Sunday, August 21st - start of another year in Muscat

WOW, Post number 1 of year 4 already. Who would have thought that we'd spend more than 10% of our careers teaching abroad. But we love it!

We had a great summer in Canada, visiting Julie twice in Ottawa, going to Saskatoon for the Civic holiday to see Vincent (an amazing weekend by the way; his lab is out of this world!), and spending time with Nic and family and friends in the Waterloo and Chatham regions. We also spent a few days on the French River catching pickerel and crappy (and other sorts of fish to be discarded!!). All in all, it was a great summer, that went by way to fast.

But, at the end, August 14th came around and it was time for us to board a KLM flight to Amsterdam, with a connection to Muscat. Our return flight was fine and we landed at 10:30 pm on Monday, got home by 11:30 pm and were at work by 8 am the next day, Somehow, we felt fine, without any jetlag (or so I thought!). We went to school on Tuesday and were pretty functional (8 to 2 pm), had meetings in a hotel on Wednesday and back to school on Thursday with the same 8 to 2 hours. I felt fine all along but Jacqui slept for 16 hours from Thursday night to Friday noon (8 pm to noon the next day; I`d check on her once in a while to make sure she was still breathing, and then go around with my business!)

Life in Oman has returned to normal. Our car started on the first turn of the key - the battery had been disconnected for the summer as opposed to last year when it wasn't and we had to replace it - and things got back in a routine pretty quickly. We have been to the Crowne Plaza 3 times already and went for a nice walk on the beach on Saturday. It was so nice! We've also been back to a few of our favorite restaurants; it's kind of nice when they remember you (or is it a bad sign?).

By Friday afternoon, everything was back to normal: the bags were undone and put away, the apartment had been cleaned up (so much dust and sand after being away for 7 weeks) and we had food in the fridge!!Life is good, and we are looking forward to another great year!

We have holidays coming up in September - around the 11th (I think). But we're not sure if it's a 3 day weekend, a 4 day weekend or even a full week off! We'll take what they throw at us - but it would be nice to go to Bali if we have enough time!!!! We'll see what happens and keep you posted!

Other than that, it's still feels like the Middle East at this time of year. It's hot (like seriously hot); we have seen up to 38, feeling up to 48.

Friday, June 17th - It's time to go!!!

One more week before we come home. We are really looking forward to it. Summer will be short and busy, but it's still going to be nice!!

As for here, it's time to go. Everything is breaking down or running out! Our personal laptop crashed about two weeks ago, but I was able to recuperate all the data and info that I needed from it. Gone are the programs that were added after we bought it (we'd have to reinstall everything) and the web addresses and passwords that were in our favorites. It partly explains why I haven't posted in a bit; couldn't access our account on Blogger (who remembers a password that you never use!).

We have an external hard drive that doesn't respond to computers as well as it should; most of the time, it's not recognized by either of both out laptops. It takes about 10 - 20 minutes (multilple tries) before it comes to life. That's the hard drive where all our TV shows from home and movies are stored, so if it doesn't work, we're pretty limited in what we watch on TV.

And then, our monthly Internet package came to an end on Thursday. We don't really want to renew it for a month knowing that we'll be here for just one week, so now we are using hotspots on our phones to access Internet.

And finally, last night, our stove/oven ran out of propane. The tank is empty! What else will come up in the next few days, ... not sure; but for now, all the signs are saying "Go home!!!", which is what we will do!

Work at school is fine, for one of us. The math department is busy whereas grade 4's, ... well, they keep busy .. ish. All our papers are in order for a return here next year; our work visas have been approved and we have our residency cards valid for the next two years. We will be back in Muscat on August 15th; like I said, summer will be short.

Sorry, no pictures on this post, You would have seen one with a "wind chill" of 47 degrees, and another one where it just felt like 52 degrees! Can't wait to come home and hear people say it's hot at 28 degrees!! What a refreshing thought!

We'll be in Canada on Friday, June 24th. Hope to see most of you during our stay. This is the last post of school year 2015-2016. Thanks for reading; I hope we can keep you informed as best as we can.
Till next time (to be continued next year)

Richard and Jacqui

Monday, June 6th - the countdown is on!!!

Not much happening on this side of the pond. Grade 4 students practically stopped coming to school last Sunday, (May 29th) and we have been in exams since May 26th. The past week has basically been spent supervising or marking exams, or trying to keep busy, depending on which one of us you think of (I must admit that Jacqui did help us mark exams, and it was very much appreciated!!!).
We have started the procedure to get our work visa renewed for next year, as we are planning on coming back for one more year in Muscat.

