Here, as in many Gulf countries, the is process in play called "Omanization." Where every company foriegn or domestic must subscribe to a quota of Omani employees. It includes other stipulations regarding the job level Omanis must hold, restrictions on job termination, etc. All together a smart system for a developing country whose focus is on capacity building to have. I find though there is another informal process happening in the social realm of life in Oman. Where by making yourself at home here, means assimilating to Omani culture.
This is a beautiful country indeed. Have you noticed that you rarely meet Omani's outside of Oman? And when you do, they always have a return ticket, or some plan for when they will make their way back to their country. At the prospect of my leaving many of my friends and acquaintances were confused as to way I wouldn't do everything that I possibly could to stay. I don't blame them. If you are Omani, why leave? Yes there are problems but every society has their share, and the ones here are hardly unique. I totally understand why Omanis would want to stay, its consistent with cultural and Islamic values family and community obligation played out within a traditional context. I don't imagine it well change in the future. On the contrary, I predict both national pride and allegiance to family and tribal networks will strengthen, the quality of eductational systems will increase and it will keep more and more Omanis home (if ultimately the job market cooperates).
All that said, quite frankly, this is not my country. I have no investment here, no roots, no family--for an expat, life here is opportunity driven. When the opportunity runs its course, so does your tenure. Its much like the tradition of hospitalitiy here. With its soft outter shell, that well make you feel comfortable and looked after but the hard inner one that still recognizes you as a foreigner. You will have the furnished villa or apartment, company car, imported goods and all the fixings. But you don't and can't own the property, your staples are treatd as novelties, and your participation in society is conditional. Ditto you'll be offered tea and coffee, be told to feel at home and perhaps even invited to weddings or familial events, but the actual relationship does not pass cordiality. This is not a critique at all, as there are many cultures who don't even have that soft outter shell. However, to break into the hard center, being incorprated into people's lives and into the fabric of society-- to feel at home in Oman, certainly takes decades to develop and some amount of assimilation.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Opinions are for the world like what chocolates are for the body. They provide no real--that is nutritional--value and can even be harmful when consumed in excess. They make you feel good, a comforting extravagance, and are an indulgence that few can afford to have in bulk. But once you finish one you are ready for another. Please do use in moderation.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
A note for Oman
I had the pleasure of spending the last 5 days in the interior of Oman. A place where you can get wireless internet access while using an outhouse. Muscat, Oman's largest and capital city, runs along the coast of the country. The interior is miles of harsh rock hills and desert with suburban towns checkered in between. I was heading to Nizwa, the former capital of the country. It comes third or fourth when naming some of the most historically siginificant cities in Oman, but would hardly be considered a city beyond that fact. I did my best stay under 145 on a 120 km/h highway (which is only about 90 in a 75mph) dodging the radar cameras and giant trucks yet still managing to make what should've been an hour and half trip a solid hour.
As I sped along in my little black Peugot two things struk me. First, that this car was not built to handle speed and second how well maintained and slowly but consistently developed Oman is. In the city, when you deal with things like work and school being cancelled due to flooding after only 3 inches of rainfall (and rightly so since there is no drainage), getting electrically shocked by your outlet everytime you turn on applicance in your overpriced apartment, or having to dodge men jetting across the highway in places where there aren't pedistrian overpasses, you tend to forget that the city as it stands now is only a few decades old. Fifty or years ago, this highway just a good idea, and none of the homes in my nieghborhood were standing. Now for a country with such a long history this amount of change this quickly can be a shock to its system. Both the roads and rules of interaction are new and constantly under construction and design as Oman continues to develop its international identity.
The United States was created in opposition to something else. The countries identity was an alternative and its history, pace and culture reflects that trend. We can build a highway, and a city can grow up around it in a matter of years. Oman and Omanis have more so built lives and towns based on need for resources, tradition, and migration. Some of the towns I passed by--well zoomed by--had been established for centuries. The road I travelled, had been built around them. Omanis are not involved in creating their identity, they are rather in a process (a slow one at that) of uncovering and sharing what already exists and has existed with the rest the world.
Knowing this, provides insight for those of us stuggling to build lives here as expatriots. There is no interest in weaving us into the cultural fabric. Only Omanis and Omani traditions (new and old) have the right to garunteed occupacny. Everything and one else is secondary and (if they had it they're way) expendable. If you are from anywhere West of the Oman you are a guest in country (plus Australia, minus Africa) and if you are from anywhere east of Oman (especially southeast) you are merely tolerated. But in either case, you are temporary.
I get what Omanis are trying to create and I do not fault them. This is a country with limited resources, a small population and a deep rich tradition that every native subscribes to. It is built into the regional culture to protect resources and to be kind but weary of strangers. Change is risky and unpredictable and outside influences bring change. Oman doesn't want to end up like Dubai and most of Oman's residents be they indeginous, immigrant, or visitor also wish to aviod that fate. Though I must say, you can't have it both ways Oman. Though the process is painstakingly slow, you are still heading in the direction of change. The sooner you accept that the easier life will be for all of us.
