In your mind, why should students study in Morocco?
Morocco stands out for its strategic location, as it is less than sixty kilometers from Algeciras in Spain to the north and sixty kilometers east of Tangier. The small size of the city allows students to easily become integrated and immersed into the local culture, which is famous for its legendary generosity and tolerance.
We have heard that Morocco is one of the few places in the world where you can surf in the ocean and ski in the snow in one day. Is this true?
It is true indeed, you can surf in the gorgeous Atlantic beaches of Essaouira and you can ski in the High Atlas mountains surrounding Marrakech, in the beautiful ski resort of “Oukaymden”. Driving time between Essaouira, Marrakech and finally “Oukaymden” is about two hours.
More students from the US and Europe want to learn Arabic every year. GoAbroad traffic for Arabic courses have increased every year since 2000. Why the increased interest?
There are so many reasons. Arabic is one of the five most widely spoken languages in the world. It’s one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is the official language in twenty-three countries and is the mother tongue of nearly 200 million people living across a wide geographical area spreading from Morocco to Yemen. It is also the spoken language of millions of people living in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States. As you mentioned, more and more students want to learn Arabic. It recently became the fastest-growing spoken language of study at U.S. and European colleges and universities.
What do you say to students or in the US (parents) who are concerned about safety in an Islamic country?
Morocco is known as one of the safest and most stable Muslim countries. Foreign students may run into the same problems as those encountered anywhere else in the world, such as petty crime and rip-offs. As far as we are concerned, we are committed to doing everything within our power to ensure the safety of the program participants, beginning from their arrival to Morocco to their return to their home countries.
How do locals respond to international students?
Tétouan has always been known for its capacity to integrate new cultural elements and people from all over the world feel welcomed, relaxed and comfortable regardless of their cultural, racial or religious backgrounds.
What do you do to provide cultural immersion?
Our immersion programs allow our students to fully experience the local life and immerse themselves in the culture. One of these programs is the Homestay Program, which is intended to bring participants as close as possible to the Moroccan lifestyle and help them to build a better understanding of the culture. Having a dinner, attending a marriage ceremony or going out with the family once a while helps students understand and adjust to the culture and constitutes an opportunity for them to practice what they have learned at the school.
Another program is the First Friend Program. This program is intended to allow contact and interaction between students of Arabic and Moroccan students of other languages. It is very useful and beneficial for international students; in that it helps them improve their fluency in the language and at the same time establish friendships with local people. To further immerse our students in their new environment and allow them to explore more about life in Morocco, we have established another program of immersion.
Volunteering is yet another opportunity through which students can deepen their knowledge not only of the Moroccan culture but also of the economic and social aspects of the society. Students may choose to complement their language learning experience by volunteering at one of our partner NGOs.
Morocco is a place of amazing physical geographic diversity what is the coolest place that foreigners have never heard of in Morocco?
Chefchaouen or Chaouen, as it is often called by Moroccans, is a unique destination because of its proximity to Tangier and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The name refers to the shape of the mountain tops above the town, that look like the two horns (chaoua) of a goat. “Chef Chaouen” derives from the Berber word for horns, Ichawen. One distinction possessed by Chefchaouen is its blue-rinsed houses and buildings, a tradition that comes from the town’s former Jewish population. Chefchaouen is a popular shopping destination as well, as it offers many native handicrafts that are not available elsewhere in Morocco, such as wool garments and woven blankets. The goat cheese native to the area is also popular with tourists. The countryside around it has a reputation for being a prolific source of health, mountains, waterfalls, excellent air quality and pure crystal clear water.
