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About Morocco SST
Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country and is slightly larger than the size of California. It is located in North Africa next to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The country has a parliamentary monarchy.
The program, which began in 2012, is based in Meknes, a city in north central Morocco which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Center. Students live near the medina, or the oldest part of the city. They travel to the new area of the city for classes. Meknes is easily accessible by the modern train system from Rabat, the capital, and is only a half hour from the ancient city of Fes.
Though the common language of the country is Arabic, the language of commerce and education is French since Morocco was a French colony. The largest ethnic group is the Berbers.
Study
The first six weeks of the term are spent studying Arabic at the Moroccan American Association for Communication. Students practice language and culture, and learn about the history, politics and religion of Morocco. There are also field trips, including a day in Rabat, a weekend in a Berber village and a trip into the Sahara.
Service
For the service portion most of the students move to the countryside. There are a variety of service opportunities with non-governmental organizations that are spread throughout the country.
Recent Posts
Goshen’s first Morocco SST is now complete. Only the final grades remain to be tallied, and the final reports filed. The 14 weeks have passed by as…
As the time of formal language and culture study in Meknes came to an end, students prepared to celebrate the Eid – the Festival of Sacrifice (or,…
Taking advantage of a free weekend in the schedule, Morocco SSTers arranged to travel north to the “blue” city of Chefchaouen in the Rif mountains. The students…
