Category Archives: education/language

Long-Stretched Hummer!

Posted on April 24, 2013 | 2 Comments

I’ve seen plenty of long-stretched limousines before but never a long-stretched hummer until just a few days ago! It’s not every day you see a vehicle like this:long stretched hummer  Oman National Cert is running a “Mobile Security Campaign” across the Sultanate and this “Awareness Vehicle” is one sure way to get attention.  “OCERT was officially launched in April 2010 to analyse risks and security threats that may be present in cyberspace and communicates this information to users of Internet services and technical information outlets, whether they are public or private institutions, or individuals.” (from their website)inside hummer  It was nice to sit inside for a while and hear a bit about this campaign. The lady giving me the tour (who chose not to be photographed) said that I was their very first visitor on this leg of their tour.  Sweet!better look from front  If you see this vehicle around the Sultanate, don’t be shy to approach the folks and find out more about what they do.

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Posted in education/language, Oman in the News

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“You’re Not Special” Commencement Speech!

Posted on June 13, 2012 | 4 Comments

This commencement speech, from Wellesley High School in Massachusetts, USA, is getting a lot of attention and with good reason:

I only went looking for that video on youtube AFTER I noticed this blog post by author and blogger, Chris Brady, when signing into WordPress on the “Freshly Pressed page”.  I highly recommend clicking on it and reading the commencement speech for yourself.  A lot of truth in those words.

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Posted in Blogging, education/language, Some Thoughts

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Looking for a “Convent-Educated Man”?!

Posted on April 10, 2012 | 8 Comments

I sometimes have to scratch my head in bewilderment when reading papers here in Oman.  In the Matrimony Section of Muscat Daily I keep seeing ads worded like this one:

OK…so this girl is “convent-educated” – I get that…but she’s seeking a groom who is “convent-educated”?!  Does that seem odd to anyone else out there? Hello?!  Doesn’t “convent-educated” mean that you have lived or at least stayed in a convent for a certain period of time? And isn’t it usually nuns that go to a convent? And, correct me if I’m wrong, (Am I really going out on a limb here?!) but aren’t the majority of (dare I so ALL!) nuns actually “women”?!  Things that make me go “Hmm…”!

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Posted in Ads, culture, education/language, Humor, Language Problems

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Mommy & Me (& Daddy Too!)

Posted on January 26, 2012 | 5 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did any of you here in Oman go to the Mommy & Me exhibition in Noor Plaza yesterday?  We did and we picked up a lot of great stuff, helpful info and most importantly, our son had a fabulous time!  :-)

The organizers were very wise to set up all kinds of play stations for kids to draw, play, think, make music, learn and enjoy their time at the exhibition!

This is an example of one of many tables set up at Mommy & Me.  Zainab, on the left, runs a company called 99% which sells stickers, toys made of paper that kids can color (comes with markers!) and other products.  www.talbatk.com

There are all kinds of educational models at the exhibition like this doll to explain to new mothers how to feed a newborn and the benefits of breastfeeding.

A sad reminder (from BMV) of just how many parents in Oman do not have child seats or insist that their children wear seatbelts.  I hope that such exhibitions as Mommy & Me will slowly educate the population and make them take the safety of their children more seriously.

Bread talk is in full force at the exhibition with a yummy display of some of their fancy cakes.  My wife was sure to buy a few things from this display! :-)

One example of Breadtalk’s cakes – Circus Train Cake for 36 rials.

For all you coffee lovers out there, Second Cup is at the exhibition.

There is so much to see and do in the exhibition.  It’s not only for parents of newborn babies either.  There are plenty of kindergartens and playgroups that are advertising and available to answer the questions of parents of older kids as well.  You really have to start them young.  Some of these playgroups accept children as young as 14 months old!  If you wait too late to enter your kids in some educational group in Muscat at ages 3 1/2 or 4 they may get left behind!

This is Marianne, the smallprint franchise owner in Oman.  She specializes in the cutest souvenir gifts in which she can place the fingerprint of your baby (or even handprint at 4 months old or less) on silver jewelry as a keepsake. She works out of her home and can even travel to your house anywhere in Muscat to have it done.

