Program Reviews

My experience with MCAS was unforgettable. The staff and program coordinators are devoted and committed to providing the volunteers and participants with true Moroccan cultural immersion. I learned French and Islam with my fellow group of volunteers daily, which was a helpful source during my journey with working with fellow Moroccan natives and as general knowledge to attain in a multifaceted world. My experience with MCAS and living in Morocco for two weeks is not merely a distant memory today but has had a sentimental value to my everyday life.

An excellent program with really awesome people who seek to deeply immerse you into Moroccan culture beyond just a tourist perspective. our living accommodations were stellar and there was never a bad meal. My favorite thing was the people’s warmth and hospitality that they showed us all throughout the trip. Loved doing the French and Islam lessons as well because I gained a broader knowledge of this religion and I loved that I got that perspective from people who are Muslim and live in a Muslim country. That experience is highly valued for me. Highly recommend would do it 10 times over

Attending The Moroccan Center for Arabic Studies was truly an incredible experience that I would highly recommend to anyone! The entire staff was very organized, welcoming, knowledgeable and catered the program to your interests. The enrollment process for the program was seamlessly quick and as well as all of the professors and staff couldn't have been more helpful. I attended both the volunteer program and enrolled in private lessons and LOVED my experience. The volunteer Riad was a wonderful place to meet other people volunteering and was located in the heart of the old Medina. The volunteer and class schedules were flexible and able to accommodate your availability. Ali had very thoughtful recommendations for weekend trips, restaurants to eat in Rabat, other cities to visit after the program ended and truly went above and beyond to ensure that folks had a well-rounded experience. Looking forward to the next time I am able to attend the MCAS, thank you!

Morocco is a beautiful place with so many fun travel destinations! The beach, the desert, the mountains; all are incredible and a must see when volunteering with MCAS. Ali is super helpful when making travel plans and can point you in the direction for great places to visit. MCAS offers many different types of internships. The education internship is a great way to work with kids and be creative with lesson planning if your're interested in education. Rabat was an amazing place to live for the summer and there's lot of things to do! I felt very safe at my home-stay and comfortable walking alone throughout my trip. People in the city are very friendly and helpful. There are lots of great places to eat and the medina is always busy and fun! Highly recommend the program!

Truly great experience in Rabat. A beautiful city to learn Arabic. I had a very warm welcome by Ali and Leyla at the Rabat train station. My lessons in Arabic couldn't be better. The teacher is very professional and patient...our lessons focused on all 4 disciplines and different topics from culture, traditions, food, politics and history. Every week we had a test on the new vocabulary learnt. The Accommodation and food with the local family was a truly immersion into the culture. They became my family and I was so sad to leave. The location was very centric, bang on the centre of the Souq. Very lively atmosphere! I went to a hamam, hairdressers, weekends away and I got exposed to Arabic.
I will be back at MCAS Rabat. I found the school very professional and organised, ready to assist on any matter.

Translation: Thanks to the hospitality of MCAS, I am here to experience the local customs of Morocco through a unique experience of volunteer + travel mode. I am very willing to recommend MCAS to Chinese college students. I want to call for Morocco too. Friends who have seen the 2018 Russia World Cup should be deeply impressed by the crazy call of CCTV5 Xuyang. Yes, Xu Yang’s guide to repeating the country is Morocco. Of course, he also won the nickname “Xu Zhimo”. At the time, Xu’s guidance emphasized the strong football atmosphere in Morocco. I really felt it in the days of Morocco. There are children playing everywhere in the streets and all kinds of shops on the street often sell a few Thai jerseys. From the perspective of a football fan, I think Moroccan football has a good fan base. The personal skills of Moroccan players are absolutely sufficient. If accompanied by scientific tactics and good execution, the Moroccan national team will definitely be able to play some results!

