The Turtle of Oman

“I will keep it in my pocket always when I arrive in the United States. I will say my son gave it to me, and you are coming soon.”

Aref’s parents are very supportive and proud of him, and his father is excited that his family will soon be joining him on the adventure to the US. Additionally, this quote speaks to the recurring significance of stones exchanged between those who care about one another.

“This was going to be hard, but he wanted to do it.”

Stones are a recurring motif in this novel, and Aref’s decision to give the turquoise stone to Diram shows that Aref is a good friend and is willing to work through difficult decisions. He cares deeply about his friends, and this is his way of returning the favor the kind gifts he has received from neighbors coming to say goodbye to him and his mother.

“It was easy to share when you still had what you needed. When you had enough for yourself. Or when you could get whatever you had shared right back again—like his cars.”

Part of Aref’s difficulty in leaving home is knowing that his room will not be the same when he returns, and he does not look forward to the fact that his cousins are moving into his space. However, over the course of the novel, he comes to accept and even welcome their presence.

“Halcyon meant a period of time that was happy and peaceful. You never heard anyone say it, though. That is what my life in Oman has been so far, he thought. And now it will be all shaken up.”

Aref is very content with his life in Oman, and he has a hard time grappling with the fact that everything is being disrupted so that his parents can pursue an education in America. However, he eventually learns that he will be able to settle into a new place, and traveling locally with his grandfather during the week before he leaves helps him to prepare for this larger change.

“English started at the left and moved right, Arabic words started at the right and moved left. What was backwards to one was forward to the other.”

One of Aref’s natural fears about settling into a new school is the possibility that he will not fit in with his peers. Although he attends an international school and speaks English well, he has never before considered the experiences that international students have when they arrive in Oman. However, his grandfather eventually comforts him, reminding him to share pieces of his culture with his peers in the US in order to connect with people and help them to understand where he comes from.

“In our country, it is quite a tradition that people go away, then they come back home. We can be proud of it.”

Aref’s mom knows that he is proud of being from Oman, and she tries to utilize this pride to emphasize that traveling and returning is part of being Omani. While it does not have exactly the effect she wants in that moment, the narrative repeatedly circles back to the idea that some people and animals are migratory, and this thought brings Aref comfort.

“Maybe if he didn’t pack, he wouldn’t really have to leave.”

This quote encapsulates the essence of Aref’s reluctance to tackle the mundane chore of packing for his trip. In his mind, he has connected the suitcase itself with the journey that he is so reluctant to take, and he childishly finds himself engaged in magical thinking, hoping that ignoring the suitcase will enable him to remain in Oman and avoid the reality of traveling to another country. Thus, the suitcase symbolizes The Difficulty of Leaving Home.

“He liked ‘no’ in English even better than he liked ‘la’ in Arabic—they meant the same thing. But ‘la, la, la’ sounded like a song and ‘no’ felt stronger now. He was glad to be speaking English because he didn’t feel like singing.”

Aref and his family are bilingual and speak English often at home, especially since Aref’s parents have decided to move to the US. Aref’s knowledge of the language is on display here, showing that he can move between languages fairly easily. This moment illustrates his indignance at the thought of moving even as it emphasizes his intelligence and his ability to analyze the sonic effects of English and Arabic.

“Till now, he had been welcoming them to his country. And he had never had two extra thoughts about it. You met new people, you made new friends. What had changed?

Aref analyzes his place in his international school and begins to wonder what would have gone differently if he had empathized with students from other countries. However, his contemplations help him to understand what his experience will be like, given that he has seen other international students go through the process of adapting to their new environment in Oman.

“You didn’t have to do anything to feel comfortable here. You just walked outside, took a long breath and thought—Yes. Sure. Here I am.”

Part of The Difficulty of Leaving Home includes wrestling with what “home” really means, and by comparing home to the warm, comfortable quality of air at the beach, Aref imbues the term with a sense of safety and relaxation. He therefore views home as a place in which one is instantly comfortable.

“It struck Aref that he had never wondered too much about how his friends from Denmark and Mexico felt when they moved to Oman. Did they feel the way he felt now? A little nervous and worried?”

Aref’s experience at an international school has given him a unique perspective about what it is like to have students around the world living and studying in the same place. However, he has never been the one to travel abroad before and has started to wonder what it will be like to be an uncertain newcomer in someone else’s home country.

“It was strange to arrive anywhere new. You felt awkward for about ten minutes, then felt yourself sinking into the new scene, becoming part of it very quickly.”

