Time Flies
Seems like just the other day that I was writing about my first day at my new job, and today marks six months of me being here.
It has been quite the journey, I must say. I’ve written things I thought I was never capable of, learned so much about Oman that surprised me, met some really great people at work, attended the most hilarious meetings and felt like quite a boss.
Unlike in India, the photograph-taking culture here isn’t all that prevalent - so on the occasion I thought I’d put up the group picture we took for the company profile and write a little about the people who have become my team here.
From left to right:
Samer, our Syrian Arabic copywriter. He’s been a business journalist in Oman for the past decade and always has exciting stories to tell us about the country, the media and other odd comical bits. He epitomises Arab hospitality and does a mean dance if there are belly dancers around.
Abdullah, the Salalah boy who has been trotting around the globe and is one of the most open minded Omanis I have met. We’re always striking up a delightful conversation about religion, mindsets, liberation for women in the region and the likes!
James, our Kiwi general manager who is indeed a cool boss. He bakes brilliant sausage rolls, recently bought an Enfield which he rides to work each morning and has discussions with me about Wingnut Films, Weta Workshop and how Peter Jackson has transformed New Zealand.
Malcolm X, as he likes to call himself, is a school senior geek who I have no recollection of. Most probably because he was an athlete and I stayed away from anything that involved running! The go-to guy on cars, games, anime and all thing technology - Malcolm is the other English writer, and often my partner in crime.
Rebecca, who joined the company on the same day as I did, is the one who I exchange looks with when a funny email pops into our inboxes. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve met, always inviting me to fishing trips, beach barbecues and general tomfoolery. Welsh girl in Muscat, she brings so much energy with her, and often very kindly drives me around town. Not to forget, she says the most wonderful ‘Meh’ I’ve ever heard - dripping with disinterest :)
Me, looking like a dork (Because nobody told me it was team photo day!)
Al Hanoof (or Fakhriya) who is a walking and talking GPS in Muscat is in charge of administration and has a lovely sense of humour. On random lunch trips she often had us rolling of our chairs!
Alya, Khadija and Aysha - are SQU graduates in translation and the gang of girls with whom I escape to beaches on overcast days. They’re really lovely and my Arabic lessons are going rather well thanks to them. !شكرا
Its a small team but it has been a great half year and I’m looking forward to good times ahead - although they might not necessarily have to be at work :)
4 Comments
Good morning, how are you?
My name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this, I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Oman? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Oman in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally, I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez
@ RB: That's what happens when one has so much time to chat, while catching connecting flights :) Shukran!
@ Naween Bhaiya: So good to see that you're still here :) Mujhe toh laga - shaadi kya ho gayi.... :P
The design? Its a basic flower print. But the top is one of those layered flappy ones :D
Pata nahi kyun, but I always think of six as half a dozen :P. So happy half a dozen :D
Btw, what is that design on your top/kurta/tee :P
I already know about many of them. :D
Happy six months!