Some of the content has been challenging and we always have a fair amount of work to prepare for class each day, but it is definitely doable and not too stressful! (Which is the opposite of last summer's workload ...) My main problem has been trying to find a balance between the three varieties of Arabic in terms of studying - I always end up putting a lot of emphasis on MSA since that seems to be my weak point but I know the dialects (especially Egyptian) need a fair amount of attention too.
For the fall, we will continue classes at AALIM but to a lesser extent as we will also be taking classes at the local university and completing an internship. We had a choice between two content courses with our current teachers - Contemporary Arab Literature or Women in the Arab World. I chose the former in order to improve my reading skills overall but I think will try to independent study the latter. For the internship I asked to be placed at the center for traditional crafts, where I will be painting wood in traditional patterns! No word on our options for university classes yet, but I'm hoping to take a linguistics-related course.
I really like all of the teachers at the center - some of which I had/interacted with last summer - and they are so helpful and encouraging when it comes to reaching our linguistic goals. Office hours are open to anyone from any class. As of now, I'm working with my MSA teacher outside of class on pronunciation and grammar. I definitely feel as if achieving superior proficiency is possible if I keep working hard!
On another note, we found out tonight that Eid in Morocco will be on Saturday - for the rest of the world, it's tomorrow (Friday). Morocco goes by the phase of the moon in deciding when exactly the holiday will be. One more day until normalcy returns!