So here's what happened.
Spanish didn't stick. After taking it throughout all of high school I had little to show for it. Upon arriving at the University of Denver following my graduation I had to take a language proficiency test and lo and behold, my performance in Spanish was... embarrassing. Maybe it was the novel hype of being a freshman in college, maybe it was my notorious "oh yeah? well i'll show you..." attitude, or maybe I'm just plain crazy because the next week I registered for my first Arabic class.

And in ten days I leave for Oman.

The first question I usually get asked when I tell someone where I plan to study abroad isn't "And what will you be studying?" or "How long will you be away?" or "Are you at all nervous?" No, the first question is almost always something along the lines of:

"You're going to O-where?"

Don't get hot and bothered if you fell into this category, I'm not making fun. Really. But just so we can set the record straight, Oman is a country on the south-east point of the Arabian Peninsula. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen all nestle against her along her western/southwestern border. Oman's east coast meets the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. If you head north across the Gulf of Oman you will hit Iran. Picturing it?

The program I am working through is called SIT Study Abroad and they specialize in more of an immersion-oriented dealio. I will not be taking courses on a university CAMPUS, I will not be staying in DORMS, I do not choose specific CLASSES to take. The particular SIT program I applied to participate in is called Oman: Political Culture and Development and it has the following set curriculum:

Intensive Language Study: Arabic

Political Culture and Development Seminar - which includes the following components:

1. Culture and History
2. Political, Economic, and Social Development
3. Rural Visit (10 days spent in Nizwa area)
4. Educational Excursions (Sharqiyya Sands, Dhofar, Dur, Salalah (in Oman), Qatar, and the UAE.)

Field Study Seminar

Independent Study Project

Classes will be held in a "large villa" (nice, right?) in a part of Muscat known as Al-Hail North, as well as at various make-shift sites as determined by our excursions/rural visit. I will be situated in a home-stay for the duration of my time in Muscat, however we don't get to meet our host family until the initial week-long orientation is through (early September).

These past few days I have spent buying last-minute supplies and staring at my ever-growing pile of belongings trying to will them into packing themselves. Naturally I started about a million projects that need to be finished before I head out- I'm sewing a few tunics so I have something appropriate to wear when I arrive and I'm also making a carry-on/over-night bag. The SIT program requires we write a paper demonstrating our composite thoughts on the online Omani news articles that we have had to keep up on for the last few months and I need to put the finishing touches on mine. The following is my flight itinerary for August 26th:

Depart Denver: 1155am - Arrive DC: 518pm

Depart DC: 600pm - Arrive: Zurich 805am (Aug 27th)

Depart Zurich: 1245pm - Arrive Dubai: 850pm

Depart Dubai: 930pm - Arrive Muscat 1035pm

Thankfully I only have one layover which will be my time spent in Zurich. While in both DC and Dubai I stay on the same plane.

I'm excited but because I don't know what all to expect and have been waiting so long for this opportunity to come to fruition, it doesn't seem real...