Experience with programs in Arabic speaking countries?

<p>My son is going into his second year of studying Arabic and plans to apply to study away programs for a semester his junior year (2014-2015). He had been looking at AUC in Egypt but I am encouraging him to think about alternatives given the current political climate (of course all may be well long before the fall of 2014, but he has to apply this fall). He is limited to the programs approved by his college in order for his financial aid to follow him, so the options he is thinking about are SIT or CIEE in Jordan or SIT in Morocco. Does anyone have experience with these programs that you can share? Thoughts about the experience or language learning in either place? He wants to boost his language learning, but Arabic will not be his major and he is also very interested in media/communications and the arts. Thanks for any input!</p>

<p>Most Arabic learners choose to study abroad in Egypt because Egyptian Arabic is the most widely understood and therefore the most useful. The variant of Arabic spoken in Morocco is totally different to that spoken in Jordan. Personally I would go to Egypt because it really is not that bad, it’s no less safe than many American cities in my opinion.</p>