Check out the website for more info: www.smallp.com (email: marianne.olsgaard@smallprint.com ) We’re thinking of getting some jewelry with our newborn’s fingerprint on it when she arrives in mid April, God willing.

Expat Woman (www.expatwoman.com ) is a great resource for anyone living in the Middle East.  Check it out for yourself and see why I’ve added it to the blogroll.  Expat Woman is the online partner of Mommy & Me.  A couple of other online resources you may want to check out are: www.MuscatMoms.com and www.pregnantinoman.com .

Well, I’ll end this post back at the beginning – the entrance to the Exhibition in Al Noor Hall.  The gentleman seated there is none other than Oman’s famous blogger/twitterer (what do you call someone who tweets exactly?!), Muscati! His is the twitter account to check out if you want to get an idea of what the tweeting community in Oman is like.  His wife happens to be one of the organizers and Muscati did his part in warmly greeting people as they entered.

If you didn’t go yesterday (Wed. Jan. 25th) I highly recommend you go there today (Thurs. Jan. 26th) and enjoy a few hours supporting local businesses while enjoying some great entertainment and fantastic deals (and plenty of freebies!).  It is well worth the 2 rial entrance fee!  Great job to all the organizers and volunteers of Mommy & Me!  As I mentioned on twitter, our son cried all the way to the car after leaving the exhibition.  He was having such a great time that he just didn’t want it to end!  :-)

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Posted in Ads, charity, education/language, Fun Things To Do, Gadgets Toys and Products, Health, parenthood, Products, social events

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“Cheeky Monkey”!

Posted on December 8, 2011 | 2 Comments

Be careful what you ask your students.  Here is a good example.  This was the grammar section of a recent test I gave my students:

Instead of simply writing “ok” or placing one check mark to indicate that #7 was a correct sentence, the student wrote 6 checkmarks!  He assured me that it was a joke and we had a good laugh over it when going over the test but there is a good reason that an old colleague asked that this specific question be changed to “My brother is a very good driver.”

The first thing that popped in my mind when marking this student’s paper and seeing his “joke” was the expression “cheeky monkey”.  It’s an expression I’ve learned from my British colleagues.  “Cheeky” means you are flippant, have too much lip or are a bit of a smart aleck.  It made me realize how your language and use of expressions can be influenced by colleagues from other nations/cultures.  Here are just a few other expressions I originally thought were quite bizarre but have become accustomed to over the years, working with people from other nations.

  1. “What is your good name?” (Used by several Indians in Oman when asking you what your name is.  I always thought it was odd because what if your name is not exactly a “good” one?  The question “What is your good name?” is actually a translation of the Hindi “Aap ka shubh naam kya hai?” )
  2. “Poppycock!”  (This just sounds funny!  It also sounds vulgar if you’re not familiar with it.  It is an old British expression meaning “empty talk or writing” and could be used to mean “nonsense!”)
  3. “Many happy returns of the day!”  (I still see this from time to time on someone’s facebook wall in congratulating someone on their birthday.  I always think, “How on earth is the day supposed to “return”?!”
  4. “Cheers!”  Canadians would normally only use this expression when drinking friends to mean “down the hatch” or “to your health”.  British colleagues use this to also mean “Thanks” and place it at the end of emails.  I use this myself now!

As awkward as some of those expressions may seem, nothing compares to the culturally awkward situation one of my New Zealand colleagues found herself in that almost cost her her job.  She said there’s an expression about “being a sausage” in NZ and when her class of male students were not cooperating, she told them they were being a bunch of “sausages”.  When they didn’t seem to undertand, she continued to draw a photo of an Omani ”sausage” with a cap on his head.  Well, her picture of a sausage was taken to mean something completely different and a trip to the dean was in order!

Are there other expressions that people from other nations use in English that you find rather awkward?

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Posted in education/language, Humor, Language Problems, Some Thoughts

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