Jacqui and Richard Abroad: Friday, December 2nd

We had a 4 day weekend last week (or a 3 day work week) because of the National holiday; it was very nice. We didn't travel out of the country but did stuff around Muscat. We went shopping to the souq and then lunch at the marina on Wednesday, and went for a hike on Thursday (the same hike I did with Nic when he was here). It was very nice, not too hot (high 20's) and a lot easier than with Nic as the walking pace was not exactly the same! On the way back to our car, we saw two cruise ships anchored in the port. It is cool to see that you can now cruise to Muscat (the Norwegian Cruise Line ship came from Dubai going thru the Suez canal to Europe and the other one, don't know!). They are really doing a lot to boost their tourism industry.

On Friday, we were hosting some colleagues from school for dinner. What started out as just a gathering turned into a Christmas party. We decorated in the morning and had a gift exchange before dinner. It was very nice as Christmas is not a big thing around here.

This past week was my last teaching week for the semester. We start exams on Sunday Dec 4th for 7 days then have the rest of the time to mark and get ready for next term. Jacqui still has her students until the 12th, 13th, 20th?? It has never been said yet. I would think that kids will stop coming to school when we finish exams, scheduled to be the 12th, but it might be the 13th as we might have a holiday in there somewhere!

And then we come home on the 20th, get back here to be at work on Jan 4th and 5th, then leave for Bangkok for a week to attend a job fair. I will be back teaching in a classroom on Jan 15th, six weeks from now! Love it!!