<p>Here’s my long-winded two cents, which may be far more info than you need, but take what you like from it.</p>
<p>For starters, finding the best program for you depends on a number of things:
Why do you want to study Arabic?
(Fun? Career? What kind of career?)
How much you have studied already?
How comfortable you feel with what you have learned so far? (And is this a first-time travel experience for you? First time in a developing country?)
Do you have career plans for the Middle East or using Arabic, and if so, would you like to work with a particular region? (For instance, if not, Egyptian Arabic is a great dialect to know. If you feel uncomfortable traveling to the Middle East, Morocco is a good standby but Darija won’t do much for you outside of the country. If you want to work with Iraq issues, might be wise to focus on your Gulf Arabic.)</p>
<p>If you’re going for the general tourist experience and just want to learn some of the language and alleviate your and your parents’ concerns, I would advice Morocco or Oman. Jordan is a safe third, although the first two are more reliably stable and far removed from conflict. Oman, very different from its neighbor, Yemen, has a rich cultural history and fantastic opportunities and is little known in the US but quite a gem; I know several people who have lived, worked, and/ or studied there with ecstatic reviews.</p>
<p>If you actually just want to focus on learning the language (MSA and/or colloquial) and don’t care about getting some fancy certificate or affiliate yourself with some frufru network, then there are a number of eclectic avenues for immersion. A friend of mine studied at a monastery in Syria and definitely came back fluent. Given your hesitations though, I wouldn’t pursue adventurous routes first; if you’re really interested, do some research while on your first study abroad, sit in on classes (and budget in a couple extra weeks to visit programs, if you’re serious about it) and see what some are like. Oftentimes your host school will be offering trips elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa; try to budget for those and take them up on it. Network (wisely and safely) while you’re there. I found all kinds of interesting sorts in expat cafes who spoke English and could give me one interesting angle on job and education opportunities.</p>
<p>As far as the American University in Cairo (don’t know anyone who went to the others except Beirut, and they were fluent, but have heard some of the same things to all “American University” campuses) – it is really easy to go there and speak mostly English the whole time. There are a ton of Americans there and people from around the Middle East who will be eager to speak English with you rather than force you to learn Arabic. Don’t get your hopes up. Of course, you can practice your 'Amayya if you go into town and interact with locals, so it’s all what you make of it.</p>
<p>Morocco has been a safe bet for a while, and I know many students who studied there, but with very mixed feedback language-wise. Most people I knew who studied Arabic in Morocco didn’t have an interest in working in Morocco, and found Moroccan dialect fun but sadly useless. That said, there are some very solid MSA programs there, and it’s a beautiful country with the best of all geographic features and architecture. Great gateway country for getting to know the Middle East/ North Africa, and nice way to skip a year ahead back at college back home if nothing else.</p>
<p>I would have recommended Tunisia very highly until recently, but I can’t speak to its safety now (though I imagine it actually probably wouldn’t be that bad. Good luck selling that to your parents.) I would imagine Cairo would be fine, same bet with Beirut, but both of those can obviously turn on a dime depending how respective events (revolution, Israel/ Syria mess) progress in whichever semester you chose. Read your fine print on EVERYTHING especially tickets and travel insurance BEFORE you pay. Zamalek (AUC’s part of Cairo) is an embassy-rich district with armed guards on every block; therefore all the high-value targets are conveniently clustered together in the event of anything anti-Western… that said, you’re usually really quite safe unless you’re going up towards the Sudan. Keep up with news on site, know your State Department advice and have an emergency plan and things should be pretty good wherever you go (unless you go somewhere really dumb like Yemen.)</p>
<p>Whatever you choose, good luck, and feel free to drop me a line, I know a disproportionately high number of people who’ve lived and studied over there :)</p>