Connecting Cultures 2009
In the dunes and mountains of Al Abyad, close to Rustaq in Oman, fifteen young people have gathered together from all corners of the world to spend five days travelling through the sands on the fifth Connecting Cultures journey. The fifteen girls, all of whom have been identified as potential leaders and future opinion formers in society are from Oman, UK, Japan, Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Sweden. Working together as a team to overcome specifically designed problems en route, the girls will discuss issues of cultural understanding and shared values, and identify the causes of and solutions to cultural misunderstanding.
'The aim of the five days is to send these young people home better able to make informed and balanced decisions in their respective communities', said founder of Connecting Cultures Mark Evans. The five day course is designed and run by Outward Bound Oman/Tahaddi.
Connecting Cultures, endorsed by UNESCO and identified by UNAOC as one of the worlds leading civil society initiatives works closely with the Oman National Commission/Ministry of Education. The 2009 journey is supported by the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, UNESCO, ISESCO and KLM. On-Line lesson plans designed by teachers and developed with the support of HSBC can be accessed via the website
www.connectingcultures.co.uk
Maria from Lebanon December 4th
I have arrived in the early morning hours on the 3rd of December to Muscat, Oman. In the afternoon, an Omani girl who participated in Connecting Cultures last year took me and the Japanese ambassador, Kyoko Ohkoshi, on a tour around Muscat. Our most interesting stop was Souk Mutrah, which is a traditional Arabic market that retained its old entrance gate. It was interesting to get away from the huge 'modern' shopping malls to buy souvenirs for our family and friends. One thing that one cannot but notice is the kindness and hospitality of the Omani people. It is the general feeling that you would get as soon as you land in the airport.
Today is my birthday! It has been a very unusual and exciting way to celebrate it. Even though I am in a country I have never been to before, and I am amongst people I did not know just this morning, the birthday is going more than fine especially that the Spanish ambassador, Maria Santacruz, made everyone sing for me while we took turns introducing each other. The desert is very relaxing and peaceful; it really is a great place to get to know the other person. Finally, I am looking forward for tomorrow's activities.
Maria from Spain, December 4th
Today has been our first day, our exploration day: different country, warm atmosphere, spicy food and new people to share experiences with. At 9.30 am we left the hotel and we went to the airport to collect the last three girls arriving: Norah Alkhamis from Saudi Arabia and Tor Harmer and Liz Davies from UK. After that we started our way to the Omani desert with a feeling in common: curiosity about cultures.
Just arriving you can feel something different in the air, something magic that makes you reflect about life, people, world we live in... Our home towns are very far away but under a tree next to a fort they've come together again. We've spoken about our lives while we've taken lunch. After that the sun was going down and on the top of a dune, we waved our flags in the air. Many different symbols, colors, traditions, smells, thoughts, sounds, opinions... Feelings that we are going to show and share with you and the world.
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Day 2 - Snakes, scorpions and wonderful hospitality.
Zahra from the Netherlands, December 5th
My trip to Oman has a lot of firsts: the first time I visited the country Oman, the first time I went to the Middle East, the first time I went to a desert even, and the list is still growing... I got to know 14 very interesting ladies from different cultures and backgrounds, and the conversations we have are very enriching. The Connecting Cultures desert expedition, with the truly wonderful Oman as the background, is an incredible learning school. It is very interesting to observe and at the same time partake in this highly dynamic process that is going on. Each woman in this group has her own strengths and capacities-to see us really combine those 'forces' together and try to overcome the barriers that are likely to be encountered on a desert expedition, is amazing.
Today we visited a traditional Omani village. We were warmly welcomed by our host family. Although there might be some barriers if one does not speak the native tongue of a country, there still is a universal language that everyone understands and is likely to beam out to others: genuine smiles and friendliness. We were offered coffee, dates, halwa, and meat, and henna tattoos were painted on our hands. This traditional village was a very interesting experience and in stark contrast to the modern capital, Muscat, which Darshini Paltewari and I got to explore the first day we arrived in Oman. Our experience of today underlines the more that even within a particular country and culture there are differences to be found. But at the end of the day it is important to realize that regardless of culture, race, religion, and sex, we are all human beings and it is, ultimately, our humanity that binds us.
