Post-Morocco Reflection

Wow! I can't even believe my NSLI-Y experience is over and I've been home for two weeks. First off, let explain why I did not do a week five and six reflection. The last two weeks of the program were very hectic and it was very hard for me to update y'all. Week five, we were in Essaouira which was such an amazing experience. Week six, we had final exams and we were getting ready to go back home! That was about it.

Now, onto how I've been since I returned from my trip. Morocco was by far, the best experience of my life. I have never met more amazing people and been in such a great country ever before. I couldn't have asked for a more amazing experience! I did not have much time to say my goodbyes therefore, I did not have much time to process what was happening when I left Morocco. However, when I came back home I just broke down. I missed Morocco so much and I kept asking myself, "Where is my host family?" I could no longer feel comfortable talking in Arabic freely.

Overall, NSLI-Y was the best experience I could have asked for and I highly recommend applying! I know I will be next year! I will be back with more posts about Morocco! 

Week Four Reflection!

Four weeks have gone by and I can still remember when I first stepped off the bus in Marrakech. I really am going to miss Marrakech. I've been learning a lot of Arabic and bonding with a lot of the people in the program.

On Monday and Tuesday the Rabat people came and that was an amazing. It felt so nice to interact and spend time with them. I forgot how much I miss everyone in Rabat. It was also sad because the next time we see them, we will be going back home.

Currently, I am in Essaouira and I can't get over how amazing the weather is. I've bought so much stuff it's insane. While I was buying hats for some family members, a middle aged man comes up to me and hits me on the shoulder and tells me in Arabic "Give me your money" and I just froze. He would not go away and he would not take his eyes off my wallet and he kept saying "give me your money" in Arabic. Luckily, the shopkeeper came and told him to go away.

I have been getting close with a lot of the people here and I really am going to miss everyone here. I've made great friendships and I feel like I've known these people for years and years. I've also gotten closer to my class and teacher. I feel a lot more comfortable asking questions and joking around with my teacher now. I can't even believer there are only two weeks left. I'm going to miss Morocco so much and I am definitely coming back to visit, inshallah.

I've really gotten to know myself and my capabilities throughout these four weeks. I've done so many things I never would have done back home. I feel so much more independent here and I love that feeling. I have a feeling when I get back home I will be depressed for about a week. I don't know how I am going to get used to not hanging out with my friends everyday from 9AM-9PM.

I'll be back next week with my week five reflection!

Week Three Reflection: Halfway Done!

Oh wow, three weeks have already gone by and we are halfway done with the program. This week has been pretty eventful. On Monday and Tuesday we were in Chefchouan and it was absolutely amazing.

Since coming to Morocco, I have grown a lot personally. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to study in college and I'm glad I now have an idea of what I want to study. I've made really great friendships here that I think will stick.

This week has been really hard concerning Arabic. I've been having a hard time picking up everything in class and adjusting. In every single Arabic class I've ever been in, I've always learned conversational Arabic. However, at the CLC they teach us formal Arabic and all the grammar rules. I haven't heard of any of the grammar terms and when I speak, I never think about the correct grammar.

This weekend we are going to Essaouira and I'm excited to go on the beach. Not much has happened this week, will be back next week!

Week Two Reflection

Wow, two weeks have already gone by! It's weird to think that we only have four weeks left at home. So far, we have had four Modern Standard Arabic classes and they have been very challenging (I'll get more into that later). Everyone here is forming close bonds with each other and I have no idea how I am going to function when I get home.

A big adjustment for me was the way the teachers teach Arabic here. I thought we were only going to work out of Al-Kitaab and for six weeks it would an "on your own" sort of thing. However, in my class we use the book as a guide but we go off on our own discussions. Our homework so far has been to review everything we did in class and then we be tested on it the next day. It has been hard adjusting to this kind of teaching style but I feel like I'm learning a lot. Since I was placed in a higher level Arabic class, a lot more is expected of me in terms of vocabulary and grammar rules. However, even though it's hard at the beginning, I will benefit in the long run.

Since my blog title is called From Curry To Couscous, I think it is completely necessary to talk about the amazing food in Morocco. Since today is Friday, we go home for Couscous Friday and have lunch with our families. The couscous here is so unbelievable amazing, I can't even wrap my head around the amazing taste. It has been a little bit of a struggle since I am vegetarian but I have still managed to fall in love with the food here.

More updates in a few days for week three reflection!

Week One Reflection

Oh my gosh, one week has already passed. So far, we have been studying the Moroccan dialect, Darija, in class. It is completely different from Modern Standard arabic BUT tomorrow we will be starting modern standard arabic :)

I seriously love the people of Morocco. Some of them are disgusting when they cat call and disrespect us women. Overall, everyone here is so nice. This morning, I was waiting for my friend to get water and this guy came up to us and started talking to us in Arabic. It's nice to have people that are interested in you and where you came from. My family is so unbelievably nice. I can't get over how hospitable they are. Yesterday I brought a friend home and they immediately brought us juice and couscous. What I like most about my family is how close they are with one another. They don't necessarily like to go out and party all the time. They like to keep to themselves and hang out as a family all together. My host siblings are finally becoming comfortable with me and my roommate. So now, we've developed inside jokes and I've introduced them to my friends here.

I have probably been to the Souks almost everyday since I've been here. It's a really great place to hang out and find some really great deals on Moroccan goodies. Although, I would recommend going in the night time because it gets up to 113 Fahrenheit here.

Marrkech so far!

I've been in Marrakech for a total of two days and I love it so much. My host family is super nice and I have a feeling I'll be learning a lot in the next five weeks. Tomorrow they are taking us on a tour around Morocco and I'm super excited for that. I love everything about this country (minus the cat calling). We went to the main souq yesterday and walked around. There are some crazy acts around here. We came across a women that was telling people she could eat absolutely anything for money and that was probably the craziest thing I heard. There were a lot of monkeys coming around and some men came up to me with their snakes and I ran away immediately. I'll update later with more details!

أهلا وسهلا إلى المغرب! (Welcome to Morocco)

Today we arrived after our long journey to Casablanca! It was so exciting to get to Morocco and see where I will be living for the next six weeks! We are currently in Rabat for the night and we will say goodbye to the Rabat people and head over to Marrakech! The idea of going to Morocco did not really hit me until I was walking around in the city of Rabat. Before we even landed on Moroccan soil, I was able to see how generous Arabs are. The man sitting next to me would constantly ask if I was okay and would even climb over me so that he didn't have to wake me up. When the plane finally landed, everyone started to clap because they felt like they were home.

On the bus ride over, we jammed to classic Arab music and looked at the desert part of Morocco. Surprisingly, the weather here is splendid and it is not nearly as hot as I thought it would be. But, let's wait till we get to Marrakech and then we can talk about heat. Everyone here is extremely nice and we all have one common goal, to learn as much Arabic as possible.