Get excited for your new home base during your time in Muscat! You will be staying in shared flats with other study abroad students. Mostly you’ll be staying with other CISabroad students, but there will also be other students there taking intensive Arabic and other classes. Since the 1970s, Oman has made some of the most significant progress in terms of infrastructure anywhere in the world and the living accommodations you will be spending your time in are a reflection of this progress.

These centrally-located, shared student apartments are fully-furnished. They come equipped with a dining room, kitchen, laundry area (washing machine), ceiling fans, air conditioning, and wi-fi. Students may have the opportunity to experience an Omani homestay for a portion of the semester. Transportation to and from CIL to your student housing is provided during the weekday.

Here are some general rules, tips, and expectations to help you become accustomed to your new home!

• To help maintain good relations with your neighbors, keep in mind that you are part of a community and your actions affect your neighbors. Although your residency is temporary, recognize that most of your neighbors are living in their primary residence, which they rent or own. Please be sensitive to the lifestyle of your neighbors. Most residents enjoy the arrival of American students and you should do your part to foster that relationship. Most residents work full time and many may have families with young children, so keep excessive noise to a minimum at all times.

• Most students in CIL programs, whether intensive Arabic study or for study abroad, stay in our student flat accommodations. As a way to keep students costs as low as possible, and unless otherwise arranged before arrival, two students share each bedroom (twin beds) like most college dorms.

• The accommodations are also available for one additional night after classes end (if, for example, classes end on a Thursday,  accommodation is available until Friday morning). Students who come earlier or leave later than their scheduled program times will be responsible for a surcharge to cover the extra nights. Students wishing to stay longer, however, need to inform CIL staff well in advance so we can be certain that there are available rooms to accommodate them. Usually this will be no problem, but sometimes we may have to shift students to another location to make room for incoming students.

Homestays are also available!

• Once you arrive on site, you will have the option of doing a one-month homestay with an Omani family.
• Homestays are NOT set up prior to arrive. Our international partner, CIL, will help students who wish to do a homestay find a family and work through the process once they arrive on site.
• There is an additional charge for homestays. It ranges slightly, but will be talked about on site.

Every housing placement is different with different pros and cons. Your accommodations will be different than what you’ve come to expect in your home country. In general, be prepared for a relatively small living space in an older building with very basic amenities. Now is the time to open your mind and get ready to experience something different; this attitude is in the spirit of your decision to study abroad. Please also remember, that when you are abroad, you will be representing your home institution and your home country; behave appropriately.

Helpful tips for living with other people:

• Respect other people that live in the building.
• Remember that you are not on a college campus and not in your own home. Respect the property and get out of the “college campus” mentality.
• Talk to your roommates if they do something that bothers you. Talking it through is the easiest way to solve a small problem before it gets bigger.
• Talk to the staff if a problem arises and you cannot work it out with your roommates.