Our journey through Morocco is almost over. Things that we were surprised about at first, we are now getting used to. We first experienced a kind of culture shock when we first entered the country. In this blog we will examine the culture shock and talk about being stuck in assumptions and habits.
Culture shock
Before we went to Morocco we had done some research into the country and the social customs here. In various vlogs we heard about culture shock and that you need a few days to get used to the country. Well, that's absolutely true! To be honest, I didn't find the first few days in Morocco that great. I found it chaotic, felt like I was being watched and constantly asked myself whether I met the cultural norms and values.
“Words are a source of misunderstanding. The heart understands without speaking.”
Blowing hair
The first street scene in the coastal city of Asilah showed me mainly women with hijabs, I also saw no couples walking hand in hand and I certainly saw no bare arms or legs. There I was, walking in my T-shirt and blowing hair in a foreign country where you hear the call to prayer from the minaret every few hours. What am I doing here? I asked myself a few times in passing.
Advertisement:
Click on this banner and then buy something at bol.com
A small % of the purchase goes towards financing this website.
The Little Prince
All of this reminded me of the timeless classic The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In the book, a little prince visits different planets and meets strange characters, such as the king who wants to rule everything, the vain man who only wants to be seen and the businessman who counts stars as if they were money. Each of these characters looks at the world with a limited view, stuck in their own beliefs. This reminds me of how we are sometimes stuck in our cultural habits and assumptions.
Open look
In another culture it is essential to look at the other with an open mind. When we think that our way of doing things is the only right way, we limit ourselves and our relationships with others. A nice quote from the book is: "You can only understand things if you tame them first." This means that we have to invest time to really get to know a culture. For me it was a matter of switching and especially not getting in your own way. Now that we are a few weeks further, my image of this country has completely changed.
To adjust
We believe that we are guests here and that we may adapt to the cultural customs of this country. Where possible, we do so and that helps us to understand the local culture better. It was quite a shock when we suddenly realized that we had been walking around with a Jumbo shopping bag with a greasy pork sausage on it for two months. How to adapt, we had a good laugh about it.
Two months on the road
By traveling through Morocco for almost two months now, I experience the country so much differently than in the beginning. I no longer notice the hijabs, I get used to the chaotic traffic and I notice that tourists are more than welcome. I also get the impression that they don't care whether or not they wear a hijab, eat with their left hand or drink alcohol occasionally. I don't think they expect this from non-Muslims at all.
Learning to see with the heart
One of the most famous quotes from the book is: "Only with the heart can you see well. The essential is invisible to the eyes." This is a beautiful lesson for me while traveling through Morocco. It is not just about understanding words and social customs, but about seeing the person behind the culture. Empathy and curiosity are the keys to real connection. Conversely, I often see curious eyes looking at us, I quickly saw a judgmental look in it at first, but now I know better. They are often people who want to practice a word of English, react enthusiastically when you say you are from Hulanda and want to know what you think of their country. The Berbers have often invited us for sweet 'berber whiskey' by the fire. They laugh at the worries of the western world, comparable to the king who meets the little prince, who thinks he rules over everything, while he only gives orders to what is already happening.
Enter your email address at the bottom of this page and you will receive, maximum 1x per week, an email when we post a new blog. If you want to support us financially so that we can keep this website online, donate an amount via this link .
Comments