A working day in Oman

Our Saturday school visits in Oman were top notch. Two schools with others invited to join us, plus a meeting with the Amideast (mission to strengthen understanding between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa). We've learned a great deal at each of our school visits, but more so at the visits today as we had time for extended conversation at each school. The international schools serve a wide range of ex-pats; they can't serve locals because they don't teach history in Arabic, nor do they teach religion. I got the sense that they compete pretty heavily with one another for students. Each nationality has their own school, an Indian School, a Sri Lankan School a Philippine School, etc.

At lunch at the American School we talked about how different Oman is than the other GCC countries, a theme in many conversations during our short stay here. Oman has both a very different history than its neighbors, and potentially very different future prospects (far less oil). It was virtually closed off from the modern world in the '60's--A Smith alumna told me that in the early 80's you could not get a visa to come into the country unless it was arranged by your company, or to see a family member (her motivation for getting married while still in college). There was no tourism, no visa just to visit.

In 1970 the current Sultan, Qaboos bin Said, took power from his father in a bloodless coup, and the changes he introduced have led to the current modernization and building boom. Among the people we talked with he is highly regarded. He's in his '60's and in poor health, unmarried and has no children, so the future transition could be interesting. The constitution requires the royal family to agree on a successor within three days of the Sultan's death; we were told that if there wasn't agreement that the Sultan has indicated his preference in an sealed envelope, and in the absence of consensus, his vote would be determinative.

The sultan has placed a strong emphasis on education and health care, but Oman simply can't afford the kinds of investments of the neighboring states. It's not as crowded or built up nor is it a culture wrapped up in retail. We talked to a number of people who had outdoor hobbies including camping and sailing. It seemed in Kuwait that all there was to do was shop and drive.

We were warmly received by everyone we met in Oman, whether during work occasions or our free time. The only exception came at the airport this evening when a man sitting beside us (at the Dairy Queen, of all places) gave us a stern lecture about the damage done in this region by Americans. We decided it best to leave as we were being told we were killers. It was the only uncomfortable moment in an otherwise terrific stay. Oman was the highlight of the trip for me thus far.

We've just arrived in Dubai, and head out for a very long day of school visits in Abu Daubi. From the little we could see from the airport to the hotel late at night the reports of construction everywhere ring true.