My study abroad program is through the Arabic Flagship Program, which is sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD). The Flagship Program sponsors learning of several critical languages at many universities across the country; UMD only has programs for Arabic and Persian but there are also programs for Chinese, Russian, Korean, Swahili, and Turkish. I'm the only person attending the summer program from UMD but I think our group consists of about 6 or 7 other people from 4 other universities, so I hope we'll get to know each other really well!
There are several advantages to the Flagship Program, such as speaking partners, cultural clubs, and opportunities for study abroad, but a major perk is the funds we receive for domestic and international language study. Through Flagship and another campus organization, my trip is completely paid for by scholarships!
I will be staying with a host family while I am abroad (not sure who yet though!), taking a couple of classes, traveling within the country, and using my Arabic whenever possible to further improve my knowledge of the language! The Arabic dialect used in Morocco is the furthest from the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) that we've studied at home, but thankfully I had the opportunity to work with a language partner and take a Moroccan culture crash-course this past semester (shout-out to Zineb!).
I'll also be abroad for Ramadan (the Islamic holy month of fasting) and Eid al-Fitr! Fasting during Ramadan means no food or drink during sunlight hours, so people normally get up early to eat breakfast before dawn then eat a big feast after sunset. Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country, so out of respect to my host family and others I may try to fast as well.
If I like it here, I will hopefully be back for a full year after I finish my undergraduate degree in May 2015! En sha' allah kheyr!