Life-changing - but don't expect too much from your classes Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

On-site administration of your program

I really really liked the director and coordinator of the programme. They tried to make things enjoyable for us and really got to know each of us.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Was placed with a host family not accomodating of my veganism despite the fact I flagged this several times in my application. When I brought this up to programme staff they ignored my complaints until several months in when I had severe nutritional deficiencies and I emailed my study abroad advisor and he communicated with them. My life and health would've been made a lot easier if I had been allowed to move into my own apartment or even into a different host family's house as soon as i brought the issue up, which was in the first couple weeks. This really brought down my experience as a whole as my deficiencies impacted my ability to focus on schoolwork and my mental health.

Once I left my host family's house I was always able to eat good vegan options. You have to learn what to ask for in restaurants but it's very very possible to each vegan in Morocco and the programme was more or less accommodating

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I came out of the experiences feeling integrated but I really had to go out of my way to try and make my own Moroccan friends. The programme gave us language partners but didn't introduce to anyone else or give us ideas on how to meet new people, and before I was able to find my own friends it was very isolating and I didn't get along amazingly with my language partner. It's also tough to have that be the only/main relationship you're given outside of your host family because they're so closely associated with the programme and it just felt a bit like I was having tabs kept on me by everyone.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

See prior comment about my experience with my host family. It took me becoming severely anaemic and sending very strongly worded letters to Middlebury for me to be moved out of my host family and into my own apartment where I could cook for myself. I felt very very not taken seriously,

I didn't have an incidents where I felt unsafe. Probably not an amazing idea to be a woman on a walk by herself past midnight, but unfortunately, I'd say that about most places.

Academically it really wasn't great. If I chose the same programme it'd be solely for the coordinator Achraf who just really loved his job and it showed in how he made all of us participants feel. The monthly outings were also really enjoyable. My host family experience and academic experience are the reason for loss of stars

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Everything is relatively very cheap in Morocco.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Apartment

Select all that apply

• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Americans

• Monthly outings
• Making friends with locals and spending time with them
• Being really near the ocean/sunsets over the ocean

• Professors with more familiarity teaching foreign students
• Listening to student complaints more

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer