Arabic Category

Lillian participated in the Morocco 2017-2018 academic year program.  As of today, I have only 2 months left in this amazing country. Now that I’ve been living here for well over 6 months, I think that I have learned a lot about Morocco. I wanted to take a minute to talk about the things that I’m grateful for, and what I’m going to miss when I leave. I think that I am still the same person as I was when I came, but I will take certain parts of MoroccoRead More

Lillian is from Fargo, North Dakota  and currently participates in the 2017-18 Morocco academic year program. As any exchange student knows, food is one of the best parts of living abroad. I feel like so much of a culture is shown through food. In Morocco, not only is the food delicious, but the hospitality surrounding food tells you a lot about Moroccan culture. I’ll talk through some of the most important things surrounding Moroccan cuisine, and then include some pictures of my favorite foods! Kuli, kuli, kuli!  “Kuli” (eat!), isRead More

Hunter is from Oshkosh, WI and participated in the 2017-2018 Morocco Academic Year program. When I was thinking of ideas for my next post, I thought it might be interesting to share what an “average” day for me looks like. No two days are the same of course, but each day goes a little something like this: I first wake up at around 7/7:15 and take a shower. After that, I eat breakfast which our host mom prepares for us. The food’s always zween bzef! For breakfast, we usually haveRead More

On March 21st alumni of the NSLI-Y Arabic summer program in Jordan shared about what their lives were like in Jordan on the NSLI-Y program. Following the presentation, audience members were invited to engage with the speakers during the live Q&A session. We invite you to watch the recording of the first virtual event showcasing the NSLI-Y program in Jordan. Click here to watch the Q&A. Introducing the speakers for the event: Organizer: Deni Hoxha – 2016 Summer My name is Deni Hoxha and I am from Worcester, MA. I studiedRead More

Dana, a current NSLI-Y student in Morocco, was recently nominated as the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ American Abroad Student of the Month for October 2017. Congratulations, Dana! Dana Slayton, a NSLI-Y student, has been excelling during her time in Morocco! Coming in with an advanced level of Arabic language, she has been working tirelessly to further strengthen her Arabic language skills. With her NSLI-Y teacher, Dana has committed herself to expanding her vocabulary, improving her reading skills, developing her essay writing, and developing fluency in both Modern Standard andRead More

The goals of the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program are not only to improve the language skills of American high school and gap-year students but also to develop a cadre of citizen ambassadors. On January 17, 2018, current NSLI-Y Arabic Academic Year students shared about the religious, linguistic and ethnic diversity of Morocco and how they have contributed to mutual understanding in Morocco. We invite you to watch the recording of this special event. Click here to watch the speakers discuss fostering mutual understanding in Morocco. ClickRead More

Diana Pham is from Chicago, IL and participated in the 2017 Morocco summer program. Throughout my summer in Morocco, I loved eating all the tajines (طاجين) at school. Most had chicken with potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and cauliflower, topped with caramelized onions and raisins (sometimes prunes). Each day at our school, we would all have tajines with bread or خبز (khobz) and a side of honeydew, watermelon or grapes. Fridays, everyone had couscous (كسكس). I truly loved eating Moroccan food at school, with my host family and with my friends at smallRead More

Shraddha is from Round Rock, TX and participated in the 2017 Jordan summer program. When I saw the NSLI-Y challenge for International Education Week, the question got me thinking. “How would you convince your neighbor to apply for NSLI-Y? Share about the benefits of cultural exchange.” I mused over the question for a while and tried to think of the best answer that would truly capture the enormous impact of my summer in Jordan. I could talk about: – The increased proficiency that I gained in the Arabic language, inRead More

Michael is an alumnus of the 2017 summer Arabic program in Rabat, Morocco. He is originally from Leawood, Kansas. Last summer, for six weeks I studied Arabic in Rabat, Morocco with NSLI-Y. This experience helped me immensely in learning Arabic through immersion, and it broadened my worldview and provided me with insight into how other global citizens view the United States. Within the NSLI-Y program, there is much emphasis put on working with people to bond and share American culture and values while also learning about the culture of the hostRead More

NSLI-Y alumni Grace and Rimsha share their reflections on their summer 2016 NSLI-Y program in Rabat, Morocco. They touch on language classes, host family relationships, and Moroccan hospitality. They also share how NSLI-Y has continued to impact their lives since returning home. They have both continued to study Arabic in college, Grace at Georgetown and Rimsha at the University of Chicago. Grace is originally from Los Angeles, California and Rimsha is originally from Louisville, Kentucky. Following their reflections, please enjoy a video Grace created from their summer in Rabat. LearnRead More