Elizabeth from the UK, December 5th
Not for the first time, tonight I was sorry I didn't play the bagpipes. Earlier this evening while we were discussing how others viewed our own culture, our Spanish ambassador, Maria, played us her castanets. Right now the current of conversation around the fire is supported by the steady of beat of the playing of Juma, an Omani staff member of Outward Bound, making enterprising use of an empty water container. I feel I'm somehow letting my culture down by not contributing - although probably not everyone would feel my instinctive heart-tug at hearing the wail of bagpipes over Oman's beautiful dunes.
I had to think hard about my culture and my nationality from a young age. Although I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, my parents sound as English as they come and I spent a lot of time while I was growing up in the United States. Scots are notoriously unforgiving towards the English in their midst; as someone with an oddly mongrel accent who wasn't ever quite sure where to say they were from I tended to land on the wrong side of this. So I began to consider "culture" a particularly fluid concept quite early on. When I got to university I was delighted to discover this being laid out a bit more academically by Benedict Anderson, who talked of "nations" as "imagined communities". Although I'd never had to think specifically about this before I found myself drawn towards this viewpoint when asked this morning what I considered "culture" to be. For me, culture is anything that helps a group of people define themselves as a community, and for that reason what's relevant depends entirely on the situation in question. Although to the rest of the world I proudly sell myself as "British" I gravitated more towards my Scottish roots as a student at an English university, desperate to educate everyone about the Scottish Parliament and nostalgic for my school ceilidh dances. However, the slight twang to the edge of my accent also makes me an American in certain scenarios, or at least someone who is called upon to defend American culture. I never feel I'm the ideal person to ask in any of these situations: I'm not really American, and nor do I sound like any other Glaswegian you're likely to meet. But that's exactly the point.
One thing that became immediately clear to me today is just how interwoven and interdependent supposedly different cultures are. Today I ended up having an extremely lengthy conversation with Maria, who lives in Beirut, about how much we love houmous. Lebanon is in a perpetual fight with Israel to convince it of its centrality to its heritage; in Cambridge, where I went to university, I got used to having it on chips from a traditional English fish and chips shop. I love it so much that I make my own every week. I may have never been to Lebanon, much as I'd love to. But every day I carry a little bit of the country's culture along with me in my sandwiches.
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A day of intensive dialogue in the desert, and an opportunity to meet one man trying to make a difference.
Tilila from Morocco, December 6th
CONNECTING CULTURES!
This is the most amazing human experiment I've ever had in my whole life. Being in the desert with a group of people from different countries and horizons is very enriching. By the way, the Omani desert is slightly different than the Moroccan one. Anyway, when you spend a day on its warm sand and a night under its enlightened sky, you feel exactly the same feeling of total freedom and limitless possibilities.
New day, new experiences, new feelings. First, we had the opportunity to watch a wonderful sunrise behind the mountains. Then, we had a workshop with Mark about cultures where we tried to find causes of misunderstanding and workable solutions to misunderstanding and extremism. Then, we met Swedish explorer Michael Strandberg who told us about his amazing project of going from the Omani desert to the Mauritanian one with camels.
After that, there was a couple of journalists working for the Oman national TV channel and radio station and I've been interviewed. Moroccan Arabic is pretty different from Omani Arabic so I hope there won't be any confusion about what I said. We also read the article written about us in the Oman Daily Newspaper. Internet, newspaper, radio, TV: we're getting really famous in Oman.
Like everyday we walked for about 3km to reach our new camping spot which is upon a hill with a wonderful view. Afterwards my "tent-mate" from Japan Kyoko and I set our tent. After such a rich day, I'm feeling the importance of connecting cultures and I feel the responsibility of sharing all what I've learnt here when I'll get back to my country. While I'm typing, I couldn't help thinking that we're getting closer and closer to the end of this experience and I feel a bit sad because I don't want to leave the desert yet.
Norah from Saudi Arabia December 6th
After waking up later than most, due to intense card games next to the campfire with Tilila (Morocco), my fellow ambassadors and I were gathered by Mark for a workshop. We debated on the causes and solutions of extremism, with a great discussion on the Media's influence on the public audience.
