So, there have been two positive things happening here in Buraimi in the last two days. First, we finally found a flat, on not only that, it's furnished! We have looked at around seven flats so far but they have all been unfurnished. Since we have no desire to walk around looking at furniture and we have no car either, we prefer to rent a place fully furnished. Back in Cairo there’s no problem finding a furnished flat, easy peasy, but we have learned that here in Al Buraimi it’s pretty rare.. We almost settled for a one bedroom flat at the end of the town the other night. The rent was good and the person that showed it to us would arrange to furnish it. Ugly enough, it was carpeted… Full on carpet in hot, dry, sandy Buraimi.. It wasn’t the only carpeted flat we have seen either. But luckily, we went for one more flat hunt last night. And it bear fruit! It’s actually not even a flat, it’s a villa, so even better! It’s also close to the center of town and close to the main mosque here, Sultan Qaboos (which is also the name of the Sultan of Oman). We also realized that it’s only one minute away from a juice shop in which we had the best juice ever a few evenings ago. Who knew this little town could produce such amazing juice, and it even looked exactly like on the pictures on the menu! Now that is unusual. It came in shiny see through plastic cup with a lid and straw. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big environment lover so plastic cups are of course not the best thing. But it looked like a juice straight out of an American café. I guess I know where we will hang the next coming months…
The villa is surrounded by a brick wall and a gate, so nobody can see in. On top of that all the windows are covered with some dark tint. And on top of that, there are curtains, AND the windows are caged with black metal bars. High security going on here... But not to worry, Oman has very low criminality, plus the Omanis and the many Pakistani people we have met so far are very cautious, hospitable and respectful. Two bedrooms, of which one is furnished as a kiddy room (is that a sign, hint hint..?), AC, and the kitchen has a huge microwave, a toaster and a very big fridge and freezer, plus, here comes the best thing, a full functioning automatic washing machine! Getting excited about a washing machine might be a bit unusual for many and taken for granted to have, but here in the Middle East it’s a huge relief having a full automatic washing machine. Back in Cairo I’ve experienced night mare machines that have ruined clothes, caused flooding, or have taken a full day just to finish one load of clothing.. The only question I’ve had when looking at the flats is if it comes with a full automatic washing machine. Yeah, it’s a pretty big thing for me. So I can’t wait to christen thins machine, I tell ya! Other than that, there’s a satellite TV which is also something we have never had before. Not even when living in Sweden we had a TV, nor in Cairo. The internet has been our best friend.
After settling the contract, the payment, and receiving the keys this morning, a staff member of the renting office gave us a ride to the villa to go through the electric meter and a few other things. Once there the bell rang and it was our new neighbour who wanted to introduce himself. A sweet elderly man. There are many sweet elderly men here, real grandpa-ish. There grandkids must have a lot of fun hanging out with them. They are funny and very hospitable. Our neigbour Abo Said (literally Father of Said) invited us for tea or coffee and said if there’s anything we need we should just stop by. We heard from the staff person that came with us that he had called him last night after we had looked at the flat and wondered if we are moving in, and if so, if we have any kids that the neighbouring kids can play with. Awww. Sweet. But sorry, no kids.. The villa is homie, it feels like there’s life in it with all the kitschy knick knacks here and there (reminds me very much of furnished Cairo flats), and it was recently lived in by a teacher we were told, so it enhances the homie feeling. Finally, no more hotel nights and finally we can unpack out suitcases which we haven’t done since we left Sweden a month ago.
And the other good news is that I am a “hot candidate” (as the head of administration put it) for a teaching position here at an international school. I walked in this morning and managed to get two minutes with the head before he rushed off to a meeting. In these two minutes he said he had just finished talking to his manager about possibly needing to hire another teacher, preferably a female European teacher.. Is that a coincidence that I walked into his office the second after his meeting with the manager or what?! I will know more at the end of the week though because they can then see if the teachers they already have is enough or if they are over loaded with kids. Hold your thumbs! As the Swedish expression goes equivalent to, cross your fingers. Now we’re off to get settled in the villa, woho!
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