Text Box: consultant on the Middle East.  Or maybe traveling in the Middle East will simply culminate in a few fun, future years living as an expatriate artist or writer in Fez, or Rabat, or Essouira, or one of the many other Moroccan places I loved.  Who knows. I do know is that wherever myself and those I had this experience with may end up, traveling to Morocco will be one of the formative experiences which led us there. Text Box: All of us had different motives for participating in the Passage to Morocco program.  Some wanted to learn Arabic, some just wanted to experience another culture for a while.  I cannot say we each got exactly what we wanted, but we definitely experienced more than we had previously imagined possible. For many of us, it was our first time out of the country, our first time living with a host family, and our first time seeing the Sahara. For everyone, Morocco was a magical place, a place of learning new culture, language, currency, and landscape; the setting and our newness within it allowed for individual growth and contemplation. As a group we experienced several collective firsts.  Walking through a forest of wild monkeys, visiting a mosaic factory, watching snake charmers, hiking the Atlas Mountains—these group moments planted the seeds of friendship and bonded us together. In addition to learning a new country, we learned each other. Text Box: As I found a tolerance for my traveling companions, I also found a loving appreciation for a country about which I knew next to nothing before I visited.  I found a deep interest in Morocco’s vibrancy, the culture of the greater Middle East, and the complicated role the United States plays in the politics of the region. I do not know where these realizations might lead me.  Perhaps I will pursue a career in the Foreign Service, or as a human rights activist, an academic of development, or a Text Box: Coming Up: What’s Ahead for the 2005 Model Arab League Season Text Box: Study Abroad Reflections: Passage to Morocco By Alison Silber, University of Pennsylvania Text Box: Model Arab League Alumni Newsletter   Text Box: Page 2  |  Back to page 1

Text Box: Visit www.ArabiaLink.com  or www.saudi-american-forum.org to subscribe to two of the National Council’s news services.

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Text Box: Alison Silber (center, white shirt) with her fellow Passage to Morocco participants while visiting the picturesque town of Moulay Idriss.

Text Box: Model Arab League Program News: The MAL bade farewell to Scott McIntosh this May, as he moved on to the next step in his career.  In his place the National Council hired MAL alumnus Salim Furth, of Northeastern University.  Salim is glad to be a part of the vibrant MAL program, and can be emailed at salim@ncusar.org.

Text Box: The Model Arab League program is entering its 23rd season, and the conferences are only getting better. The Northeast University MAL, entering its second season, will be the first model of the season, and if you have never been to Boston in the Fall, this is your chance.  For more information on the models or how to get your school involved, send Shawn Romer an email at shawn@ncusar.org, or check out the website.  

Text Box: University MAL’s 30 Mar - 2 Apr '05 NATIONAL (DC)  11-14 Nov '04: NORTHEAST (MA) 26-29 Jan '05: MISS. VALLEY (IA) 23-26 February '05: OHIO 24-26 February '05:  MICHIGAN 24-26 Feb '05: ROCKY MTNS (CO) 18-20 March '05: SOUTHEAST (SC) 7-9 April '05:  N. ROCKIES (MT) 7-9 April '05: NORTHWEST (OR) 14-16 April '05: SOUTHWEST (TX) 14-16 April '05: WEST COAST (CA)

Text Box: High School MAL’s 29-30 April '05: NATIONAL (DC) 27-28 Jan '05:  ATLANTA 4-5 March '05:  VIRGINIA 10-11 March '05:  BOSTON 11 March '05:  OHIO 19 March '05:  COLORADO