Your experience of culture shock in Oman

Just the other day, I was thinking of all the culture shocks and planning to write about them in my small note book for remembrance.

1. Omani women dont pray from the mosque, not even on Eid. A great shocker, something that kept me wondering till I asked a friend whether its out of choice or a Norm . Her response ' its better for us to pray from home to avoid mixing up with men'

2. Incase of a gathering , food party or any occasion. There is a Gender arrangement.men are separated from women.they eat separately, and in most cases Men eat first,  such a privilege to men.

Where I come from we are on 'Ladies first' motto.in oman its Men Men Men

3. Eating with spoons (we use folks)
.
Its generally a man's world here.Women empowerment is on a low key.
With the ladies its mainly about 'my husband,  I will ask my husband, my husband doesn't like it, My husband will first confirm'.
Am not saying its wrong for a woman to involve her partner in her plans but the way some of them bring it out reflects pure subordination.

When my boss (male) picked me from the Airport, i headed for e front passenger seat only to be told to take the back seat. (only the wife or family member are allowed to take that seat. Shocked but then I felt like a boss cruised in a Mercedes

I guess this applies to Arabs only

Advice- Reference to charles Darwin' Theory of Natural selection.
The only way you can survive in any environment is through adaptation to the conditions, otherwise you Will be defeated out. So in oman , act like an Oman especially in public. Dress according to society Norms and values, obey the laws.give ceasar what belongs to ceasar. As simple as that. You can always act your Nationality in your bedroom

Cousin marriages are a tradition among Omanis.in my culture, this is a taboo, an abomination , you can be excommunicated from the family, it is regarded as incest.

We have over 50 tribes in my country, each tribe has norms and values that call for conformity. My tribe is further divided into clans&totems- symbolic identifications mainly by Animals, birds and plants.
Forexample am from the Buffalo clan.According to cultural Norms everyone from the Buffalo clan is my sibling. So am not at any circumstance expected to marry or have any sexual relations with a man from The Buffalo clan because culture regards him as my brother.
But marriages aint restricted within a tribe, you can 'eat from outside'.

Hello everyone:
      I have been here in Oman for about 1 year and eight months and yes, like many I fell in love with this country the moment I arrived here. I liked it more and more as months went by but now I want to move forward out of here as more months go by. I still like the country as it is but the SSSSLLLLOOOOWWWW pace is just unbearable for me. Secondly, the habit of our Omani brethren of not keeping their promises really bothers me. I used to enjoy my life every day but now every day seems like a dull day all because of the slow pace and things not getting done as per plan.

     So, this really surprises me and I fail to see where this country is going; thirdly, the labour laws are not expat friendly and then again it seems that it will take them soooooo many years to be at par with the global rules of labour. Omanization is fine and I agree 100% with it and that it is Oman's right but then again; there are ways of getting things done (which in turn should be local and foreign investment friendly and expat friendly - because fact of the matter is that expats are a requirement of this whole equation here in Oman).

     Other than all this; I wish if I could switch over to a more professional "MNC" in Oman; so, I could stay longer here and me and my wife could raise our kids here. It is just one of the best countries to raise your family. The credit for this goes to none other than but the Omanis themselves. Hats off to them for this achievement.

     Salutes to Omanis and the old expats who are living here and have contributed to the beauty of Oman.

Regards,
Mumtaz

MumtazKhan wrote:

Hello everyone:
      I have been here in Oman for about 1 year and eight months and yes, like many I fell in love with this country the moment I arrived here. I liked it more and more as months went by but now I want to move forward out of here as more months go by. I still like the country as it is but the SSSSLLLLOOOOWWWW pace is just unbearable for me. Secondly, the habit of our Omani brethren of not keeping their promises really bothers me. I used to enjoy my life every day but now every day seems like a dull day all because of the slow pace and things not getting done as per plan.

     So, this really surprises me and I fail to see where this country is going; thirdly, the labour laws are not expat friendly and then again it seems that it will take them soooooo many years to be at par with the global rules of labour. Omanization is fine and I agree 100% with it and that it is Oman's right but then again; there are ways of getting things done (which in turn should be local and foreign investment friendly and expat friendly - because fact of the matter is that expats are a requirement of this whole equation here in Oman).

