Adventures Getting to Oman

In January my company asked me if I would move to Oman for fifteen months and, while I knew almost nothing about Oman, I quickly accepted and then furiously started researching my new home.  Images of Arabian Nights and adventures on sand dunes filled my head and I envisioned all the fun and adventurous expats who I’d meet and would travel the world with me.  Since it’s only a temporary assignment, there were a few really awesome perks – every 8 weeks I get 2 weeks leave, which I fully intend to use to see the world since Oman is smack dab in the middle of everything.  But since it’s only temporary, I’m still expected to maintain my house and life back in Houston, which is both nice and stressful at the same time.

I was supposed to move in the middle of March, so January and February passed in a flurry of activity while I tried to sort out my life in the US: what to do with my 80 lb. dog who hates the heat (thanks Mom and Dad!), how to get my cat to Oman, what to do with my house in Houston, what to do with the brand-new car I’d just bought, etc.  At the end of February I spent one week traveling in the UAE and Doha for work and the second week in Muscat, finding a new home and exploring the area.  After visiting the other two countries I was sold on Oman – it was gorgeous, truly felt like old Arabia and the people were incredibly warm and welcoming.  I was pumped to move and excited to start my new life and adventure.

My original move date was March 21^st, but less than 24 hours before my movers were supposed to show up I was notified that my start date was being pushed back because they couldn’t get a work visa for me (I had a tourist visa from my trip in February that was good for one year in 3 week increments).  Turns out the government had placed a ban on issuing work visas to women as an attempt to cut down on prostitution.  Seriously.  We pushed my date back a week and I frantically set about rescheduling all the things I’d planned (movers, airplane tickets, vet’s information for the cat, un-cancelling my cell phone).

To make a very long and very stressful story short, my move was delayed in one-week increments until I finally got clearance to move on a Tuesday...and left the country three days later on Friday, April 25th.  After more than a month of delays, I suddenly had three days to get everything done (pack my stuff, sell my car, finish up projects at work…oh, and say goodbye to everyone). 

Somehow I got everything done and on Friday afternoon Zim (the cat) and I set out on our new adventure.  Flying with a cat as a carry-on was not as bad as I’d expected, though I certainly have sympathy pains for all of you that have flown with small children before.  20-some-odd hours later we arrived in Muscat and after some immigration frustration and a quick check by a vet, we were off to our new home at midnight on Saturday.