Back to Winter!

As the UK slowly comes out of winter and into what's turning out to be a wonderful spring, I've had cause to travel to Finland this week to be confronted with....... -12 degC and snow! Talk about a long winter here! When I last came in November it was already below zero with snow on the ground. They must really enjoy summer up here as it is so short!!

Thinking about winters, I really do miss the winters in Oman. Days were comparatively long and the weather glorious. I was lucky enough to live in Oman as Ramadhan and the accompanying Eids Al-Fitr and Al-Adha made their way back around the calendar from March to October, so I had the pleasure getting the 'long' holidays in the good weather of an Omani winter. As Eid holiday entitlement back then wasn't exactly fixed in stone and additions were made at the last moment, being forced to stay in Oman due to lack of other plans wasn't all that bad. The beaches beckoned and the sun shone; the nights were cool and the stars amazing.

Oh how I miss some winters more than others!

Ski-ing!

If you've never tried skiing - do it. Soon! It was 17 years since I last went skiing. That was, of course, until last month when myself and my partner headed off to Whistler for a skiing holiday. To say it was one of the most thrilling holidays I have ever had would be quite an understatement. I'm not surprised Whistler is currently hosting the Olympic downhill and sliding events. Sitting here watching the pros go at it reminds me just what a beautiful place Whistler is, what a terrible skier I am, but what fun I had struggling and careering down the slopes. I came away from Whistler exhausted, bruised (I fell...several times) but exhilarated. There's nothing like a sustained adrenaline rush to make you feel alive again! Every day was a new challenge. Every photo a 'screen saver shot' and ever memory a wonderful reminder of just how good life can be sometimes. I will go back there, that is a certainty.

Post surgery

I'm recovering from surgery - the first time I've been through this! I'm not sure how I feel, if truth be told. I guess I'm relieved it is over, but I am also rather apprehensive as I am facing the results of tests which determine if I need further treatment or not. Here's hoping that someone is looking down on me and will hand me an early Christmas present.

I know one thing for sure ... gone are the days when I walked through life feeling indestructible. I have a very sobering sense of vulnerability right now.

Going skiing!

It's been almost a year since I wrote a post on this thing. Work, life and just about everything else seems to get in the way of it. I have also not been invited into the Oman blogging community, so I am a bit on the outside really. However, I will keep plugging away at this and hope that someone out there reads it!

I'm off skiing next month in Whistler, Canada! I can't think of anything more different to Oman and experiencing all that the country has to offer, than to go skiing where it is bitterly cold an full of snow. I guess the mountainous landscape is common to both, as is the excitement!

The downside of all of this is that my next trip to Oman has to be put back to the winter of 2010/11. However, I am already making plans to spend Christmas and the New Year in the sun and warmth, surrounded by friends. It'll have a gap been 3 years by that time - long enough!

Happy New Year 2009 - or is it?

Well a new year has dawned and the celebrations are over. Will this be a good year or will it go down in the annals of infamy? I would hope the former but suspect the latter.

Anyway, I'm no near booking up my holiday back in Muscat and, as summer is fast approaching there (OK, OK ....I know there's still a few months left but I'm pretty busy with work up until April) I may have to wait until the cool of the winter 2009/10.

Reading others' blogs from Oman, life doesn't seem to have changed so much since I left in late 2005. I'm oddly reassured about that. I guess a part of me doesn't want things to change as I would feel further removed from Oman than I already do. Of course, things will change over time. I just hope that my frequent visits back will keep my up-to-date on what is happening.

I still haven't been accepted on the list of bloggers in the Oman Community Blog. I'm still hopeful!!

I'm getting used to this!

At last, I've found out how to change the language of my blog page to English! I can relax at last. Perhaps I should experiment and put the default language as Arabic. I could always see if I can remember what I learned in Oman. I must admit I didn't learn as much as I should have done - but that's typical of a lot of expats.

My first ever blog!

Hello cyber-world out there. This is my fist ever blog entry! It's kind of exciting. I'm still a bit confused about all of this as all of the instructions in setting up this were in French and I'm not so good at french....but here goes.

I'm a recently repatriated expat who lived in Oman for 10 years and who would like from time to time to comment on things going on over there right now and in the past when I lived there.

I hope you all can contribute to my blog too....

desertman