Arabic Language & Culture Courses with MCAS in Morocco

MCAS still has alot to learn Im afraid. They are new and I got the feeling when I was there that the programme director was very unprofessional. He had a lot going on and did not act in an appropriate manner. I volunteered and studied arabic. I learnt more arabic from speaking to locals than in class. But I did not let it get to me! So I made the most out of my summer there, met friends and enjoyed the nice cultural exchange. Morocco is after all an amazing country to visit!

Morocco was an amazing country, however if I could go again I would do it through a different program. I lived with a host family, volunteered with a women’s rights organization and took Arabic classes. My main complaint is that my expectations about what I was paying for were not met. I was told I would volunteer with an organization where I would take trips to Berber villages and actively participate in the group's work on women's rights. In reality, the owner of the organization was on vacation nearly the whole time I was there, and there was barely anything for me to do. Then the MCAS program director canceled the only trip I was scheduled to take without asking me, saying he thought it was too far for me to travel.

My Arabic lessons were also not impressive. I had to pay for individual lessons because there were no other students to have the group classes offered on the website. The teacher seemed to want to practice her English more than teach me Arabic, and she basically just read to me from my textbook, so I stopped taking classes after about a week and a half and tried to study Arabic on my own for my remaining four weeks.

When there was a misunderstanding with my host family, the program director immediately went to the family and told them that I (along with another volunteer living in the same family) had complained about them, without speaking to us first to clarify what was actually happening. This naturally made it very awkward with my family, and instead of addressing the problem maturely, the program director repeatedly insisted that it wasn't his fault. I had to ask him to please speak with the family again to clarify what had really happened, which thankfully he did, but things were never quite the same after that.

My departure was also somewhat upsetting. My host family accused me of not paying for all the days I was there, even though I had, and I had to show them my plane ticket to prove it. The program director contacted me the night before I left to retrieve the Moroccan phone I was borrowing, and with such little notice I was unable to coordinate a time to return the phone, so I said I would mail it to him. It wasn't until I had left the country that he told me he forgot to give me my certificate and plaque for the program. When I asked him if he could mail those to me, he told me no because it’s too expensive. Having gotten a better idea of the cost of living in Morocco while I was there, I knew I was being charged quite a bit for the program, which had turned out to be disappointing. I couldn't believe after all that had happened I wouldn't even receive my certificate and plaque because the program director was unwilling to pay the cost of postage. My experiences outside of this program were wonderful, but I think it could have been much more enriching if I had gone through a more legitimate organization.

I had an amazing time on my trip to morocco. I was able to visit many interesting places in such a short (10 days) stay. I also had a few opportunities to interact with other students and to engage in interesting discussions about our daily lives as well as discuss political issues. This was a wonderful experience that I would reccomend to anyone.

This program was wonderful! As a matter of fact I am already saving up to go back next year. Ali was very personable and was able to connect with everyone quickly. We were able to see so much of the Medina and never felt like we were left alone or lost. It was also nice to get to know Moroccan students our own age through the program. Also, for me, one of the highlights was the home stay family. Although I didn't speak Arabic and they didnt speak English they were very accommodating and the food was to die for. I actually took pictures of every meal we ate! I wish I had more time to soak everything in but I dont feel like anything was missed. I would highly recommend this program to anyone who wishes to study in the Middle East in a fun, safe, and well organized environment.

Overall, I thought MCAS offered a great program for learning the Moroccan culture and the Arabic Language. I was very pleased with the mixture of education and hands on work within the cities we visited. the program would consist of a learning about a particular city's history, learning about the city's cultural relevance to Moroccan culture at large, and then entering the city to immerse oneself in the day to day activities of the locals. These day to day activities also included doing humanitarian work like donating goods to local orphanages, schools, and extracurricular activities like martial arts and pick-up soccer matches. The program gave us a great insight into Moroccan culture while giving us an incredible education on the Arabic Language through personal interactions and cultural immersion. I definitely plan on returning to Morocco the next opportunity I can.

While studying with MCAS this summer, I learned more about Moroccan culture, Middle East issues, and the religion of Islam than I thought was possible. I realized how small my scope of view was coming from the U.S. A lot of the media here in the States can put a skew on issues abroad. Going to Morocco and seeing from a new perspective has given me so much more of an understanding of a culture that has paralleled and even surpassed our known Western history in many ways. Islamic scholars were developing mathematic and scientific ideas right along side our known Western scholars but they are not often mentioned in our texts. Studying with MCAS gave me a breadth of knowledge that would have been hard to find elsewhere. I highly recommend this program. The instructors are accommodating to large and diverse groups of people with a wide range of needs-and supportive while leading students on this amazing adventure of exploration. Morocco is awesome!!