Return to the topic and brief you on my schedule for a few days in Morocco. On the round-trip ticket, it is recommended that you consider Hong Kong round-trip, so that the tax is small, much cheaper, and if there is a ticket, you do not need a Hong Kong and Macao pass. The largest airport in Morocco is Casa Mohammed V Airport, which is also convenient for transportation, but the MCAS station is in the capital Rabat. My schedule was four days in advance, playing; then I volunteered for 5 days in the old town of Rabat to teach my friends to learn Chinese and English. I had three days left to continue playing. Ali, the person in charge of MCAS, is really good. You can ask him for all kinds of things to book a ticket. Of course, I will speak Arabic, so I basically play with myself. On the first day, Rabat-Danjir-Shefshavwan, the second day of Chefchaouen-Fez, the third day of Fez-Evlan-Fez-Rabat. I am more eager to pursue speed, and I can guarantee efficiency. I can speak Arabic and prevent it from being pitted. So I basically got a clockwise loop in the northwest of Morocco for 3 days. Just a single chartered car will cost a lot of money. Then, after returning to Rabat, I was teaching the small basin friends in the morning. In the afternoon, the local volunteer lady led us to go around and prepare lessons in the evening or pack up. Xiaopen friends like China's various gadgets, but the English level is really uneven. Fortunately, I will speak Arabic, communicate with them as much as possible, praise more, encourage more, and the teaching is relatively smooth. In fact, this experience is also Very interesting. In the afternoon and evening, after the group activities are over, I will usually run out myself, take a tram around, and then find someone to practice Arabic. After five days of teaching, I took an IELTS test in the university town of Rabat. Speaking and writing really have an advantage, but listening is particularly difficult, so the total score is still not good. Then there was only one and a half days left, and I went to Casa at a very fast speed. I played half an afternoon, one night and one morning, but it was almost the same. The city’s tourism was too serious, and it should not be treated more. Everyone should be able to understand. Back to Rabat at noon, simply clean up in the afternoon, the plane in the evening.

When the trip is over, everything is going well.

I went to Morocco in July 28- August 7 2019, it was greatest and happiest time in my life. I met girls and boys there which they are really nice and always with great ideas. I love them so much. As for my students, they are reeeeallly cute and talkative, I feel so young when i with them, and I think I found the meaning of my life. I feel that I am meaningful to society. I am needed and loved by the children. I’m so appreciated for that. It was super glory to me. As for the host, they are really friendly and always try to help us. They give us a lot of advice which is really useful. As for Morocco, it is a great country. People are nice and Passionate， we I walked on the street every one say hi to me hahaha. People there are good at enjoying life. It influenced me a lot. I should thank for everything.

This is a very unforgettable and amazing trip. I met a lots of friends from different cultural backgrounds. The staffs of the volunteer center are very nice .they can always give us effective supports when we need.but i think the activities they organized are a little bit boring.and in fact the kids in school seems hard to follow our teaching schedule.maybe if the volunteers center give us a basic teaching schedule ,we can organize the teaching activity more effectively.thanks for the local guidance ,the local organizers ,they ensure the safety of us and make us can adjust to the local culture quickly.and thanks this trip, thanks all the colleagues, the efforts of everyone makes the trip become happy ,interesting and meaningful. I really hope it is not the last time that we gather together.

I came to Rabat this summer vacation. I must say I really like this program. For the reasons, first must be the children. All of them are great, although they were not great in English, you can also communicate with them with their kind heart. When we first came we gave them the color-pen and then a lot of vivid paintings,most of them are about the volunteers, came to us, I can still remember those wonderful draws. Second reason I recommends this program is Ali who run this program. He picked up us at the train station and accompanied us for the rest days. He gave us many advices about where to play, where to eat, where is the laundry and so on. It is really kind for the volunteers whose fresh to this city. Also thanks for the madam who cook and do the cleaning works for us during the volunteer time.

i want to express my sincere thanks to all my friends here. i always feel very happy here, just like a sweet home. and during the 5 days, my Chinese teammates and i taught the children here in medina Rabat English, Chinese, and even some art classes. i think children here are cute and clever, and i also enjoy the time staying with them. in fact, i really think that 5 days are too short, i want to stay here for more days. before coming back to China, we write down our ins or facebook, to keep in connection with children in the future. in addtion, i also wish these children a bright future. and i also welcome all my friends here to come to China one day. at the end, i want to express my sincere thanks again to Ali, Leila, Oumayma, Meriem, Kay......