Program Reviews

I spent two months in Rabat, Morocco studying Arabic with the Moroccan Centre for Arabic Studies. The homestay was wonderful and the classes were very productive. I also enjoyed the volunteer and travel opportunities.

I volunteered in Rabat through MCAS and my host family experience was great; i had a wonderful cultural experience. That being said, I had a rather sour end to m stay. Although the MCAS director was attentive to my concerns, he seemed more interested in bringing more people in rather than helping the students who were already there. I later found out that he was trying to get students to make large money transfers for him through their own personal bank accounts, and he would pay them back in cash. It just seemed like a very unprofessional procedure.

Near thoe end of my stay, another volunteer and I were walking in Rabat at night and she was mugged, her purse almost stolen and she was severely shaken and scratched up (the attacker tried to choke her with the strap of the purse). The MCAS director called to check up after the situation, but she did not receive any further support from him except for the phone call.

There was some miscommunication with my host family (I don't speak Moroccan Arabic and they spoke little English) and we counted on the director to accurately transmit our concerns and clear up the situation. However, things only became worse, the host family became very upset with me and another intern living in the same house, and the director exhibited extremely unprofessional behavior. He refused to speak with me, speaking of the matter with past interns and not directly with me to address the situation (only through email/facebook, where there is ample room for misinterpretation). I finally showed up at his office and we were able to sort things out, only after a couple of frustrating, distressful days.

Finally, when I was about to leave Morocco, I needed a taxi to the airport. the MCAS director offered to arrange a cab for me, telling me it would cost 500 MAD (about $60 USD). To me that sounded way too high for an airport 4 miles away, and a local told me that the cost was no more than 200MAD (about $23 USD). I told him I would arrange my own ride and I never heard from him again, and did not even receive my certificate of completion that I had been promised upon finishing the program.

Morocco is a beautiful land filled with ancient history and wonders, and I would definitely recommend visiting, just not through MCAS. The unprofessionalism of the program really soured the end of my stay and I would never want to have that experience again.

I found MCAS an excellent program. My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed 2 weeks learning Arabic in the morning, and exploring the Moroccan capital in the afternoons. Our host families were wonderful, and living within the old quarter, the Medina, a lot of fun. We also had the opportunity to visit other cities, such as Casablanca, Fez, and Meknes, on our own. One day my host took me to the northern Moroccan coast to the city of Castillejos which is the Spanish name of this city. The trip was wonderful as we could see the Mediterranean Sea, and Spain across the Straits of Gibraltar.

I found our teacher excellent, very patient, and a very good instructor. I also felt completely safe in Rabat, including the evening. I would recommend this highly and plan to return soon.

I had an amazing experience in Morocco. Thanks to MCAS’s wonderful teachers and staff! Without doubt, they are the most dedicated, helpful and professional group of people I have ever met. There are no words to describe the incredible last thirty days in Morocco, the teachers were beyond impressive, the accommodations were great and the staff went beyond the call of duty to make sure that the students were comfortable and had no other worries than to apply themselves to studying Arabic and enjoying their experience in Morocco.

During my program I volunteered with Amnesty International while taking Arabic with MCAS, and I learned so much about human rights situation in Morocco. I had the chance to meet with many acitivists and had not been for MCAS's director who made those contacts for me.

I had a great experience with the Moroccan Center for Arabic Studies. I was able to get a feel for what life is like for Moroccans my own age by meeting many fellow students. I also learned all about the culture and history of Morocco by visiting several historical sites. I am right now enjoying Eid in Morocco with my host family, and I had a great chance of experiencing that for the first time. I feel a bit sad to be leaving in 1 week, and I wish I could make this stay longer.

I am currently taking a semester abroad from the University of Saints Andrews and volunteering in a school inside medina of Rabat where I teach English to kids with MCAS. This has been a very good program so far. The facility is big, located in a very safe and nice area.

My Moroccan host family is so amazing and welcoming and the staff programs are very helpful.

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.