And thus with a click of the handle, the car pulled away and I stood alone on the sidewalk of Columbus International Airport arrival terminal. Holy Crap this is actually happening. It hadn’t hit me until that very moment that all the planning and research and waiting had actually produced fruit: I was going to the Middle East.
The idea had started many years ago with my interest in religious studies, conflict resolution politics, my personal experience in Israel and my friends’ time with the military in Iraq. I have a heart for women/women empowerment issues; war, conflict and peace intrigue me and the culture itself is so different from ours that I was drawn like a moth to a flame. I could think of no better place to go to ask about women’s health, suffrage or disparities, nor a better place to go to find different perspectives on current, relevant and world-changing social events. Especially in light of the “Youth-quake” and the huge political turnovers recently experienced in the Middle East, this provided an incredible opportunity to ask questions from people personally impacted by this movement. Although, I was terrified the violence would spread to the usually peaceful Oman, it has held stable. (Admittedly they did have one protest but the Sultan and the people made peace quickly and Oman has been quiet ever since.) That certainly cannot be said about Oman’s neighbor Yemen, or nearby countries, which have been experiencing such incredible political turmoil, violence and bloodshed. Thankfully, we will be on the opposite side of the country. Much closer to Iran. Ironically, this brings more peace than being close to Yemen, but understandably, Iran makes me a bit nervous. Finally, to the north Saudi Arabia is king and to the south, the Somali pirates ravage wayward and unlucky ships. So Oman, an incredible society of relative peace, traditionalism and modern development is in the “Eye of the Storm” of sorts. Surrounded on all sides, it provides an opportunity to ask about its neighbors, their opinions on US politics and learn about health care in their country.
The plan: In Muscat, Oman, Trevor Short, Claire Hanson and I will shadow 2 physicians each in their specialty for two weeks. I’ll update the rest of the plan as it happens… Can’t spoil ALL the fun by this first blog. J I must warn you that I write this quite travel-weary and a mix between joyful, excited, sardonic, sarcastic and full of quirk, so I hope it makes sense and you enjoy the parenthetical inner-monologue/peanut-gallery comments.
At the airport after being hit by the bombshell that I was going out of the country, I met Trevor and his family and gathered our tickets. After a tearful goodbye (awe Moms…), a sincere parental scolding, and some entertaining father-son harassment, Trevor and I left to board the plane for Boston. We ate at Buckeye Hall of Fame Café where I ate a salad that made me sick (shock, cue time number one of Jess-eats-food-she’s-allergic-to. Yay travel.) Then boarded the plane. (Oh, I was compared to Christina Applegate by the waiter… that was a new one… honestly, I can’t remember what she looks like. I hope she looks better than I felt or I was just compared to a baggy-eyed, greasy blonde in oversized jeans, a stretched out T and wearing an exhausted grin.) Gratefully, on the plane, I passed out, Trevor devoured Harry Potter #1, and in a blink we had arrived. A cold, isolated walk down the eerie, deserted hall and we were swiftly on board the flight to London Heathrow. (Ps. We bought trail mix in Boston. Bleh. At least its sustenance I’m not allergic to. And it saved my life the next day J can’t hate it too badly.)
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