Going Outward Bound in Oman

There are many lessons that you can learn from nature. To start you learn how to appreciate the simple aspects of life, you learn how to take care of yourself and others, you learn organization, and you learn how to disconnect from the outside world. Last week I had the privilege of organizing another Outward Bound course for 25 college students in the Omani mountains. It is one of my favorite programs I get to organize and we were fortunate to have a great group of students who made the most of the experience. 

The course took place over 4 days and 3 nights but felt much shorter than that. Our journey began at 4:00am on May 10 as we departed campus for the airport and a 7:00am flight. We arrived in Oman around 10:00am and began to make our way to Jebel Akhdar (the green mountain) about a two hour bus ride from Muscat. People were tired, hungry, and ready to get started. Day one of the course focused on distributing gear, some basic team building, and learning how to set up camp. During the course students had to make camp, cook all their own food, carry their belongings on their backs, and hike each day. For many of them it was their first time doing each of these things and really stretched their comfort zones.

 

Over the time we had on the mountain students had some intense realizations about their own skills as a leader, how they interact with groups, some of the obstacles groups face in achieving results, and reflections on the privileges they have in their daily lives. Even for me as a course chaperone it was an opportunity to disconnect, reflect on the last year, and really appreciate all the things that have been happening in my life recently. For most of the participants the Outward Bound model of using the outdoors as a classroom is quite powerful. Opportunities like this are not common in the Gulf area so we are lucky to have this partnership in Oman.

 

This program marked the end of the academic year for me in Doha and the official start of summer. This year has been the most challenging yet most rewarding of my time in Doha. I am looking forward to the quiet time this summer to recover and spend time with great people.