Meaningful Adventure February 02, 2026
By A student (Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation in Rabat, Morocco, Brandeis University) - abroad from 09/07/2025 to 12/20/2025 with
SIT Study Abroad: Morocco - Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation
I learned to be more independent and to trust myself and my intuition. I learned how to adapt quickly to unfamiliar environments, rely on myself, develop confidence independent of other people's opinions.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Daily homework in Arabic class, which was pretty rigorous in advanced level (presentations, vocab homework, short writing, etc.) compared to intermediate and beginner levels. 3 essays over the course of the human rights course based off class lectures/discussions and NGO visits. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The family was sweet and always looked out for me. They had been hosting students for over 20 years. Unfortunately, I was not very comfortable in the house. The bathroom smelled like sewage and there was nowhere to put any of my things/toiletries and it wasn't very clean. There's no designated shower area so everything gets wet after someone showers. Nevertheless, I was traveling to other cities in Morocco almost every weekend so it wasn't a huge issue. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
As an Arab, I was expecting to feel more connected with the local culture than I actually did, but I was still welcomed |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
As a woman, you have to quickly learn to deal with harassment in public: being spoken to or followed in the street, by employees in local businesses, etc. There are almost always people in the street so it was not a huge danger or real threat, but definitely off-putting. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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Finances
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* 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) |
Food and expenses are a fraction of what they cost in the US. Most of my purchases were not even necessities. I found it easy to be able to live on a student budget as someone who has a campus job at my university. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | As someone who speaks the Levantine dialect of Arabic, as well as MSA (Fusha) Arabic, fluently, I expected to be able to communicate with locals. It was easy to communicate with the program facilitators as well as my host family, but more difficult to speak with people in public (shop owners, etc.) It became easier over the course of the semester as I picked up more Darija. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I had been more prepared to put myself out there and engage proactively with new people and opportunities. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
