The Couscous Chronicles: Damascus

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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Picturing the diversity of MENA

For the last several years, Fulbright has sponsored an annual enrichment seminar for the grantees based in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. In early May I was fortunate enough to travel to Amman for this year's seminar, as well as to extend my plane ticket on either end and do some tromping around Beirut, Damascus and the Petra ruins in Jordan.

Enrichment seminar? you may be asking yourself. Where is it that my hard-earned tax money is going now? A fair question.

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Ahlan wa Sahlan, Welcome

Greetings all! It's Caitlyn here, and, armed with not much more than that brand new liberal arts degree, beginning Arabic skills now two years rusty and a youthful zeal inclined to overlook any such limitations, I am currently spending fifteen months living and studying in Morocco. The initial six will be in the imperial city of Fes, where I'll be burnishing my linguistic abilities at the Arabic Language Institute in Fes (ALIF). Then, in February, I'll move up north to Tetouan and shift my focus to an independent research project having generally to do with relations between Spain and Morocco during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s (see the first posting for details). I hope to use this blog to chronicle not only these academic endeavors but also -- primarily -- the ins and outs of daily life in Morocco.

How am I here?

My time in Morocco is principally facilitated through a Fulbright research grant. Run and partly funded* by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs within the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright program was established in 1946 with the aim of coordinating an intercultural exchange of knowledge, skills and ideas. Fulbright grants come in a variety of forms, from teaching to research projects, for everyone from recent college graduates to established professors and scholars; they are available for Americans who want to work in another country and for non-Americans to come to the States. As is typical, my Fulbright lasts about nine months. It will begin at the end of February, but from September until then I will be studying Arabic under a Critical Language Enhancement Award (CLEA). The CLEA is made available to those Fulbright grantees whose projects necessitate research in a "critical language," such as Arabic, Chinese, Pashto and Urdu.
* The other part of the funding is provided by the partner country. Morocco takes an especially active role in this partnership through the Moroccan American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE).

The Couscous Chronicles

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Picturing the diversity of MENA

Ahlan wa Sahlan, Welcome

Morocco

How am I here?

Brave the Moroccan mail system!

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