Before I left, I definitely expected differences between life in America and Morocco, such as language and religion, but there are some things I never saw coming. Here are ten cultural differences that I have learned from experience.
- Everything is in either Arabic, French, or both.
This menu was written in five languages: English, French, Italian, German, and Arabic. I knew that both languages were spoken here, but it never clicked in my mind before I left that street signs, television shows, and menus would be in a completely different language. My host mom put on the news at dinner last night, and the entire thing was in Arabic. I was able to pick up on what was happening from the videos and my limited language skills, but for some reason it still blew my mind that this is the norm. I never expected to love being as linguistically confused as I am, but it’s the best thing ever. I like hearing people talk in a language I don’t know. I am ready to learn some Arabic though, because there was an argument outside my window last night and I really wish I knew what they were debating.
Some amazing apple soda… with Arabic labeling - The food is amazing. I had talked to some people before I left about what the food was like, and I got several different reactions. The only thing that I haven’t liked so far is olives, so I’d say I’m doing well. My host mom cooked some amazing pasta last night, but another meal I’ve had and enjoyed a few times is Tagine, which is pretty much a stir fry cooked over hot coals. My favorite so far is Tajine Kefta. It is made from beef, egg, and something that tastes like pasta sauce, and is also extremely inexpensive. I also had chicken Tagine, which had french fries in it. French fries are much more common over here than I expected them to be, by the way. Other than the main dishes, the fruit is also really good. My host mom gave me something that looked like a mix between a grape and a plum that I loved, so I’m trying to figure out where I should go to get it. My roommate and I both loved it, and I think once we find it we are going to keep some of them in our room to snack on.
- The roads have lanes, but they don’t seem to matter. I’ve watched traffic a few times from the safety of my tour bus, and our driver drove in the other lane until he saw another car coming. I have also witnessed people driving in two lanes, motorcycles weaving between cars, and cars stopping in the middle of the road. They also use the horn a lot, whether they are upset or happy with another driver. In summary, if people drove like this in America, there would be accidents everywhere.
- Animals are used for work, especially in rural areas. My first week involved a lot of traveling from one place to the next, so I had plenty of time to observe life outside of big cities. People use mules and horses to carry their belongings and themselves. I noticed that they would put bags on each side of the animal, load them up, and go where they needed to go. Cars were not as abundant, so if they had to go somewhere, they took a mule.
- Wifi is a life necessity around here. I don’t have an international phone plan, so I am relying on wifi to do everything, but it seems like it’s an important part of society. Most places I have been to so far have had it. This includes, hotels, cafes, grocery stores, malls, and my apartment. It’s everywhere, which is fine with me.
- People get water here by the liter and a half or sometimes five liters. I’ve carried at least a liter with me everywhere, mostly because it has been ridiculously hot. When I say hot, it was literally 113 degrees in Marrakesh. Thankfully, I can get water almost anywhere. There are little convenience stores on every block that have water and snacks, so the entire group has taken advantage of the abundance of water.
- Charging appliances has its own process. I have a voltage adaptor, which converts the 220 volt cycle that Morocco is on to the American 110 volts. I plug that into the wall, turn it on, wait for the light to turn green, plug in my charger, and then plug in the appliance. I can’t just stick my charger in the wall here.
- Jaywalking is legal, and I’m taking advantage of it for sure. There are no pedestrian crosswalks, so I’m allowed to walk wherever and whenever I want. Cars won’t stop and let you cross. I just have to run out into the street and hope for the best. I like to call this “real life Frogger”. I had done this before in Thailand, so I was able to show some of the other students the best time to walk in traffic breaks and to not really be afraid of it. Please remind me when I get back to America that I can’t do this.
- Bargaining with shopkeepers is accepted and recommended. This is not something I am too great at, but it’s still fun to negotiate prices. Some places, like grocery stores, convenience stores, and cafes have fixed prices, but in the medina bargaining is the norm. The shopkeepers in the big cities that we went to, Casablanca and Marrakesh, will try to get more money from foreigners, so price negotiation is a good thing. I did my best to establish that I knew some Arabic so I seemed like I knew what I was doing, but I still feel confident that I got the tourist prices.
- Stray cats are everywhere. I have seen them in every city I have been to so far, and the locals don’t seem to care about their existence or where they go.
I found this cat in a potted plant in Marrakesh The hotel we stayed at in Marrakesh left the doors open all the time for air circulation, but cats came in and out as they pleased. They are so used to going anywhere they want that I had one cat try to follow me into the elevator. Iman, the director of ISA Meknes, said we can pet the ones that seem “relatively clean” as she called it.
I have fallen in love with the culture, the people, and everything in between in the short week that I’ve been here. Morocco has become my home very quickly, and everyone has been so nice and welcoming. Even though there are cultural differences, I am adapting quickly and this list is becoming my new normal, along with a few other things. I wouldn’t exactly call it culture shock, though it is very different than what I am used to. Even so, I like not knowing a ton of Arabic, I like eating foods I’ve never had before, and I like seeing cute cats everywhere, but most importantly I like that I can call Meknes home for the next few months.
Thoughts From Places 