"Mallory in the Maghreb" by Mallory Slucher

Marhaba! Hello!

My name is Mallory Slucher. I’m a junior at the University of Louisville in Kentucky and this semester I’m studying Arabic language and Moroccan culture in Rabat with Amideast. I am so thrilled to take you all along for the ride.

Here are some random facts about me. I rarely meet a stranger and there is seldom a dish I won’t try. I’m terrified of birds and only recently became a cat person. I major in Political Science and Religious Studies with minors in Arabic and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. I’ve been studying Arabic for three years, and I’m eager to make the most out of my experience here in Morocco.

Photo credit: Slucher, 2024.

I have three goals for this semester: fully immerse myself into Moroccan culture, seize every opportunity I have to speak Arabic, and move my body every day. I hope to not only take this new environment to grow academically, but gain a deeper understanding of the world around me and discover just how big (or small!) the world is.

My first week in Rabat has been filled with a lot of firsts for me as a language student; including meeting my language partner, hailing a taxi using only Arabic, and navigating the tram in a new country.

Stay tuned for more adventures that I will be documenting throughout this semester! We have only just begun, yallah!

Mallory is participant from the University of Louisville in Kentucky studying on Amideast’s Area and Arabic Language Studies Program in Rabat, Morocco.