After months and months of weighing options, ridiculous amounts of paperwork, jumping through hoops, and figuring out just how the heck to pay for it...I am officially going to be studying abroad in Morocco this summer! I booked my plane ticket this afternoon. It's almost surreal!

As I mentioned before, I will be studying Arabic intensively at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. It's located about 60 km from Fez, one of the major cities in Morocco. We will study Modern Standard Arabic for most of the day, then study Moroccan Arabic (a combination of Arabic, French and Berber) as well. We also get to participate in activities, like calligraphy and Moroccan cooking. We also get to take several weekend trips to some of the bigger cities.

Thrilled doesn't even begin to describe just how excited I am! I so excited to see the world and to experience and Islamic culture. I am really looking forward to building my Arabic skills (I'm in level 2 currently). SO excited to travel around the country. One of my friends will be studying in Barcelona, Spain this summer as well, so I might be able to travel up and see her over a weekend.

I'm both excited and nervous right now. It's going to be an extraordinary, eye-opening experience. I leave May 31st and come back July 28th. Two whole months--in a different country, on a different continent, in a different hemisphere. I can't believe the first place I'll be living outside the United States is Africa. That's crazy and amazing all at the same time.

I have a lot to do between now and then. Vaccinations (yay shots!?), shopping, paperwork, etc. etc. etc. It's all coming so fast, but it's also all coming together so fast. Because I had so many problems getting to this point--knowing I'm going for sure--I never thought I'd get here. It's 7 weeks away.

I'm going to AFRICA in 7 weeks. Wow. I think I might start a separate travel blog for this trip. Might keep it all here. Not quite sure--lots of details to hammer out. But I will definitely be sharing all of my experiences and TONS of pictures.

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