We had the honor to meet Michael Strandberg, a great explorer of the world. He shared his passion on meeting people of different cultures, and how on all his adventures he met hospitable and kind people. I was lucky to experience this hospitality from the Omani family that we visited in the village. It greatly reminds me of home, and how we all Saudis take hospitality very seriously, it gives me more hope in depending on people kindness.
We had the Omani Television Channel interviewing some of the ambassadors, asking on what we learnt and accomplished from the expedition so far. The interviews were aired on the radio today, and will be aired on TV tomorrow. This will be our minute of fame.
So far, the experience is enriching. I am getting to know great women from amazing places that I will treasure as friends. I like to thank the people who helped me get here to experience this all, Ionis Thomson of the Saudi British Society, Ann Morris and Mark Evans.
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Final Day in the Desert for Connecting Cultures - a time for reflection and identifying future actions.
Hilde from Norway December 7th
Today we left our camp and walked straight up into the hills and mountains of the Omani desert. After four days of hiking in soft sand your legs and feet are not the willing companions you are used to. Everyone has sand everywhere, some are not used to camping and hiking and the sun can be quite the strain for some of us who are used to more cool temperatures. Personally I came from -16C and was quite worried they would have to transport me back to town in the freezer of one of the support vehicles. The delightful thing is that the spirit of the group is not affected what so ever. I have never seen such an incredible stamina and positive energy in one place. These are very intense, vibrant, fun-loving and not to mention intelligent women.
We sat down in the shade for lunch and discussed what this expedition has taught us about people, society and our selves. One of the things I have appreciated the most was how people were very candid and open to talk about misunderstandings. To achieve cross-cultural understanding I believe it is essential to have a relaxed, positive platform where you can talk about assumptions and prejudice. These are sometimes difficult and sensitive subjects.
Mark Evans and the Connecting Cultures organization could not have done a better job creating this platform. Many of us admitted that they had not expected to learn so much or that it would be this much fun. Personally I think it was a thrill to learn how little one knows, and I can not wait to learn more. As I sit here on the last evening in the desert, I truly feel grateful and privileged to have got to know these remarkable young women and shared this experience. I send my thanks to the people who made it possible and I hope they will continue to do so in the future.
Hilde from Norway December 7th
Connecting Cultures gave us a great opportunity to represent our Omani culture and reflect a better image to almost twelve different cultures. It is an honour for us, and we are very proud
The purpose of this expedition is to understand other cultures and try to find solution to break down the fake wall between the cultures which is created by wrong assumptions. As Omani ambassadors we have successfully achieved a lot and more than we expected. Most of the girls in this expedition have never heard about Oman till they got the opportunity to come and participate. They thought Omani women are not independent, and not given any rights. They also thought that we are still living like bedouin, not modernized yet, not educated and Oman is not a safe country, with lots of kidnappers.
After this expedition and the long discussions between us, they were surprised that Oman is totally different, and the opposite of what they thought. The first impression of Omani culture is how friendly and welcoming it is. They were also impressed that Oman is advanced in technology and education. Women in Oman are treated equally as the men by having the same rights, and as being as strong and competitive.
This expedition is also about learning, as every day we learned something new. Hiba Al-Kiyumi said: "team work is important and every member's contribution with the team is important. Also self confidence in making impossible decisions like walking in the desert under the hot sun in the middle of the day for kilometers and hours". Kaltham Al Kindi said: "I have learned a lot in this expedition. Don't judge the book by its cover. But by exploring, looking into it and finding out the true meaning of cultures". Kaltham also said: "people who value education, knowledge and communication and who are open minded, can really see the truth from what is blinding us". Sara Al Saidi said "I really have learned a lot from this expedition, especially that you can never know enough, every information leads to another question, and every question leads to a dialogue that could never end. And I also learned that being an open minded person and accepting people as they are is very important".
Culture it is the flavor of life; there is no one definition, and everyone has their own way to define it. The whole purpose of this expedition is to connect the cultures and each individual presents it the way they define it. At the end each one of us are heading back to our lives whether it's school, university or work. Taking what we learned through this journey and reflecting that on others. Hoping that one day, anyone of us could become a leader and lead the nation towards a better future, making a better world.
