I will write more often from now on - In sha allah

I have been in Muscat for about 2 weeks now. We spent orientation in Corniche, a tourist destination within Muscat. It is right on the water and most days you can see the Sultan's yacht in the harbor. The city is wedged between the ocean and some mountains that outline it. Dispersed throughout the mountain sides are forts, giving the area a traditional vibe amongst the neon lights at night. It was a wonderful week of resting, browsing the souk, watching Baluchi futbol in a back alleyway, Frisbee by the road, touring the fish market and getting lost on the last night (we blame the mountains that seem to pop up out of nowhere). The 20 students in my group are all wonderful we've already embarked on some great adventures together. One night we decided to eat out at an Omani family style restaurant where, as is customary, all 20 of us ended up eating on the floor. We all had a great first week.
We have begun classes and moved in with our hostfamilies. At the moment Scott and I are unexpectedly sharing his house and my family while his is away in Malaysia. My hostfamily is a young Swahili family (Said and Ifhat) with two small kids (Fatima-5 and Sultan -3) with one more on the way. The two kids are always introduced as "naughty" and believe me they are. They know three languages (English, Swahili and Arabic), yet they don't listen to any of them! Their father usually has to bring out the camel stick most nights to get them to behave. It's a nice family and we are living with Ihlamb at the moment (Scott's host sister). She is about my age and is wonderfully patient with my Arabic attempts and cooking flaws. I am continuously meeting new family members who usually say something along the lines of "I'm your uncle's brother's cousin from his mother's side." It gets very confusing, and I've given up trying to figure out the family tree.
Iftar is my favorite time of the day (6:00 pm) that's when all the family comes over and we eat ridiculous amounts of wonderful food. My favorite is Besbusa - if you're lucky I'll consider making it for you when I get back to the US. You always know when it's time for Iftar because that's when our favorite Arabic soap opera ends. It's about a mother, her seven daughters and how they ran away from the dad who hasn't treated them well since he married his second younger wife. It's full of drama.
During Ramadan, it's very common to stay out until 2 or 3 am shopping or visiting relatives. It's busy everywhere until around 4 am and everyone is out and about. We are excited for Eid though, which is right around the corner and will be filled with more wonderful food, new clothes and family from all sides and then some.
Before this, I will be visiting Salalah (in the south of Oman) with the program for two days. I am told the weather will be cooler and there will be grass. This is a big deal in Oman. We will return the day before Eid which means we will have to scramble to get ready quickly for the big day.