Ramadan is starting tomorrow. It is a holy month for Muslims, where they fast during the day, from sunrise to sunset (no food, no water, no nothing). This means that all the food courts, coffee shops, restaurants, etc.. are closed until at least 6 or 7 at night. No coffees at Tim's or Starbucks, ... everything is closed. It makes it very different when we drive around town! But at sundown, watch out; people come out in full force to fill restaurants and coffee shops. It is neat to see! Ramadan also affects our working hours. We go from 7:30 to 1 for this week and then from 8:30 to 1 for the next two weeks. And then we are done!

We will be back in Canada on June 24th, and will spend time in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area, as well as travel to Ottawa to see Julie and Dave, in their new place (they moved June 1st, on her birthday!), and then spend some time on the French River with Rich and Jackie (hopefully Nic can join us), and also go for a short stint in Saskatoon to visit Vincent, who's there for the summer, working in a lab for his Masters. We are looking forward to it! Hopefully we will have a chance to see most of you in the next few months.

Sunday, May 22nd - Enjoy your long weekend!! The heat is on on this side!

Wow, May 24 weekend already! It's time to think about coming home (for a while anyway)! Actually, we've been thinking about it for a while!

I find myself in a very new situation, one that I've never been in my over 30+ years of education. We have 5 weeks left at school, but only 4 days (including today which is done) of teaching. We'll have 7 days of exams, which still leaves us with 14 days of ?????? How much planning can you do for next year? Our students will finish school on June 5th, just before Ramadan, and from there, our work days will be from 9am to 1pm. But still, 14 days! Not sure what we'll do. To be continued!

As mentionned in our last post, we went to a fundraiser hockey game for the people of Fort McMurray, It was nice to hear our national anthem, and pucks going of the boards, or even the goal posts (sounds we haven't heard in a while!! - ding!). The game would be the equivalent of a low beer league game (the Midnight Pylons of uncle Rich's team could probably beat the Omani National Hockey team - but they did have one good player who must have played somewhere in North America!)

As for the heat, we are sitting at about 41 - 45 during the day and getting lows of 30-33 at night, Thankfully, there is no humidity, so far, which makes it kind of bearable. But it's still hot! There is no way we can get cold (or even cool) water from the tap. You cannot let the water run when you are brushing your teeth in the morning or else you'll be rinsing with water that is almost hot (gross!). We are at a point where you do not need a hot water tank to take a shower, as our water tanks are on the roof of the building. Actually, taking a shower in midafternoon can be painful, as you cannot cool the water off.

Other than that, we are doing fine and are looking forward to coming back here again next year. We really love the place; the weather is great and the people are so nice, It will be really hard to leave when we decide to do so.

The donation booth for people of Fort McMurray - we raised over $ 5000! Not bad for a crowd of about 100 people (mostly Canadians but some Omanis as well)

They are playing our national anthem - things you take for granted at home but really miss when away from home

Canadian players in dark, Omani national team in white

Final score: Canadians 7, Omanis 6 (for the record, we led 4-0 after about 10 minutes, so I think the canucks eased off a bit) 

Saturday, May 14th, - Ex pats helping out Fort McMurray - what else; a hockey game!

Ever since we came back from Egypt, our daily lives have been pretty quiet. Work during the week, walk on the beach on weekends, go to the gym regularly - we are now members at two different gyms; the Crowne Plaza where we use the pool (and the bar) on Thursdays - even thought we do workout once in a while, and the Balance gym, where we've had a personal trainer since the start of March. It has helped us both as we are getting pushed a lot and cannot make any excuses for not doing the work. So we are now getting fit, ... well fitter than we were!

We had a long weekend the first weekend of May, as the Thursday was a religious holiday. It was more than a welcomed holiday as I had a lot of work to do with exams coming up. We also got our plane tickets to go back home, and come back to Muscat. We finish school on June 23rd at noon (maybe 1pm) and leave that same night at 11:30, on KLM, on a flight to Amsterdam, and then, after a few hours, we board another flight to take us to Toronto (arrival just before noon!!) Our return flight is scheduled for the 14th of August as our first day of work is on the 16th. Students come in on the 23rd; it is an early start but I expect that we will finish early because of Ramadan which should start around May 27th next year. Normally, students do not go to school during Ramadan, which means our exams would have to be done by that date and we'd be home shortly after that.

Temperatures are climbing; we hit 45 last Sunday. Our highs are now in the low 40's and the daily lows are in the low 30's. Don't need to be a detective to figure out it will be warm when you wake up at 5am and it already is 35 degrees! But so far, it has been dry (no humidity), so it is tolerable, We'll take a 45 dry as opposed to a 35 with humidity anytime!

And now, on the Canadian front, on Sunday May 15th, a bunch of Canucks (I imagine people working in the oil industry) will play a hockey game against the Omani National Hockey team (they are part of the IIHF) to raise funds for the people in Fort McMurray. How cool is that. Of course we are going to the game. We haven't seen live hockey since our kids stopped playing (which already seems too long ago). I don't imagine the caliber will be any good, but the cause is. More details in my next blog entry.