My Time in Morocco: Impossible to Condense Past Review

By A student (Anthropology; International and Global Studies, Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/29/2012 to 05/12/2012 with

SIT Study Abroad: Morocco - Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I could write a book about that. It was absolutely worthwhile. Not everything was perfect, but I learned more about myself and the world in a semester there than I usually learn in a year. As everyone knows, study abroad is about experiential learning, and SIT did a fantastic job with the difficult task of integrating academics into experience.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)
* Was housing included in your program cost?	Yes
* Was food included in your program cost?	Yes
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	Less than $5.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	Intermediate
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Arabic 103
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family Apartment Hotel
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	People Freedom to explore Available resources
* What could be improved?	Communication with students Equal quality of experiences
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	It is trivial, but I wish I knew more about what to expect regarding the weather. I was not as prepared as I would have liked. Other than that, I'm fairly happy learning as I went along.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Intermediate Intensive Arabic
Course Department:	Arabic Language
Instructor:	Ahlam
Instruction Language:	Arabic
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Multiculturalism and Human Rights Seminar
Course Department:
Instructor:	Multiple
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Ilham is the worst instructor, you just have to get through it; Abdelhay is the best. The guest instructors go over old material multiple times, you just have to get through it before the interesting stuff.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Field Studies Seminar
Course Department:	Anthropology
Instructor:	Ilham
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Kind of useless and awful. But, people do have interesting stories.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Independent Study Project
Course Department:	Anthropology
Instructor:	n/a
Instruction Language:	varied
Comments:	Best part of study abroad. It was fantastic, difficult, engaging, educational, and wonderful. I loved it.
Credit Transfer Issues: