CGIS goes to Morocco

Associate Director meets with potential partners to discuss possible programs

Above: Associate Director Pardip Bolina touring Rabat, Morocco. This is a view in Moulay Idriss, which is an important religious site just a couple of hours outside of Rabat.

Above: Associate Director Pardip Bolina meets with potential partners.

Two weeks ago, CGIS Associate Director Pardip Bolina traveled to Rabat, Morocco for four days to meet with potential partners for a future GCC Global Course Connection and/or Maize Away program.

Why Morocco?

We have a faculty member who initially approached CGIS wanting to design a program that would take students to Egypt. Unfortunately, due to Egypt’s current status on the UM Travel Restriction list for undergraduates, such a program was not possible. Since the faculty member also has extensive experience in Morocco, we began exploring Rabat as a potential program site for a course.

What did you do on the ground during your site visit?

A lot! I visited potential classroom spaces on-site, sat in on classes with local faculty, met with some prospective host families, visited some local associations and NGOs, participated in a few cultural excursions and activities that our students might experience, and met with local staff who are interested in hosting our program on-site. I spent a lot of time observing things but also sharing about myself, our university, and the type of study abroad program we are hoping to create. In many cultures abroad (but also within the US), it’s very important for people to meet and get to know one another before initiating any sort of work together. Ideally, it’s an opportunity to share what’s important to each of us and have a real person to connect to throughout the program’s development.

Mausoleum of Mohammed V where three members of the Royal family are buried.

What was your favorite part of the visit?

Definitely the people that I met. The on-site staff and students were so welcoming and spent so much time with us. I felt like we had a genuine connection and they taught me a lot. While this risks sounding terribly nerdy, I genuinely love learning, and I feel like when you are abroad, you are constantly learning. Within my first hour there I was speaking in another language, relearning how to cross a street, trying a dish I had never had before—which was delicious!

What was most unexpected?

This was actually something that I asked students from other American universities who are currently studying in Rabat for the semester. Several shared that they were expecting to need to adjust more--or for things to be much more different from their lives in the US. Thus far, though, they were finding it relatively easy to transition to living and studying in Rabat. So I suppose their answer to my question was unexpected.

What are you most excited about the program now?

Getting going on the program and turning this idea for a program into a reality for Spring 2019! There are a lot of moving parts with any single new study abroad program. I’m really excited seeing which direction the faculty member would like to go in now that I have some more concrete partner options on the ground to consider. We had discussed different cities, and different NGO partner options, and then, of course, we need to hammer out a budget for the program. It’s really important to CGIS that our programs are as financially accessible as possible, so it requires striking a delicate balance between all of the academic and cultural experiences we want to build into the program and trying to keep the overall student program fees affordable. Stay tuned, this promises to be pretty unique program!

View from a host family’s window. One of the host families generously hosted 20 of us so we could experience a homemade tajine.

And finally, do you have any particular advice for students getting ready to study in Morocco?

I received excellent advice while on-site in Morocco, and I think it's useful for any study-abroad situation. I had asked someone whose family hosted students for many years if there was anything specific students should know before they arrived on-site. She immediately responded that students from the US are absolutely wonderful but that they should come out of their room more! While she wouldn't intrude and knock, she would love for students to just hang out more with host families, even if it’s not doing anything in particular.

It was a really good reminder just how impactful day-to-day facetime can be and not just for our students but also for the locals engaging with our students. And that even something as simple as watching TV in a different context can still be a meaningful cultural experience.