As I sped along in my little black Peugot two things struk me. First, that this car was not built to handle speed and second how well maintained and slowly but consistently developed Oman is. In the city, when you deal with things like work and school being cancelled due to flooding after only 3 inches of rainfall (and rightly so since there is no drainage), getting electrically shocked by your outlet everytime you turn on applicance in your overpriced apartment, or having to dodge men jetting across the highway in places where there aren't pedistrian overpasses, you tend to forget that the city as it stands now is only a few decades old. Fifty or years ago, this highway just a good idea, and none of the homes in my nieghborhood were standing. Now for a country with such a long history this amount of change this quickly can be a shock to its system. Both the roads and rules of interaction are new and constantly under construction and design as Oman continues to develop its international identity.
The United States was created in opposition to something else. The countries identity was an alternative and its history, pace and culture reflects that trend. We can build a highway, and a city can grow up around it in a matter of years. Oman and Omanis have more so built lives and towns based on need for resources, tradition, and migration. Some of the towns I passed by--well zoomed by--had been established for centuries. The road I travelled, had been built around them. Omanis are not involved in creating their identity, they are rather in a process (a slow one at that) of uncovering and sharing what already exists and has existed with the rest the world.
Knowing this, provides insight for those of us stuggling to build lives here as expatriots. There is no interest in weaving us into the cultural fabric. Only Omanis and Omani traditions (new and old) have the right to garunteed occupacny. Everything and one else is secondary and (if they had it they're way) expendable. If you are from anywhere West of the Oman you are a guest in country (plus Australia, minus Africa) and if you are from anywhere east of Oman (especially southeast) you are merely tolerated. But in either case, you are temporary.
I get what Omanis are trying to create and I do not fault them. This is a country with limited resources, a small population and a deep rich tradition that every native subscribes to. It is built into the regional culture to protect resources and to be kind but weary of strangers. Change is risky and unpredictable and outside influences bring change. Oman doesn't want to end up like Dubai and most of Oman's residents be they indeginous, immigrant, or visitor also wish to aviod that fate. Though I must say, you can't have it both ways Oman. Though the process is painstakingly slow, you are still heading in the direction of change. The sooner you accept that the easier life will be for all of us.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
You are what you eat
You are what you eat
Life wouldn’t actually be easier if I were at home. That’s just a place my mind goes to avoid dealing with myself. I was hoping just being here would be enough. Like just by being the first Black President you’ve already made a difference. That is accurate. But what he actually does—rather—who he actually is as President makes THE difference. An actual shift in the quality of our collective reality.
So wherever you are in society, there is no where to go to escape being a person of substance. The type of person who contributes, who is present to and full of love, who is compassionate and impactful—makes THE difference in the lives of others. Love like, gossip and hatred, needs an audience to thrive. Sustaining it yourself takes a lot of effort, a lot of attention. When you feed it, also like gossip and hatred, you are fed by it. You are what you eat.
Innately, with the concept of leadership is the premise that one has something to break through. You are leading people from one arena, state of mind, or level to another. It will sometimes be isolating, you will often be uncomfortable, and their will be people who don’t agree, or that think you __________ (fill in the adjective that you most fear being called, mine is ‘dismiss-able’). And they may well be right! But that is precisely why you lead. You are creating a new space which is often, though not necessarily, uncharted in that context. To do that you must disrupt something. And others will react to the disruption. So who are you going to be about that? And now we’re back to you choosing how you are going to interact with the world. Choosing what you will feed and be fed. This is where we rediscover that the meantime is actually where we live. And no matter how many different ways I say it, being present to life in the degree of moments, days even, doesn’t get any easier. This is why we pray. 5 times. Interrupting meantime moments for the reality of life occurring in seconds.
Life wouldn’t actually be easier if I were at home. That’s just a place my mind goes to avoid dealing with myself. I was hoping just being here would be enough. Like just by being the first Black President you’ve already made a difference. That is accurate. But what he actually does—rather—who he actually is as President makes THE difference. An actual shift in the quality of our collective reality.
So wherever you are in society, there is no where to go to escape being a person of substance. The type of person who contributes, who is present to and full of love, who is compassionate and impactful—makes THE difference in the lives of others. Love like, gossip and hatred, needs an audience to thrive. Sustaining it yourself takes a lot of effort, a lot of attention. When you feed it, also like gossip and hatred, you are fed by it. You are what you eat.
Innately, with the concept of leadership is the premise that one has something to break through. You are leading people from one arena, state of mind, or level to another. It will sometimes be isolating, you will often be uncomfortable, and their will be people who don’t agree, or that think you __________ (fill in the adjective that you most fear being called, mine is ‘dismiss-able’). And they may well be right! But that is precisely why you lead. You are creating a new space which is often, though not necessarily, uncharted in that context. To do that you must disrupt something. And others will react to the disruption. So who are you going to be about that? And now we’re back to you choosing how you are going to interact with the world. Choosing what you will feed and be fed. This is where we rediscover that the meantime is actually where we live. And no matter how many different ways I say it, being present to life in the degree of moments, days even, doesn’t get any easier. This is why we pray. 5 times. Interrupting meantime moments for the reality of life occurring in seconds.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Welcome to my new Blog page
I've switched pages to give you all a chance to add commentary and create a space for conversation. I welcome you take full advantage! I'm tired of talking to myself:)
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