Nearly 9 months ago today, we packed what we could of our American life into 5 small suitcases and moved to Morocco. Our experience living internationally has been a roller coaster ride. In many ways, we are still at odds with calling this culture "home"; however, we seem to have passed the initial "culture shock" that coincides with any international move. These are some of the cultural differences that we are gradually coming to grips with in varying degrees:
Five times a day, a muezzin shouts the call to Prayer (Adnan) from the peak of his mosque. There are literally hundreds of mosques in Casablanca: some are even located absurdly close together. It often sounds as though the muezzins are competing over who can shout the Adnan the loudest, or who can sing the Adnan the prettiest. Either way, each call to prayer leads to a disarray of noise that has become surprisingly "normal".
The insanity of traffic no longer makes us flinch or scream out in horror. It's now rather normal, and perhaps even acceptable, to drive dangerously close to other automobiles, animals, or people. And while cops still stand at nearly every intersection, we've learned to appreciate their blatant laziness in regard to actually writing tickets. You can successfully get out of a ticket 99.9% of the time simply by pretending not to speak anything but English, pretending not to understand the traffic rules, and pretending not to understand the concept of giving money without a receipt/ticket [a bribe].
Moroccans strongly value their relationships, which is evident even in their greetings. It would be offensive to offer a casual American handshake or to walk briskly by someone with a simple smile and "hello." Rather, it is culturally appropriate to stop and greet every friend that you pass by with a kiss on each cheek, and then initiate a small conversation about their health and their family.
Time is trivial. If an event/party is scheduled to start at 8:00, don't bother showing up until at least 8:30 because that's when it will actually start. Don't rely on posted business working hours, because they're rarely accurate. If someone wants to have a "brief coffee outing" with you, plan on that coffee break turning into atleast a 6-hour endeavor.
In America, you can easily complete 5+ errands in a day and still have time to cook supper when you get home. Here, nothing ever goes according to plan. Frequently, all we can accomplish in a single day is grocery shopping. Things take longer.
When shopping in the city it is important for a woman to conciously avoid eye contact with men on the streets. Maintaining eye contact is equivalent to a sexual invitation. Unfortunately, some of the men are relentless with their whistles and remarks in an attempt to get women to look.
This is a shame and honor culture. Moroccans will do anything to preserve their honor and avoid shame, which certainly includes lying. Even if you catch a Moroccan in the middle of an obvious lie, they will deny the truth repeatedly in an effort to remain honorable.
Moroccan cuisine is incredible. We truly love the local food: tagine, couscouse, harrira, seffah, etc. While it may seem strange to combine cinnamon and raisins with meat, the combination is fabulous.
We're interested to find out how our experiences will have changed our perspective of American culture when we get home this summer. Countdown: 59 days
-David & Nicole
P.S. we've found our apartment for next year.
1 comment:
Can't wait for this summer !
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