I finished the last of my exams yesterday - we had a written university test, oral interviews for Egyptian and Moroccan dialects, feedback for our MSA papers, a presentation for our internships, and an official oral exam that tests our overall proficiency at this point in the program. These were in addition to the actual MSA paper as well as a recorded debate AND presentation for our Literature class which were due the week before. Whew! I know we also had a busy summer, but our workload was nothing like it was in the fall. After facing the challenges of this semester, I definitely feel as if the spring will be manageable even though we'll be preparing for our final proficiency tests.
Over the past few days, I've been saying goodbye (for now) to friends. Last week I stopped by my old host family's apartment for dinner - Fedwa's mother was there because she had just gone to the doctor and so we got to talk. This may sound odd, but last summer when I lived with them I couldn't understand her at all, and this time she was as clear as day! I don't know if I've really improved that much but it was a pleasant surprise. Then this weekend I visited Loubna again (after going to the hammam with her the weekend before) to have lunch with her family since her brother was in town - he is a vet who is sent abroad often I think to work with endangered animals. I really enjoy discussing all sorts of topics with them - including American history and politics! On Monday, I got dinner with my gym friend Youmna and Wednesday we had dinner with Shrouk, one of our Egyptian teachers who unfortunately won't be returning next semester. I'm so lucky to have made such lasting and meaningful relationships with my friends and teachers, and also lucky that I have another semester with most of them!
Today I have the day to pack (and watch the Survivor finale that was aired in the US last night) and we will be having an end-of-term party at the center in the evening where the singing club will be performing! Then tomorrow Anna and I leave Meknes in the morning, and we'll be back in DC by Saturday afternoon. I'm looking forward to a relaxing break - I did the math and I've only had two months off of studying this year until now, so I think it's well-deserved.
Our spring semester starts in the first week of January and will last until end of April, and then we have a lot of testing to look forward to in May before we return home for good at the end of the month. I chose to stay at the Center for Traditional Crafts for my internship, since it was an overall positive experience and I hope to keep making progress with wood painting. For my MSA electives at the center, I picked Translation (which is a skill I want to keep developing) and Islamic Studies (I don't have a good background of the religion!). The university classes are still unknown; I think we won't be starting those until mid or late February. It'll be a lot of work, but worth it in the end!
To all my friends and family: Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! Thanks for keeping up with my adventures in 2015 and hopefully I'll have lots of new ones to write about in 2016!