I might be going on a limb saying this, but I’m pretty sure we just made history. On Thursday evening at Lokanta Restaurant, a table of 17 (including Z and Moulay) sat for an entirely vegan iftar meal. Omani and expat, female and male, young and not-so-young had a totally plant-based, four-course, Turkish dinner. Our … Continue reading Muscat’s First Vegan Iftar (Fast-Breaking Meal)
Back when we lived in Turkey, I had a writing assignment at The LifeCo Antalya-- an amazing detox retreat center on the southern coast. After three days of my own cleansing, one of the workers bade me farewell and said to me, "Ramadan is our detox, isn't it? Fasting cleanses our bodies and the daily … Continue reading Raw Suhoor (Pre-Fasting) Meals
Bea Johnson, author of Zero Waste Home, is on a 16-city tour that started in Dubai and ends in Nancy. Can you believe that one of those 16 stops was Muscat?!? Hosted by ub-cool, a locally-based adventure and tour group, we met last week at UFC Gym in Seeb for an hour-long lecture by Ms. … Continue reading Can a Zero Waste Life Work in Oman?
Life in the desert gets hot—really hot. We’ve had this conversation before but after welcoming my mom for her recent visit to Muscat, Urbndervish and I reflected on how in spite of the intense heat, life in Oman has helped actualize many goals and ideals that we could only talk about while living in the United States. … Continue reading Low-Impact Living in Muscat
When I first heard of a Vitamix blender, I was in disbelief that so many seemingly-friendly and helpful vegan and raw food bloggers were trying to convince others that they absolutely needed to buy one. Spending near $500 on a single appliance seemed preposterous to me until I got out of college debt and started … Continue reading Why I Couldn’t Afford NOT to Buy a High-Speed Blender
Is it too late for a year retrospective? Unlike the calendar of Pope Gregory XIII, our year never seems to start on January 1st. Somehow, we just feel our way through the seasons. But generally speaking, the past year--give or take a few months--has been new territory for all of us on all fronts. As parents, … Continue reading Raggamuslims’ Recap of 2017
After a National Holiday and Winter Holiday lull, the Homeschoolers in Muscat are up and at it again. For our first activity of the year, we met for a free Arabic lesson with NaTakallam, an amazing organization that pairs primarily Syrian refugees with keen Arabic students from around the world for online language lessons. Our … Continue reading Learn Arabic over Skype with NaTakallam
Winter is already here. No snow in these parts, but there is lovely outdoor weather, plenty of sunshine, and winter camp. Recreational centers are promoting their programs during the school break, and I personally think camp is a great experience for homeschooled and unschooled children to tap into. Z had her first camp experience … Continue reading If Only School Were Like Camp…
While I love the philosophy of self-directed education, there’s a part of me that can’t totally comply. I categorize our family as unschooling because we have no interest in recreating school at home or complying with a standard curriculum. However, now that Z is seven, we’re ready to introduce more structure and order to her … Continue reading Unschooling with the 4 R’s
Sometimes healthy seems unattainable. There are so many competing demands for our time, budget, and attention, that it seems easier to take the path of least resistance. For single folks with money to spare, grab and go healthy meals prepared by others are great. But if you have a family or a tighter budget, it’s … Continue reading Healthy Eating Hacks for the Whole Family
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