That's right. A fit of JOY!

to: Nicole Griswold <nicolegris@gmail.com>
date: Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 2:41 PM
subject: RE: Language Classes

Salaam Nicole!

Great to hear from you... I love that you’re thinking of taking language classes. French will definitely help a lot in getting around. Many people in Rabat speak French and those in the service professions (restaurants, hotels, taxis, trains, etc) largely speak French as well. It would be great if you had some phrases in both French and Arabic.

Now for your question…it’s true that Moroccan Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic are different. For classes taught on Arabic in the US and Canada…it’s usually the case that the Arabic taught is either Egyptian Colloquial Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). If you learn some words in either MSA or Egyptian, you’ll be understood, though the pronunciation for those words in Moroccan Arabic may be different. If you’d like to chat more about this, let me know!

As far as work assignments…our Morocco staff will be deciding the work placements about 2 weeks before the program starts. During the month of August, most volunteers have the opportunity to work with the orphanage and/or the Children’s Hospital. Stay tuned!

Cheers,Sharon

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to: Sharon
date: Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 3:58 PM
subject: Re: Language Classes

Salaam!

Oh my goodness, I think I actually experienced a fit of joy with the news that I might be able to work in a Childrens Hospital while there!!! I volunteer weekly in the Emergency Department of the local Childrens Hospital and ABSOLUTELY love it. My dream is to work there as a nurse one day. Ahhhh, Morocco is just getting more and more exciting.

Thanks for the info regarding language, that is fantastic to know. I just put in an Amazon order for the "Learn Moroccan Arabic" CD, a workbook to learn Arabic script, and other handy books including a phrasebook. I think I'll additionally take that French class for travelers from a local language academy (I've been learning French from a Scottish dude for free on iTunes and while it's entertaining, it's not quite cutting it!)
Okay, all for now.

Thanks, Sharon!
Nicole