Housing & Meals

Jordan

All students studying on the program in Amman stay with local host families. Home-stays provide students with an authentically Jordanian experience in Amman, and are the best means to facilitate full cultural as well as linguistic immersion. Students living with host families may reside throughout the city, usually within 30 minutes of campus.

There is no doubt that living in a Jordanian home can be a rewarding experience for a study abroad student who is willing to adapt to a different lifestyle within the context of someone else’s home. The use of colloquial Arabic in the home, and contact with Jordanians in their daily routine, are among the advantages of this experience. Nevertheless, you must be aware that your integration into a Jordanian home will be gradual and that many things taken for granted in your own home are often viewed from a different perspective in a Jordanian household. If you wish to feel like part of the household and have more active participation in the Jordanian way of life, you should seriously consider having dinner with them on a regular basis. Dinner then becomes the time to enjoy a relaxed atmosphere and to better familiarize yourself with Jordanian ways of life and to improve colloquial Arabic language skills.

Living with Jordanian hosts is an amazing opportunity both linguistically and culturally but you should be aware that:

Privacy will be relatively limited; people in Jordan do not have the same concept of privacy as we do, and “alone-time” may say to the family that you are sad, homesick, antisocial, or that something else is wrong.
The program’s host families, however, are sometimes familiar with the privacy notions Americans have and you might want to reach out to them for interaction. Usually, things will be easy once you have gotten used to each other’s preferences.
Homestay families may live anywhere from 20-60 minutes from campus. Most host families are located near a public transit route to UJ, which may take longer than a taxi but is certainly a good cost-saving option.
It is very common for people to smoke in their homes in Jordan; your hosts will likely limit this if it bothers you, but you are very likely to come across indoor smoking inside and outside the home environment.
While a homestay may involve cultural exchange, it is also a business arrangement in which each party has particular rules by which to abide.
Students, especially women, will likely be expected to be in the house for the night (perhaps as early as 9 or 10pm). Curfews, however, are often negotiable with families once you have gained their trust.
Kitchen privileges may or may not be granted;
Jordanian meal schedules are different from what you might expect, so it is important to communicate clearly with your hosts about when they eat lunch/dinner and when you would like to eat lunch/dinner.
Please be aware that not all housing arrangements will allow for individual doors to be locked.

Meals: Students are provided 3 meals a day in their homestays

Learn more about homestays in Jordan in the Middlebury Handbook

Morocco

All students studying on the program in Rabat stay with local host families. Home-stays provide students with an authentically Moroccan experience in Rabat, and are the best means to facilitate full cultural as well as linguistic immersion. Students living with host families may reside throughout the city, usually within 30 minutes of campus. Some things to be aware of:

Privacy will be relatively limited; people in Morocco do not have the same concept of privacy as we do, and “alone-time” may say to the family that you are sad, homesick, antisocial, or that something else is wrong.
While a homestay may involve cultural exchange, it is also a business agreement in which each party has particular rules by which to abide;
It is possible that a host family will not have internet access (though most do);
Students, especially girls, will likely be expected to be in the house for the night (perhaps as early as 9 or 10pm)
Kitchen privileges may or may not be granted;
Please be aware that not all housing arrangements will allow for individual doors to be locked;
Homestay families may live anywhere from 20-60 minutes from campus.