Are girls and boys in the same classes?

Yes, there are an even number of boys and girls in each class, usually about 20 kids per class. Our school has 400 kids total (200 boys, 200 girls). Marin Academy High School is a very open and friendly community. You will often see boys and girls hugging in between classes. When hanging out, kids will sit on each others laps sometimes, and rest on each other. Students sometimes even hug teachers during school. We also call our teachers by their first names.

Who We Are

We are high school students in Nizwa, Oman and at Marin Academy in San Rafael, California. We would like to begin a dialogue about what it's like to be teenagers in our respective countries. To begin our discussion, students in Nizwa have created a list of questions, with responses to the first two; please feel free to respond to any or all:

What is the weather like in your town?

In the summer, the weather in Oman is hot, and in the winter it is cool. In the southern city of Salalah, the weather is very nice. There is a lot of rain and fog. Here in Nizwa, it is usually rainy for less than twenty days a year. Sometimes cyclones hit the coast. It has only snowed once here, but there is snow in the mountains, like Green Mountain and Sun Mountain.

What do you wear everyday?

Girls wear an abayyah and a head scarf to school everyday. At home, the girls wear a dress. The boys always wear a dishdasha and kuma. For special occasions, the men wear a Kanjar, which is a curved dagger.

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