21 5 / 2013
Well I am finally home, sad to say bye to Morocco but also glad to be home and done with the semester.
10 5 / 2013
Classes Are Over!
Well thats it. I’m done with classes at AUI for the semester. Just have to survive finals and i’ll be done with study abroad.
09 5 / 2013
You know sometimes I feel really inadequate in college, surrounded by really smart awesome people. But then sometimes it just takes a little comment to realize you don’t suck as much as you think you do.
My history professor followed me out after my final exam to tell me that he hadn’t had a chance to tell me that he thought I did a really god job on one of our assignments earlier in the semester. Its kind of the best when a professor is impressed. It was really pretty nice of him.
08 5 / 2013
10 things to know before visiting Morocco
Rainbows of color, spice-market smells, an urban orchestra of sounds: Morocco can be overwhelming at first.
This sums up a good part of my experience. (also i have been to the cafe in Tangier in the cover picture)
08 5 / 2013
Still not sure why my Professor for my North Africa and the Middle East in the Twentieth Century thought it would be fun to lecture in Arabic…
Yes most of the international students have been taking some Arabic, but that does not mean I will understand a lecture about the Arab Spring. I understood a bunch of words but as a whole I had no idea what he was talking about and there are some students who haven’t taken any Arabic.
Yeah fun….
06 5 / 2013
Language Education
After spending several months abroad I think the greatest educational failure of the United States is the lack of language skills. Most schools don’t start teaching languages until high school, maybe middle school, unless you are fortunate enough to go to a good private school or some international charter school.
Languages should be taught early, like elementary school early. Most of the rest of the world teaches their kids at least one other language from an early age so that they actually have a chance to become fluent.
Morocco makes me feel particularly stupid as most Al Akhawayn students know at least 3 or 4. They know English, French, Darija (the local Arabic dialect), and Fusha (standard Arabic).
I really think languages are important and only being fluent in one puts US students at a serious disadvantage to the rest of the world, particularly Europe. And, the outright rejection of other languages because “speak American!” is hindering our understanding of the rest of the world. It is one of my biggest issues looking back on my own education.
06 5 / 2013
I think part of the problem with the direct exchange between Beloit and Al Akhawayn is that they type of people who would choose Beloit for college, mostly would not fit in or likely enjoy Al Akhawayn.
06 5 / 2013
Two Weeks Left!
I have slightly mixed feelings about leaving. On one hand I am really ready to leave and I just want to go home but I know once I leave I’ll miss it.
But I am very done with school and most of my classes are a waste of time for this last week. I just listened to my Model UN teacher go on again about how Turkey should invade Syria. He was just basically ranting about how he supports a US intervention but that Turkey should pay for opposing the Iraq intervention and needs to take responsibility by sending their own troops into Syria. Honestly I don’t even know how to respond to that. He was very insistent and slightly emotional about it. I’m just so done.
05 5 / 2013
Why You Shouldn't Tell That Random Girl On The Street That She's Hot
Ah, spring. What a wonderful time of the year. Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, terrified college students are graduating, and dudes on the internet are pondering that age-old philosophica…
This article fits perfectly into the ongoing theme of street harassment here.
05 5 / 2013
5 Ridiculous Things You Probably Believe About Islam
In the same way that not all Christians are Young Earth Creationists, plenty of modern Muslims see room for interpretation in the Quran.
03 5 / 2013
Well I was supposed to go to Rabat today but the buses filled up…. I both love and hate public transportation here. Its mostly pretty easy and convenient until it isn’t.
29 4 / 2013
Another interesting feature was the octagonal and 6 sided? mosque we saw. Normally the mosques in Morocco are pretty uniform and have the square minaret but in Chefcouen I saw two mosques where the minaret were not square. Apparently the mosque in Chefchouen is the only mosque in Islam that has an 8 sided minaret.
