Living in Oman is much different than living in the U.S. Of course, we all expect that living in a foreign country to be different from home. However, there are things that I find amusing, frustrating, and downright aggravating.
Here is picture of one end of my kitchen. Notice the lamp up on to of the built-in pantry. There is no light on this side of the kitchen. The only lights in the kitchen are a small one in the middle of the room's ceiling and a drop lamp over the bar--just a mere 2 feet from the countertop surface. (Don has to stoop to reach under it!) If you try to wash dishes at night, you can't even see if you are getting them clean because it is so dark on that side of the kitchen. The lamp helps, and it's definitely better than not having it, but seriously? Who builds a kitchen without enough light to see your work at the sink? We had a fellow OXY employee over for dinner this past weekend, and we had a good laugh over the "outstanding lighting fixtures" that have been touted by construction folk here.
Moving on through my kitchen, please meet my new dryer. Oh, it's not really mine. They sent the measurements for the dryer and asked if it would fit into my utility room (the door that you see on the far side of the dryer). Don and I performed due diligence and measured out everything--the new dryer would fit. However, do you notice that large 4" aluminum panel sticking out on the back of the dryer? They didn't include it in the measurements of the dryer, so when it showed up, it wouldn't fit through the door. Don tried removing the door to the room and removing the back panel. The part he could NOT remove was the dryer vent. It is not removable and kept the dryer from going into the room. I have now waited longer for them to remove the dryer from our kitchen than I waited for it to arrive once it was approved for installation. It's a tight squeeze, but we enjoy walking around it to get in and out of the pantry and utility room--not!
Now, I will show you my real dryer. Or should I say my dryer office...........there are just no words. And to think I wasted space in my crates for my drying rack from The Container Store--you know, for those "lay flat to dry" items.
Life is definitely different here. Wait till you see my latest finds in another blog: a bidet shelf and real tension curtain rods!
Joking aside, this is not to mean that life here is bad. It's just different. It is so different from what I am used to in the U.S. Sometimes I think we forget how blessed we are to have access to so many goods and services. Oman's leader realizes the value of opening its culture to the world and providing a better lifestyle for its citizens. One of the good things about living here is the slower pace of life. I think that sometimes in America we live too fast a pace and we forget to make time to slow down and smell the roses.
Take some time to slow down yourself today--and enjoy the blessings God has bestowed on you.
Here is picture of one end of my kitchen. Notice the lamp up on to of the built-in pantry. There is no light on this side of the kitchen. The only lights in the kitchen are a small one in the middle of the room's ceiling and a drop lamp over the bar--just a mere 2 feet from the countertop surface. (Don has to stoop to reach under it!) If you try to wash dishes at night, you can't even see if you are getting them clean because it is so dark on that side of the kitchen. The lamp helps, and it's definitely better than not having it, but seriously? Who builds a kitchen without enough light to see your work at the sink? We had a fellow OXY employee over for dinner this past weekend, and we had a good laugh over the "outstanding lighting fixtures" that have been touted by construction folk here.
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| See the lamp cord running down the wall to a plug-in? It works because ALL plug-ins in our apartment are turned off and on AT the plug-in. We leave the lamp turned on and just toggle the outlet's power button. |
Moving on through my kitchen, please meet my new dryer. Oh, it's not really mine. They sent the measurements for the dryer and asked if it would fit into my utility room (the door that you see on the far side of the dryer). Don and I performed due diligence and measured out everything--the new dryer would fit. However, do you notice that large 4" aluminum panel sticking out on the back of the dryer? They didn't include it in the measurements of the dryer, so when it showed up, it wouldn't fit through the door. Don tried removing the door to the room and removing the back panel. The part he could NOT remove was the dryer vent. It is not removable and kept the dryer from going into the room. I have now waited longer for them to remove the dryer from our kitchen than I waited for it to arrive once it was approved for installation. It's a tight squeeze, but we enjoy walking around it to get in and out of the pantry and utility room--not!
Now, I will show you my real dryer. Or should I say my dryer office...........there are just no words. And to think I wasted space in my crates for my drying rack from The Container Store--you know, for those "lay flat to dry" items.
Life is definitely different here. Wait till you see my latest finds in another blog: a bidet shelf and real tension curtain rods!
Take some time to slow down yourself today--and enjoy the blessings God has bestowed on you.
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