My name is Madi and I just got accepted to go on a wonderful adventure! Staring in January I will be studying abroad at Al-Akhawayne University in the beautiful country of Morocco. This blog is an attempt to record my adventure and keep in touch with those I love while away. I'm going to post as frequently as I can before I leave and try to make it a bi-weekly event while I am away. Maybe as I record my process I will even be able to help future students in their own journeys.
I'm going to start this blog off with explaining the craziness I'm getting myself into and next post I will hit you with the real stuff. My reasons, hopes, goals and groking the world.
So, this program is an awesome chance through my community college. It is in a consortium called CCIS with a bunch of different colleges with programs all over the world. It's awesome because it gives me an unique opportunity and there are options all over the world. Terrifying however because I will know absolutely no one abroad. I won't have that safety blanket of knowing people from my University when I get homesick or just feel completely out of place. On the bright side it also mean I can get the full Moroccan experience :)
What's awesome about this program is that the University offers my degree (not a lot of schools do) and I can pick my own classes. There are no language requirements because the school is taught almost completely in English. However, Moroccans speaks French and Darija (a dialect of Arabic) so language classes are advised for anyone who wants to do anything besides sit in their dorm.
On top of all of that they have this awesome student service center because volunteer service is a graduation requirement. I can supplement my studies with volunteer activities and awesome clubs like the explorer's club (who just go out and explore the country). Cheap, reliable and safe public transportation make this all a very sweet deal.
Oh, did I mention it was economic (cheap doesn't sound right). At a total of about 10,000 USD (including spending cash and air fare) the program is about half as expensive as most University Programs. Score for me! It is still a huge chunk of change so one of my biggest challenges will be getting my expenses together, but I know it can happen. I'm trying to get help from a bunch of people and even starting a GoFundMe (please help! Even a little means a lot!)
That's about it for the basics of my plan and I will up date later with more :)
À Bientôt!
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