Study Abroad

Coming Home

Studying abroad in Morocco made me realize how much I was capable of. While I loved learning about other cultures and seeing new places, I never thought I could live abroad. I thought I relied on my strong support system of my family and boyfriend too much to live abroad. I didn’t think I’d be able to handle living alone, thousands of miles away.

Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. When I lived in Morocco, I was stronger, more independent and happier than I’ve ever been. I never became emotional; I problem solved. When the first host family was exploiting my roommate and me, I talked with ALIF about the situation and we switched host families. When two men followed me through the old medina as I walked alone, I stood my ground. I bartered with cab drivers and business owners, and have paid a dirham more than a Moroccan would!

My friend in the program told me that after living in Morocco, he realized he could not live in a developing country like he had planned. It’s too difficult, stressful and the limited communication with family was emotionally draining. It was at this moment that I realized the opposite was true for me. Studying abroad increased my ability to be self-reliant and made me realize that I strive in foreign countries. I love the challenges of living in a foreign country and I don’t need my support system to overcome these challenges. Studying abroad shifted my life aspirations as now, I know I want and am capable of living abroad.

Overwhelmed by the medieval architecture, aromas, and bustling people, I loved getting lost, figuratively and literally, in the old medina of Fez. One of the times I tried to depart from the charming medina, I walked through a low opening of a wall, thinking it would be an exit, and walked directly into a family’s home while they were eating lunch. I was shocked and fumbled apologies in the best Arabic I could muster. Instead of being angry, they insisted that I sit and join them for lunch. This example exemplifies the hospitality, generosity and kindness of Moroccan culture.

Recognizing Myself

Prior to studying abroad in Morocco, I viewed my life, experiences and opportunities through one perspective: my own. I viewed myself as a middle class college student who was attuned to global issues. However, this identity was challenged in Morocco. Whether it was the cab driver who asked for too much, children who asked me to buy them some food or subtle comments by my friends, I realized people assumed that I was wealthy. On one Skype call with my mother, during which I was complaining about others’ assumption that I have lots of money, she told me that I was an American girl, spending her summer in Morocco to study Arabic. Does that not make me wealthy, in comparison?

While I am not wealthy by American standards, as a college student who studied abroad in Morocco, I am quite affluent by both American and Moroccan standards. Viewing myself from Moroccans’ perspective forced me reevaluate my definition of myself as “middle class” as this definition was confined to the United States and neglected to consider global inequities. Recognizing that I am wealthy on the global scale encourages me to utilize my opportunities for improving the world. My definition of as “middle class” did not transcend borders and neither did my “global awareness.”

While I thought I was aware of what was going on in the world, my global awareness was minuscule compared to my Moroccan host family’s understanding. My host parents learned the details of the Orlando shooting, the wildfires in California, and updates on the Presidential campaigns of 2016 right along with me that summer. Whereas, I had googled “What type of government does Morocco have?” only a few months prior. The realization of how little I knew about world affairs, despite my self-declaration of “global citizenship,” was extremely unsettling as was my newly defined social class.

As uncomfortable as it was to reform my personal identity, it was necessary in light of these realizations from assuming different perspectives. Considering almost half of the world lives below the poverty line, I am rich. Considering my lack of knowledge of other countries’ affairs, I’m not as globally attuned as I once thought. While I initially interpreted these characteristics of my identity to be inherently negative, I’ve realized they don’t have to be. My societal position provides me with the ability to give back to communities, to even the scales, so to speak, if ever so slightly. Not knowing about countries’ affairs, means that I have more to learn, to experience and discover. Studying abroad in Morocco forced me to reevaluate my perspective, and as a result, I’m more cognizant of who I am and what I need to do, to become who I want to be.