First Day of Intensive Arabic Classes--Arabic Nerds Unite

     Included in a fabulous trip to Morocco, there is the obvious task of studying in order to advance my Arabic studies.  Our schedule feels like Arabic Language bootcamp, we beging our day at 8 am with Modern Standard Arabic from till 9:45 when we get a 20 minutes break for tea, coffee, and refreshments provided by the university.  Then another hour and a half of MSA and then the most interesting part of the day--lunch.  When everyone's stomachs are grumbling for food, their tongues must ask for it in only MSA, and as we sit down to eat everyone, no matter what level tries to  keep a consistent conversation completely in Arabic.  The dedication and the discipline this takes is tiresome, but very rewarding once lunch is finished.  Following lunch, we have an hour dedicated to learning Moroccan dialect which sounds like a lazier version of the proper MSA. 

        At 2 pm class ajourns, but the day is far from done; in addition to 4 to 6 hours of homework, on Tuesdays we watch a movie, Wednesdays we listen to a lecture, and Thursday we play futbol.  Determination and discipline come when you are supported and the faculty at the university, they want every student to succeed.  The head director of the Arabic program said that if you didn't cry and sweat a little through this program you didn't have fun and you didn't try hard enough.  I believe this is an exercise for me in having faith in myself to go the distance and learn everything possible--afterall I am an Arabic nerd now.