Morocco: Migration and Transnational Identity

Homestays

Living with a host family is an integral component of the Morocco: Migration and Transnational Identity program. Homestays provide students with a unique window into the daily life, values, and perspectives of Moroccan families as well as an opportunity to practice language skills, particularly darija (Moroccan Arabic), and in some cases also French. The program contains two homestay experiences in very different environments, illustrating to students the enormous differences between life in urban and rural Moroccan communities.

Rabat
Students live with middle- and working-class families in Rabat for seven weeks. Homestay families are located in the city's seventeenth-century medina, a captivating and historic area of Rabat with an original and independent architectural style.

With their host families, students experience Moroccan daily life, accompanying family members on regular activities such as shopping in the souk, going on café outings, and taking bread to the neighborhood faran (local bakery). They also have the opportunity to visit the hammam (Moroccan public bath). Homestays provide an opportunity to participate in family cultural events, which could include family weddings or newborn naming ceremonies. Students also may be invited by their host brother or sister to the weekly soccer match.

The homestay in Rabat is coordinated by the program's host institution, the Center for Cross Cultural Learning (CCCL), which has been collaborating with homestay families for more than a decade.

Fqih Ben Saleh
The rural village stay in Fqih Ben Saleh offers students a different perspective on the host culture in contrast to the homestay in urban Rabat. Many customs and features of Moroccan culture derive from rural or agrarian traditions; the experience of living in rural homes sheds new light on Morocco’s cultural norms.

The village stay is also an opportunity for students to learn about the realities of Moroccan ethnic groups and marginal rural communities distinct from the mainstream urban culture. This offers important insights on the historical formation of national identity and ways in which local ethnic or political power is maintained.

Other accommodations during the program include hostels or small hotels.

Credits: 16

Duration: 15 weeks

Program Base: Rabat

Language Study: Arabic

Prerequisites: None; however, students with a background in French or Spanish will have opportunities for French/Spanish language practice while also learning Arabic. Read more...

View Student Evaluations for this program:

About the Evaluations (PDF)

Fall 2012 Evaluations (PDF)
Spring 2012 Evaluations (PDF)
Fall 2011 Evaluations (PDF)

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