We're going to Oman!!!

Well, yesterday was the big day. Katie and I discovered that our first post will be Muscat, Oman. I suspect that many people's reaction to that will be a brief pause, followed by an "Oh, that's nice," followed by a semi-puzzled look that says "Where in the heck is Oman?"

First off, I would liek to assure everyon that we are thrilled. The biggest source of our excitement is that Oman is not an unaccompanied post, which means that Katie can come with me. There were a few days there that we thought I might end up having to go to Saudi Arabia, which would have meant that Katie couldn't have come. Needless to say, we are thrilled that we will be able to spend the next few years together.

Next, I'd like to point you toward a nice little map of Oman. I would post it here, but I can't figure out how to add pictures to this silly thing. Katie will have to help me out with that later. For now, simply follow this link for a map of Oman. You'll notice that Oman is on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, and that Muscat itself is in the north part of the country, right across the Gulf of Oman from Iran. By all accounts it is a very pleasant country where Katie and I will be able to fully enjoy the next few years.

If you're intereseted in learning more about the country, check out the wikipedia and CIA Factbook entries on the country. To get a better feel for what it will be like for us to live there, check out real post reports from talesmag.com, often quite candid reports written by Foreign Service Officers and other expatriates living in Muscat.

I will be a Consular Officer while I am there. Consular Officers do two basic things: they issue visas and take care of Americans abroad that have some issue that needs taken care of. The consular section in Muscat appears to be small enough that I will probably have plenty of experience with both.

The orientation training for the Foreign Service ends next week. The following Monday I begin six months of Arabic training, to try to get my Arabic up to par for me to actually be useful in my job. After the Arabic training, I get about two months of Consular training. After that, Katie and I head out to post in the middle of Novemeber.

Again, we are thrilled to be able to go to Oman for our first post! :o)