ISA Study Abroad in Meknes, Morocco

This was an incredible experience. I was able to travel through Morocco every weekend thanks to the structure of the program and the helpful staff. The excursions really added to the program. I went to the Sahara desert thanks to the help of the ISA staff members in planning the trip. The courses were serious, the teachers were very helpful, and I was able to learn a lot during my time in the classroom. The airport lost my luggage and had to travel to the next city to retrieve it when it arrived. One staff member was very helpful and helped me travel to Fes to retrieve my luggage. It was a program that I would recommend to an adventurous student looking for a safe experience in an Arabic speaking country.

This was an amazing experience. The staff are incredibly helpful. The professors are knowledgeable and also understand that a lot of the learning and growth during a semester abroad take place outside of the classroom. The student housing was an amazing 9th floor apartment with a stunning view of the city. I loved living there however I wish there were more home-stays available so that I could be even more immersed in Moroccan life.
Meknes is a great city to live in. It is historically and cultural significant without the tourist traps and touts that other more visited cities have.

My experience studying abroad in Morocco has allowed me to meet others with similar passions as my own and work with locals to learn about issues that affect them on a daily basis. Using and improving my French and Arabic allowed me to make closer connections with my host family, and I was able to learn about the major religion, government, and politics within the nation from conversations with local friends and professors.

My summer semester in Meknes, Morocco was nothing short of spectacular. Morocco is an Islamic country so my family had hesitations of the safety for a young American woman. Not once did I feel unsafe. I lived in an apartment with five other girls from my program in the modern part of the city. We lived right next to three cafes and spent the evening there watching the World Cup or drinking Moroccan tea, coffee, and practicing our language with the locals. I spent a 5 weeks there volunteering at a local orphanage and created long lasting friendships with many of the kids there. I would then return back to the apartment for lunch that out house mom (she came 6 days a week and cleaned and prepared lunch and dinner). We would then go out. I spent the other six weeks taking classes at the ISA study center. It would have been incredible to take classes with locals, but the city is just not large enough to offer a variety of classes in English. I took beginning Arabic and Islamic Society and Politics. I loved my Arabic class and professor and everything I learned was reinforced everyday through living there. My professor would invite us to cafes after class, and even to his home during Ramadan. It was totally normal. My Islamic Society Professor was kind of a snob and there were people in my class with a wide knowledge base. Never having studied that before, I sometimes had to work a lot harder but my friends in class felt like everything wasn't challenging at all. We would travel all over the country on the weekends via train or grand taxi. The support staff was awesome in terms of helping us set things up that weren't included excursions. One complaint is that there was a lot wrong with out apartment. Our washing machine electrically shocked us so I hand washed my clothes for almost three months and we had a lot of plumbing issues. However I had the time of my life, discovered so much about my self, and have some incredible memories and new found friendships.

Morocco is a beautiful country. My stay in Meknes was nothing short of wonderful. Despite the occasional ups and downs of the study abroad experience, I learned and valued so many things. I am grateful to have had this experience!

The program in Morocco was great! The staff was super helpful and really friendly! The adventures around Morocco were awesome, especially going camping in the Sahara desert! That was by far the coolest thing I have ever done! There were some downsides as well. The teaching style of Moroccan professors was very relaxed and I did not learn as much as I could have. Also, if you do an elap internship be prepared to do create your own project and have little to no guidance. It was very difficult to get anything done. Overall, however, I really loved my program and think it would be a great experience for anyone who is open to different and exciting cultures!

I had a fantastic time in Morocco with ISA! All of the site staff was super helpful and fun. They welcomed us into their family and really made Morocco a second home. I am so glad thay the program was in Meknes instead of some of the other, larger cities. The classes were interesting and the excursions were great. I would highly recommend this program!

Morocco is such a beautiful country with an amazing culture. My host family, the Alaouis, were fantastic and did become very much like my real family. ISA has a great program in Meknes- the city is not too big, and I feel like you get better experience because there aren't too many foreigners living in Meknes. The excursions are good too- we traveled to six or seven cities throughout Morocco.

I had an incredible semester in Meknes! I loved the opportunity to see and experience such a different culture!I was very well taken care of by the ISA staff, whom I miss and love very much! Also, the smaller program also provided me with several opportunities to customize my experience for my interests! For example, I was able to volunteer with an organization to teach English classes, and practice with the city's volleyball team! Living there was also very challenging. The culture, language, and lifestyle are very different. I was obviously a foreigner, had trouble adjusting to the food, and was far away from my family. However, working through these things was an incredible growing experience that has me excited about other opportunities to travel.

Studying in Meknes was one oft he best decisions in my life. The staff was accommodating. There were always available for help from getting a phone to getting the best deal for clothes in the medina. They were even willing to practice Arabic and French with us if we wanted. Our safety was always a top priority but they made also let us have fun. The itinerary was planned in a way so we were able to travel to see the sights of Morocco (Fes, Tangier, &Asilah) but we were given free weekends so we can travel independently if we wanted.
Meknes was a great city to study in because there were not too much tourist so we could interact with locals with ease. We lived in Ville Nouvelle the newer part Meknes. Our classes at Moulay Ismail University was 30 minute walk from our apartments or a five minute taxi. The classes were small enough so that each student had individual attention. The professors were excellent and always available for help.
After class, we we had the rest of the day to go around the shopping at the Medina/the older part of the city. Fes was a quick train ride away if we wanted to get away for a day or afternoon.
I think the only thing I had to get used to was the heat. It was HOT, so keep hydrated.