We arrived in Oman late Wednesday night. For most of Thursday we had more orientations in our hotel, as well as a survival arabic class with our teacher, Mona. Even though we were all wiped out and jet- lagged, we all kept looking out the conference room window and thinking 'Wow, we're in OMAN' (that feeling still surfaces several times a day). 
At 5:00, we went into the banquet room of the hotel to meet our families. I was super nervous, as I had never communicated with them before and had no idea what to expect in terms of their English skills, expectations of me, personalities etc.
However, I need not have worried! My host sister and dad (only two family members could come to the hotel dinner) were immediatly so incredibly kind and welcoming. Luckily they warned me that we were going out to dinner with the family, so I was able to pace my food intake (something difficult in Oman).
When we got home, I opened the door to be showered by confetti by my younger host brothers and found the front room and my bedroom covered with balloons. My 2 1/2 year old brother burst into tears when he first saw me, but apparently this happens whenever someone new comes to the house (he now smiles and grabs my hand when I arrive home, so all good).
After a bit we all left to have dinner at my families amazing club. The food was delicious and after I walked along the beach with my host sister and some of the brothers.
The next day I had to be woken up so we could go to lunch at the house of a Jordanian couple. While there I tried kahweh, a traditional Omani coffee that is basically a delicious expresso flavored with cardamon, fresh and dried dates, and traditional tea and Omani and Jordanian food. I felt a bit on edge while there, as I was unsure of the correct etiquette for eating and behaving at someone elses house and how to interact with the males there. But in the end I think it went well (aka didn't offend anyone).
After that my family gave me a driving city tour of Muscat, which was very nice.
On Saturday we relaxed, and then went to see the Royal Opera house. I'll post pictures soon (still figuring out how to get pictures from my camera to my iPod).
And Sunday we started classes! The weekend here is Friday-Saturday, which has completely thrown off my sense of time. Classes are very intense but we're all learning tons, and having only seven of us is great.
Tonight I'm going to a wedding! And then tomorrow all the NSLI-Y girls are going on an overnight trip to some towns in the interior of Oman, so I have a great weekend ahead!
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