The idea of arriving somewhere new is crucial to the theme of The Importance of Travel, as traveling forces people to adapt to new scenarios and places. Aref will quickly learn to accept this new scenario, and as his grandfather shows him different places in Oman, the boy practices adapting to new places and engaging with new people.

“Sidi, his white beard gleaming, his shining damp hair combed back, raised one hand and held it in the air. Aref blinked. Right then he knew that moment was clearly written in his brain forever.”

Aref tries to memorize as much of his time with Sidi as he can, showing how important his relationship with his grandfather is. Likewise, Sidi cares deeply for Aref, wanting him to be prepared to depart while also selfishly wanting the boy to stay. These adventures are just as much for Sidi as they are for Aref.

“You will be like falcon […] You will fly away and come back. Just as he did.”

Animals that leave and return provide inspiration for Aref to accept his temporary time away from Oman. In this passage, Sidi compares Aref to a falcon, inspired by their encounter with Fil-Fil at the Night of a Thousand Stars camp. This useful metaphor allows Aref to realize that he too will “fly away and come back” (182).

“Think of it—people traveling across deserts for centuries, finding their way by the sun and the moon and the stars. People staring up at the constellations for guidance.”

The theme of Grandparents’ Stories and Experiences is very important to Aref. He loves listening to Sidi talk, and in moments like these, when Sidi tells him a story of the past, he finds something magical in it and broadens his understanding of the world.

“When you drove out in the country, you felt closer to the earth than you felt in the city. You had better thoughts in the country.”

The narration in Chapter 25 provides insight into the lessons that Aref is learning about the underlying philosophy of travel. He has not yet fully accepted that he is leaving, but he is beginning to see the ways in which new experiences can be fun. By exploring Oman with Sidi, he realizes the many benefits of embracing new experiences, and he comes to understand himself more deeply as he prepares for his journey.

“Aref felt like he was missing something, but he wasn’t sure what. Being a baby, maybe. He missed being a baby. He wished he were still lifted and held, words streaming around him.”

In this moment, when Aref still feels very attached to Oman and is unwilling to go, he wishes that people would comfort him as they do for babies, making them happy without requiring much effort from the babies themselves. Aref knows that he can’t be a baby, but his wistful wish reveals how hard this situation is for him. Although he knows that he must start to grow up and take on new responsibilities, he wishes that he could preserve the carefree nature of his youngest days.

“Once you have been out on a boat looking back at where you live, everything seems changed. The blue water, the sea stretching, everything altered. Now the sea is a real place that can hold you.”

Aref and Sidi’s adventure at sea is a memorable moment for Aref as he gains a new perspective on his ability to adapt to new situations. He starts to understand that he can succeed even when he is in unfamiliar places, as when he catches a fish or converses with Moussa the fisherman. He feels more able to travel and try out new things.

“Looking down on earth from high in the sky—would everything change even more, once you landed? Would standing on a shore in Michigan, or drifting out in a boat on any great lake let you feel connected to all the floating people of the world?”

By venturing beyond Muscat and embracing new experiences with Sidi at his side, Aref finally realizes that he lives in a much bigger world. He also gains the courage to speculate positively about his upcoming trip, wondering how traveling to the US will change his approach to life.

“They felt like part of the sky and everything under it. They were very tiny and they were also specks of dust floating in moonbeams and they could time-travel and be in more than one place at the same moment.”

Aref feels so moved by sleeping on the roof and getting a sense of being small in comparison to the rest of the world. He is also able to fully immerse himself in his time with Sidi, and this becomes a particularly special moment for both of them, especially when they feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves.

“Maybe if your friends saw the stones you had collected, or your grandfather had given to you, they thought about collecting them too. Maybe it was all up to you. To everybody, every single day. What you did, what you said…could change what happened. Or how everyone felt.”

Aref feels moved by his experiences and by what he has shared with Sidi in the week before his departure. He understands that moments and people can affect one another and that he should choose his words and actions carefully to ensure that his effect on others is positive.

“Maybe he could make a little space for bravery inside his fear, maybe just a little. Maybe it would grow. Maybe sleeping on a roof had done something to him.”

Aref feels changed by sleeping on the roof because he feels like his life has been put in perspective. He felt like he was part of something bigger than himself, and it humbles him, helping him to be more open to the new experiences and people awaiting him in the US. In this moment, he allows himself to be brave and view his upcoming travels in a positive light.

“‘It’s popular,’ said Sidi. ‘A popular activity. Going away and coming back.’”

Like the turtles and falcon that Aref and Sidi encounter, Aref too will leave Oman and then return in three years. His migration is not permanent, and the knowledge that his absence is temporary allows him to understand that exploring the US will be important to his development as well.