Cultural immersion

Whitefish graduate Makkie Haller is putting an exotic twist on the post-graduation road trip – studying Arabic in Morocco for the summer.

Haller was recently awarded a U.S. Department of State NSLI-Y scholarship to study Arabic in Rabat, Morocco, the country’s capital city. She is one of approximately 600 students from across the United States selected to study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian or Russian overseas.

“[The program] was created to help high school students learn critical languages that aren’t really taught in school, so Arabic, Chinese and a couple others,” she said.

She left Whitefish last month.

Through the program, Haller will spend six weeks living with a host family in Rabat. She will attend classes at the Bridges Center for Culture and Communication, where she’ll continue working on her Arabic skills.

Haller picked up Arabic a year ago through a summer course at the University of Montana. Soon after, she found herself staying with a host family in Cairo, Egypt, as part of an AFS exchange program.

Arabic both offers unique cultural experiences as well as opens up a huge world of job opportunities, she said.

“It’s kind of one of those languages where if you know it, you can get a lot of different jobs in a lot of different fields,” she said. “I’ve just always been interested in it and the culture, it’s a place I’ve always wanted to travel to, the whole Middle East and North Africa.”

“Islamic culture is really cool,” she added. “I love the architecture a lot, the people are hospitable. My family I stayed with in Egypt, I still talk to them all the time and they’re the sweetest people. It’s a cool culture.”

After completing the trip abroad, Haller will attend the Davidson Honors College on a Presidential Leadership Scholarship at the University of Montana to study political science and Arabic with a focus on international affairs.

While she’s heard many warnings about travel in the Middle East, Haller said she’s fully prepared to be smart and make the most out of her adventures. In her experience, that part of the world has felt safe and hospitable.

“I understand that there’s probably some places I shouldn’t go, but I never felt unsafe while I was in Egypt,” she said. “As long as you’re careful about where you go and make sure you dress appropriately and not being super obnoxious, you’re fine.”

The NSLI-Y program is part of a multi-agency government initiative started in 2006 to improve Americans’ ability to communicate in select critical languages to advance international dialogue and boost American economic global competitiveness.

The program’s goals include promoting critical language learning among American youth; enhancing cross-cultural understanding and deepening trust; sparking a lifetime of interest in foreign language and culture; and developing the skills to advance international dialogue, compete effectively in the global marketplace, promote mutual understanding, and contribute to a more peaceful world.

For more information on U.S. Department of State-sponsored exchange programs, visit http://exchanges.state.gov.