     Other than all this; I wish if I could switch over to a more professional "MNC" in Oman; so, I could stay longer here and me and my wife could raise our kids here. It is just one of the best countries to raise your family. The credit for this goes to none other than but the Omanis themselves. Hats off to them for this achievement.

     Salutes to Omanis and the old expats who are living here and have contributed to the beauty of Oman.

Regards,
Mumtaz

The labour laws can be equated to House arrest. I wish things were different? Perhaps I would be doing something that I love.but we are pushed onto a glued wall. You simply cant move till the right person pulls you off

I agree with you Mariamns. 

Oman is abeatiful country and I have always prayed that my kids be brought up here. It is an ideal place for bringing up children as long as you keep in mind on how you brought up back home and stick to it.

The only problem i have with Oman is the slow pace of things.  There is availability of technology and education but it is like we are still leaving in the old ages when there was no internet to pace things up.
When you need documentation on any kind you need all the patience that you can master.

Otherwise the other cultures are okay with me since most are Islamic oriented though others are over emphasised.

The labour laws are so frustrating!   "Omanization"  I totally have no problem with that. But something seriously need to be looked into.  I have the education, the experince that i can put to gud use for the benefit of an Omani, but still I can not get employment because am not an Omani.!!!!! So frustratiing.

Before when I was new here or even recently I posted about how expats are treated. But I think that is really how it works here. Having been assigned in a village far from the city, I didn't get that much culture shock since some some their practices here are somewhat similar to some practices of our older folks back in our town. If there is,its only the tiny bit of restrictions for women. But it doesn't bother me so.
I like some of their practices actually. Reminds of our old folks back home. Simple life and a strong Faith.
Omanis here in my area ( in general) are good people.  I never had the feeling that I needed to adjust to their culture.

yu72 wrote:

I agree with you Mariamns. 

Oman is abeatiful country and I have always prayed that my kids be brought up here. It is an ideal place for bringing up children as long as you keep in mind on how you brought up back home and stick to it.

The only problem i have with Oman is the slow pace of things.  There is availability of technology and education but it is like we are still leaving in the old ages when there was no internet to pace things up.
When you need documentation on any kind you need all the patience that you can master.

Otherwise the other cultures are okay with me since most are Islamic oriented though others are over emphasised.

Oman is like therapy for addicts.This place can humble you and put you in the right place esp if you lived a very careless liberal life.Parents should send all the naughty kids here

That was a while ago during my first travel to one of the Gulf countries. I happened to be one of the guests. and a thin twisted build calm guy carrying a pot of Arabic coffee in one hand and a curved column of cone-shape porcelain cups in the other. This coffee entertainer started pouring coffee to the uppermost cup in the column and handing to the guests one after the other; I took my share managed the bitter taste and enjoyed the concentrated cardemon flavour and when he made his second round I forwarded the empty cup to him with a smile of gratitude and appreciation hoping he will take the cup and leaves me in peace but instead he poured a second shot to my cup and moved away normally calmly silently serving others.I appreciated this kind of generosity and was likely to accept another (drink) but that was not the end for he kept touring and distributing here and there giving me one shot after the other until I had taken coffee that is enough for me for another month smiling at him and thanking him every time I forward the empty cup back to him but in vain he kept adding . I felt embarrassed namely after I got sure that I was the only one that that man kept picking at me.I looked here and there longing for help when I noticed that one of the (experienced) guests has been watching the scenario and laughing he said rotate the empty cup in quarter of a circle to and fro when you want to give it back .i did that in no time and the miracle happened the guy took the empty cup back and left

Thank you for your views. When you (and other contributors here) have said that things are 'SLOOOW'- what is slow exactly?
I was surprised by some of the other comments and it's certainly making me think twice. If a country takes someone in for the value they can add as a professional, then making them conform or suffer/be ostracized doesn't seem too considerate. It's concerning that being female equates to being 2nd class, and foreign 3rd class, and female foreigners probably 4th class!
I'm basing this conclusion on what's been said here previously and now. Please show me that I'm wrong!

Thanks very much.