An American Abroad

Using all the tools that I have been given, I haven’t “discovered” anything new about myself - I have rather just solidified what i have already known. I am very open to everything and have a very inviting personality to all things new. I love trying new foods, making new friends with people from a different background than myself, and talking to others about my experiences as well. I am fairly flexible, although i need to be in the right mindset to enjoy very “go with the flow” situations. I like to have a general idea of what to expect from the future.

Although i may get nervous in some unplanned scenarios, I am very independent and can care for myself. I think that this will help me while in Morocco because of the fact that if i want to do something while there, I am most likely going to do it since i am very motivated to accomplish my goals.

I think my biggest challenge will be the distance between my friends and family here in the US. I only say this because i think that i adjust well into different cultures than my own. even though i’ve not been completely submerged in a different culture, i have been in situations where i’ve got to change my way of thinking to match those around me. I love doing this because it helps me see the world in a different light -- it keeps life very fresh. In order to not get too homesick, I hope to keep myself constantly busy while in Morocco. If i am busy, I won’t notice that i miss home, or at least that is the view i have on the matter. I will certainly have to take note of if this will be the case or not!

I have thought of many different ways that i can learn more about Moroccan culture while anticipating my travel. I have looked into many different extracurricular activities that i can do while there. I hope that while i do some of these, I will get more of an insight to the culture of  Morocco each time.

As far as what i have to bring to the table, I hope that i can truly represent my country for those who have or haven’t met an American before. I really hope that the stereotypes of Americans are not too harsh for me to handle. I know that i will be able to educate those around me with what living in my particular city is like regarding most topics, including economics, business, culture, society, food, slang, and way of life in general.

As the semester progresses and I think about these topics more, I will be sure to comment on them more thoroughly. As of now, I do not want to plunge myself into any preconceived notions that will harm how i adjust to Morocco. I like to go into new situations with an open mind and I fear that if i start daydreaming about Morocco, I will constantly be thinking of the wrong stuff and will either be overwhelmed or disappointed when i arrive.

Goals for Study Abroad

This is the first of what is going to be many blogs about me and my adventures while study abroad! I am so excited to study in Morocco. It is crazy to think that I will be so far away for so long.I can only imagine what it is going to be like. I’ve asked some of the international students here if living in the US was what they expected and imagined it to be like. They’ve all said that it was just like they imagined, but they also said that the US was ‘put on display’ a lot in their countries through television and advertisements, so they know what to expect. For me, I don’t see a lot of Moroccan culture or lifestyles other than what I’ve researched or what Ali has told me, so this has made me very curious about what to expect for my upcoming journeys.

I am very nervous about traveling so far for so long without an easy way of getting home in case something bad were to happen. I have two younger brothers, Dylan and Rookie. Rookie is actually in South Korea right now serving in the US Air Force. When he was in boot camp last fall, our youngest brother, Harry, drowned. Rookie was very far away when this happened and having him come home was a very big deal that was hard to figure out. I am so afraid that something like this will happen to another one of my family members while I am in Morocco. I have always been very attached to my family. I love them so much. It’ll be hard to adjust to a world where i don’t see my parents at least once a week. When I moved to college, the transition from not getting to hug them goodnight every night was hard, so i can only imagine how hard being on the other side of the world for a year will be. Even though it is scary and tough, I know that it’ll make me a better and stronger and more independent person. This experience will help me grow up in my own way.

While I am in Morocco, I don't have any personal goals set for me yet other than to enjoy myself and to do well in my classes. I’m excited to visit all of the cities Ali has told me about. I would love to visit Rabat, Chefchaouen, and Marrakech during my stay at AUI. I’m particularly excited about visiting Chefchaouen because I’ve been obsessed with the blue city ever since I was told about its existence. While I am at AUI, I hope to do some traveling in Europe. I can visit mostly any country in Europe without a visa with my American passport, and air fare in Europe is very inexpensive, so I am optimistic that I will be able to visit some of Europe during my stay at AUI.

           Of course when i think of study abroad in Morocco, everything that comes to mind first is tourist-attraction-like things. On the academic part of things, I am very excited to see how classes differ at AUI when compared to MC. I have always heard that the classes abroad will be harder, but after hanging out with the international students here at MC, I don't think that they will be that bad. I am very excited to have to adapt to a new learning environment and see how I perform. I will be taking four to five classes each semester, so I hope that I will have a good balance of school work and free time. 

In all, i am very excited to study abroad at Morocco. I am not as worried as I was towards the beginning of the semester and am rather just very excited to have a semester abroad at AUI.

Academic Differences

AUI follows the academic guidelines described by the American standards, therefore the classes and class styles are very similar to what we have here.

□ ACADEMIC DIFFERENCES:
o Workload (# of tests/assignments/outside of class work) 
For every hour inside the classroom, you should spend approx two hours outside the classroom on the subject.
Average hours per semester is 15, which is five classes with each class being on average 3 hours each.
o classroom culture
Teachers here are more friendly in the idea that you can do homework in their offices and go to their house for lunch or dinner as part of a student group event. At AUI, teachers are teachers rather than your friends. 
o flow of the semester
The flow of the semester is like here, where we have regular exams every month or so such that most classes have two to three exams and a final each. Unlike here, AUI does not have project based classes because their CS degree is of science unlike ours, which is of art. 
o expectations of students
Students are expected to attend all class sessions. They have a maximum of five misses classes for TR classes and maximum of seven misses classes for MWF classes. After these allowed absences, a WF is received for the class. Most absences and tardies count against your grade.
Professors, for the most part, hold strict deadlines on assignments. Hence, students are expected to turn in all work on time. 
Most professors expect students to participate in class and have a grade for it as well. 
o faculty/student relationships
The professor is a professor rather than a friend but the school hold an open door policy so that teachers can interact with their students. Professors are available for meetings outside of office hours just like MC. 

□ CREDITS: 
Class credits are designed just like MC, where most classes are worth three credits and classes with labs are worth four credits. The work load for every class is designed like MC's, where for every hour inside the classroom, you should spend approx two hours outside the classroom on the subject. Classes also meet regularly on MWF, MW, and TR like MC's class schedule. Because of the similarity in the classes, credits will transfer credit for credit. 

□ GRADES: 
o Are letter grades in host country equivalent to the U.S.?
Letter grades are designed the same way as MC's. 

□ SUPPORT:
o What kinds of support services, academic resources, and tutoring available are available at your host institution?
AUI has an academic support center similar to MC's called the "CLE," the Center for Learning Excellence where students can go to seek tutoring on certain subjects. The CLE is just for the engineering school classes such as math and CS. 

□ FULL-TIME STATUS:
o How many credits do you have to enroll in to be considered full time at both your home and host institution? 
The minimum credits you need to be considered a full time student is 12 hours, just like MC.