Arabic Category

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

On January 17th, NSLI-Y Interactive hosted the first event of 2017 featuring students on the NSLI-Y Arabic Academic Year program in Rabat. Three NSLI-Y students presented on topics related to Diversity in Morocco including race, ethnicity, and their manifestations in Morocco today, religious diversity in Morocco, and gender and its effects on society. The presenters were also joined by two YES alumni from Morocco who shared their local perspectives and experiences from living in the U.S. For anyone interested in the NSLI-Y program, life in Morocco, or diversity abroad, weRead More

One of the most rewarding aspects of my time here in Morocco has been my internship with Amnesty International. In high school, I was part of Amnesty USA, so it’s been fascinating to observe the differences and similarities between two branches of the same international organization. I mainly make illustrations for brochures and social media, but I also help out with anything that needs to be done around the office: this can mean putting together paper lanterns, addressing envelopes, or putting up posters. Recently, I helped design materials for theRead More

Omar Obregon-Cuebas was an active, accomplished student by his senior year of high school. “I was the team captain of my school’s JROTC academic bowl team; we made it to nationals two years in a row. I was also the Co-President of my school’s Model United Nations club, and I founded the Student of Color Club at my school.” He says that his hard work in school and extracurricular activities was inspired in large part by his mother’s example. “My mother is a Puerto Rican woman who moved to theRead More

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

Pre-Departure Orientations are a blur. Months of excitement and anticipation has built up, leading to a breakneck few days where you’re introduced to new people, new rules, and a new country. After the countless emails, web searches, and handouts, it is the tangible start to the NSLI-Y journey. My own PDO for Morocco in the summer of 2013 was jam-packed with dos and don’ts, trip itineraries, safety advice, and helpful vocabulary from iEARN staff and our Resident Director, to which my group responded with an unending stream of questions. WhileRead More

  It’s almost been a year since I left for Morocco with NSLI-Y. In that timespan I’ve been able to evaluate my experiences and recontextualize them into a broader picture. In that very same timespan I’ve also successfully pushed off and procrastinated on compiling all the footage I shot while over there until just recently. Being a glass half full kind of a person, I’d like to see my disregard for deadlines as a blessing in disguise, as I got the opportunity to relive the moments I captured on my cameraRead More