Oman

My dad's probably in Oman now, barring any problems with the plane etc. I haven't heard from him yet, which worries me a little, but who knows what kind of internet access he'll have over there? Does Oman have internet cafes? I've heard they're a rich country, but my mind persists in showing me a picture of Bishkek, with people sleeping in the streets, drunk on cheap toxic vodka, poverty everywhere you look. Apparently his income isn't taxed there, though, which is good.

My dad's career has been varied over the past year. He was offered jobs in both South Korea and Kuwait, but ended up taking a job in Queenstown. Then, at the end of December, he was offered a job in Oman, and flew there on Monday. He'll be there till maybe August.

I know it's probably quite safe, and less dangerous than it was in Kyrgyzstan, but I don't like the thought of him there on his own, without his family. And it's hard on Mum. At least she's still got Sasha there - he'll be "the man of the house", as Dad jokingly said.

Oh — for Christmas Dan and I flew down to spend it with his family in Christchurch, and then rented a car to drive down and see my family. We flew down on Christmas Day, and back on New Year's Day, so there wasn't much time. I bid goodbye pretty casually to Dad, and half an hour later realised it could be the last time I saw him, or at least the last time for seven months. That made me feel pretty awful.

I don't care about not seeing Dad till August, since it's unlikely I'll see any of my family before then anyway. But I don't like the thought of him off in a strange country on his own. He doesn't even speak Arabic!

Hopefully he'll be fine. I imagine it's just taking a while for him to travel to the town he's working in. And I guess it's entirely possible, if it's a small town, that they don't even have the internet.

I told Dad to email us when he got there, though. I hope he's OK. I'm (almost) sure he's fine, but it's nice to actually be sure.