Aloha! My name is Kristen and I am so excited to share my study abroad experience with your classroom in the coming weeks! I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, which is not too far from Kentucky. In college, I majored in International Studies. After I graduated from Mizzou (University of Missouri) in May, I moved to Hawaii. Right now, I live and work on the island of Oahu.
This time last year, I was living in Rabat, Morocco. Morocco is located in Northern Africa. Culturally, Morocco is very diverse. The official languages of Morocco are Arabic and Amazigh. French is widely spoken in Morocco, too, as well as Darija (Moroccan Arabic). Most Moroccans actually speak multiple languages! I lived with a host family in Rabat for four months. They spoke French, Arabic, and only a little bit of English.
I traveled to Morocco through a study abroad program that was affiliated with my university. While I was there, I studied Moroccan culture and history as well as Arabic. When I left for Morocco last year, I only spoke English and Spanish. One of the reasons I chose to study in Morocco was to learn a new language. Although I am far from fluent, I learned a lot in my Arabic classes and was able to communicate with my host family.
