Arabic Category

Nicholas Wade’s future changed unexpectedly when he met a Foreign Service Officer at a career fair during his freshman year of high school. She described to him the life and work of a Foreign Service Officer; he immediately became interested in the career. When he asked what languages would be most important to learn, he was told that Arabic was in high demand. The officer also told him about the NSLI-Y scholarship to study less commonly taught languages. Because of that conversation, he began studying Arabic on his own afterRead More

“Be proud of who you are… be proud of where you’re from, but embrace your third culture.” – Tania, NSLI-Y Morocco, Summer 2015 Excerpts from an interview with alumna Tania, NSLI-Y Morocco, Summer 2015 As one of few bilingual students in her southern Indiana elementary school, Tania identified language differences from an early age. Her Salvadoran family was the source of her Latina identity, but she recalls, “I was astounded by the amount of languages in the world.” Her curiosity led her online to pick up other languages and, years laterRead More

NSLI-Y students currently studying in Rabat, Morocco traveled to Marrakech to join the 2017 iEARN International Conference and Youth Summit from July 16 to 18. On July 16, the group visited and volunteered at the Amal Women’s Training Center and Moroccan Restaurant, a non-profit organization dedicated to the empowerment of disadvantaged women through restaurant training and job placement. While there, the NSLI-Y students learned how to cook some traditional Moroccan dishes, cleaned, and gardened. On July 17, the group attended the opening plenary sessions of the iEARN conference, and then attended YouthRead More

In military communities, there is a saying that military brats (children of service men and women) are like dandelions—they can grow anywhere. I reminded myself of this as I packed eight months’ worth of modest, desert-appropriate apparel into two large suitcases. In September of 2015, my mom drove me from Fort Bragg, NC, to Washington, DC, with my luggage and a complete lack of Arabic language skills, for my NSLI-Y Pre-Departure Orientation. A few days later, with my Resident Director and eleven other students, I boarded a plane headed toRead More

During Eid, I spent the majority of the day with my host family visiting relatives. In the morning, I woke up to a leisure breakfast filled with round pancake-like bread foods everyone would spread Laughing Cow cheese, honey or a jam over them. There were also traditional Moroccan almond sweets, mint tea and croissants. . After being stuffed from breakfast, my host mom and I made lunch together. It was a traditional cooked chicken with steamed angel hair pasta, topped with sugar, cinnamon, almonds and raisins. The chicken was seasonedRead More

Stephanie Davidson grew up speaking Spanish and English because her mother is from Costa Rica; Stephanie lived there for a period with her family. In high school, she wanted to see more of the world and challenge herself with a third language. She discovered NSLI-Y and decided to apply for Arabic. She was interested in Arabic because it seemed new and challenging, because she was intrigued by the many similarities between Arabic and Latin American cultures, and because she wanted to get to know the Middle East beyond the newsRead More

A few months ago, I submitted a writing piece to the PTA Reflections Arts Contest in the Literature category. The theme for 2016-2017 was “What is Your Story?” What better story to submit than my summer in Jordan with NSLI-Y? It went on to place 2nd in the state (AL) and was featured in the Madison County Record, our local paper. Here it is below: Olivia’s phone blares with the signature iPhone alarm sound. I blearily open my eyes, squinting as the rays of bright sun peeks through the blinds,Read More

Music has been a part of my life since I was in elementary school, sitting on my mom’s lap learning to read music notes on the piano at the same time I was learning to read letters in school. When I moved to Morocco to study Arabic through the NSLI-Y scholarship, I brought my cello in hopes that I would be able to find a way to continue playing music with others and that I might use music as a way to engage with my new community. [Last December] I wasRead More

The impact of NSLI-Y extends beyond the personal experience of going abroad. After returning home, NSLI-Y students will often seek out opportunities to give back to their home communities, and remain engaged with the target language.  Deni, Alumni Representative for the Boston area, is one such student who is using his NSLI-Y experience to give back. Deni was recently featured in Worcester County’s Telegram & Gazette for the work he is currently doing through a club he founded at his school. Below is an excerpt from the article. Read the full articleRead More

Since the moment I found out that the COP 22 was going to happen during my NSLI-Y year abroad, I knew that I somehow had to gain entrance. Environmental justice is a passion of mine that I imagined could be in no place better embodied than at one of the largest environmental forums in the world. Through a connection with the sustainability-promoting NGO that I intern with, I giddily walked through the gates into the massive complex filled with politicians, scientists, environmental activists, and ambitious amateurs alike. Here, they congregatedRead More