NEW CONTINENT ALERT: AFRICA
Hi everyone from Morocco, now me being culturally naive had many preconceptions about what Morocco would be like, much of those have been broken and are not true. For example I did not expect skyscrapers but in fact there are many skyscrapers in Casablanca. Just to give you a low down about what it’s like, blonde white girls are rare so I get a lot of looks. I learned to accept their curiosity rather than get uncomfortable about it since it really is unavoidable no matter how much clothes you wear.
Oh my gosh… the driving is like no other, there are no rules absolutely none. Drivers literally do whatever they want, they make up lanes push their way through intersections and I have a feeling the horn replacement industry is booming. In the taxis I think the driver was honking the horn more than 50% of the time. And the scooters weave in and out of the cars with no fear. Stray dogs and cats roam the street freely, like at any point in time anywhere in the city you can see a minimum of 3 cats. The markets are insane, packed into tiny streets bustling with people you could get lost in there for hours, there are food markets everywhere but I personally would not consume any of it simply from a sanitation standpoint, but watching the locals interact and live their daily lives makes you realize how different our lives are. Price has no construct, everything is up for bargain. I’m still not sure if I was successful with my purchases, but I feel like I was a pretty good bargainer. I think it will always be a mystery if I got any good deals.
The first day I had freedom to do whatever so a friend and I decided to go to Marrakesh which is the most popular destination and must see location for tourists in Morocco so naturally as tourists we had to check it out. We got a taxi, of course there are no seatbelts, and this man takes us on the back “roads” I put that in quotations because it could be debated that they were not roads at all, but alleys, warehouses, dirt lots, sidewalks. I think anything the car can physically drive on is fair game to use as roads. After being ripped off on the taxi ride we caught a 2 hour train to Marrakesh, during that ride a man approached us and explained how he runs tour companies and he could set us up on a day trip to see everything in Marrakesh all we had to do was get off the train and find the man with a sign that had our names and we would be set, so we said yes and hoped that this was the truth and not an elaborate plan to kidnap us. Good news it was all legit and I’m still here. Our guide’s name was Aziz and he showed us everything there was to see in Marrakesh the palace, markets, gardens, medina, and more. We also were provided with a 5 course traditional moroccan lunch.
We also took pit stops at an Argan Oil factory and a Tannery, which provided very opposing smells. Following this we went out to the Pajamrie desert to ride ATV’s and ride camels. My white clothes are no longer white. My thumb is still sore from the ATV and butt still sore from the camel.
We quickly finished up and headed back towards the train station. Now in a perfect world we would make it on time, take the train back to Casablanca and be back on the ship by 10pm but that was not quite the case. We pulled up to an empty train station, it was literally deserted. No cars, taxis, buses, or people around it. The only people we saw were the military and policemen with their huge guns outside the station, so obviously something was not right. Our guide Aziz went and spoke to the officers and told us that there had been a train accident so all trains had stopped operations, our plan home had quickly disappeared and we had no other plan or place to go. There was literally a train that had derailed, people were injured and stranded in the rural part of Morocco. We were so thankful that we had not been on that train. Later we learned that there was no serious injury and these derail issues are quite common on the track. Luckily our tour guide was the sweetest man and was determined to find us a safe way home. He drove us around to find a taxi driver, he found one at a gas station and somehow this taxi was headed to Casablanca with another passenger, so we at least had a ride but price was our next concern. After some talking/ arguing (Arabic often sounds like people are angry) Aziz had arranged a ride for us back to Casablanca in this taxi. We got an over half price discount of what a normal ride would be for that distance and Aziz completed the transactions for us and made sure the man would not charge us more later. Our next concern was that the two men we were riding with didn’t speak any english and we didn’t speak any Arabic, but with this literally being our last and only option at this point we ventured out with them towards Casablanca. Everything was smooth until we got into the city and the taxi took us to the wrong location when he clearly knew where he was supposed to go, and he started demanding more money. We refused to pay and he refused to drive so we were at a standstill. After some debate in a mixed form of language and mostly hand gestures he started going towards the ship. We were greeted by a cop near the entrance of the port and our taxi was demanding more money but we explained the situation to the cop and he made the driver back off. Finally when we got back to the ship it was a huge relief. And this was only the first day in Morocco…
The second day was quite the opposite of my first, I had a field class which is basically a field trip for one of my classes, we went to a news outlet in Rabat and the Center for Cross Cultural Learning. I mostly enjoyed the lunch. Very mundane compared to the first day. No crazy stories for day #2.
The third day I got the chance to explore Casablanca which consisted of the city, markets, media, mosque, and beach. The best way to describe the markets and medina would be dirty, chaotic, smelly, hectic, and slightly terrifying but so much fun and well worth the time. There’s constantly people, scooter, carts, donkeys, and cats rushing past you and you’d better get out of the way.
I started a program for the rest of the trip and we got the opportunity to go into some local homes and businesses to get a feel of what its really like to be a Moroccan and many of these people had quite inspiring stories and positive attitudes considering the situations that surround them. First we visited an Argan Oil Cooperative and talked to the single mothers who work there and the explained how much it meant for them to have the opportunity to make money for their families, they also cooked us a delicious meal of Tagine. Later that day we went to a local children’s support group called Beyti. The association supports children who got kicked out of their homes to re-intervene with society and eventually back with their families. They support them with paperwork (many of them don’t have birth certificates), school, food, clothing. Basically they help provide these children with anything they need to help the family accept them back into their homes. We got the opportunity to play with them on the beach and it was a blast. One of the nights we got to visit a local home for dinner and hang out with the family. They cooked us couscous and explained how many Moroccans live and how this single mother is successful in supporting her children even with a difficult medical and financial situation and they were so welcoming.
Other highlights of our program was touring the city of Essouria a beach town of Morocco much more calm than Casablanca. We visited the harbor, city walls, and the markets around the town. Again markets in Morocco are dirty, chaotic, smelly, hectic, and slightly terrifying but so much fun. We got to participate in a hammam and if you’ve never heard of it look it up, all I will say is my skin is quite exfoliated now. Our time on the beach also included a camel ride along the coast. Originally not being at all interested in riding camels somehow I found myself riding camels two different times while I was here.
Morocco is different, I’m not sure if there is a valid way to describe it but it was well worth the time. I’ve been exposed to things that I didn’t know existed in our world. I knew being raised in the US that I was privileged but I was not aware of the substantial difference that mass amounts of people live through everyday as their normal lives. It makes me grateful of everything in my life but also makes me realize happiness is in the people that surround you not the environment. I also learned that no matter how much someone can tell you about gratitude and differences around the world, it is impossible to understand until you can experience it yourself.
Ally’s Insights
- Donkeys for transportation are more common than cars in rural morocco
- Camels pee alot
- Everyone should try a hammam at least once in their life
- The desert is very dusty
- Goats climb argan trees
- You haven’t smelled bad fish smell until you’ve been in the harbors and markets of morocco
- Watch your step in the city often times there are random holes and missing manhole covers
- Get out of the way of bikes and scooters- pedestrians do not have the right of way
- Dont pet the stray cats or dogs they aren’t always very nice
- Trains often derail here
Ally's Adventure Abroad 