Why Oman?

Well, ever since I started telling people that I want to go to Oman I have gotten some funny looks. A lot of people ask why in the world I want to go to Oman, and lots of other people seem to think I'm going to Amman, Jordan. So, I'm going to clear some things up!
First of all, here is Oman:



                                   

The star near the top is Muscat, where I'll be living next year.

So, my intrepid readers ask, why did you want to go to Oman again?
Well, I have a few reasons. One is that I want to learn Arabic. I think Arabic is a very interesting language, plus it is useful for a lot of jobs in international relations. If that isn't enough, it is really pretty when written! أهلا This means hello, at least I think it does. You say "ahlan."
Not only is Arabic interesting, Oman itself is extremely fascinating. Before 1970 it was a very backwards country run by a man named Said bin Taimur, who didn't like international trade and had let the infrastructure slip down to only three schools, all of which were for boys. And this was not the extent of the issues either. Then, in 1970 a new ruler came to power, Sultan bin Qaboos. Sultan bin Qaboos immediately began modernizing the country, but although he worked hard to open up Oman to the rest of the world, he worked just as hard to preserve traditions.   
Today, Oman continues to have a distinct culture, even while working hard to progress. Plus, it had a large number of schools for boys and girls, one of which I will be attending next year.
I am also really excited to live in an Omani family. Omani families are usually large, and it would be exciting to have siblings as I am an only child here. Plus, Omani families are often quite close knit, and since I'm really close to my American family that would be great for me.
If these aren't enough reasons for anyone to go to Oman, I'll add that it's extremely beautiful. Take a look:





 


So, who's coming to visit me next year? :)

Hello Oman!

Hi everyone!
My name is Davan, I'm fifteen years old and next year I'm going to live in Oman for nine months! Yeah!
Maybe you are wondering how this has happened to me. Well, it all started last fall with a disappointing discovery. I had my heart set on going to Ghana for a year with AFS, but when I was beginning to apply I discovered two things. One, exchange is very, very expensive and two, I was actually about three months too young. You can imagine that I was a little unhappy.
I proceeded to spend the day surfing the internet trying to find exchange programs to Ghana that I was old enough for, and that is how I found YES Abroad.
Kennedy Lugar YES Abroad is a full scholarship exchange program for teenagers to study abroad in countries with high Muslim populations, to promote intercultural understanding and peace. It actually started soon after 9/11 as a program for Muslim students to study here, but over the years it has grown to include an outbound program. 
So, I applied. The application is long, but very worth it. After clicking the "submit" button with my heart in my throat I sat back and... waited for about two months. Two excruciatingly long months. And then I heard back. I was a semi finalist! I was completely over the moon. They flew me out to DC for the weekend, along with 118 other semi finalists who just so happened to be some of the most awesome people in the whole world. (I'll write more about the IPSE later)
I returned home feeling not-so-confident, because absolutely everyone at the event deserved a scholarship. I basically talked myself into thinking I definitely wasn't going to get it and tried to put the whole thing out of my mind. That was a little tricky, since the scholarship is my dream.
Then, a few days ago I received an email with the most exciting news in the world. I'm going to Oman, which is the most exciting thing EVER! Oman ended up being my top choice, so things couldn't really have turned out better. Well, unless they could have given scholarships to everyone at the IPSE.
I'm a little sad to leave Portland, Oregon, my home for the first 15 years of my life. I'll miss my family, my friends, the studio where I do aerial dance and being homeschooled. But I'm setting off on an adventure that will give me another cast of family and friends and places to miss when I come home, and let me just say that I can't wait.