Flexibility and Culture-shock

Feb 1st -6th

One of the pieces of advice my Dad gave me when planning this trip and getting ready to leave was to always have a plan B because plan A never works out, he said to “be flexible”. I didn’t realize then how flexible I was going to be while on this trip. A lot of things had happened where I would have to remain calm, not get upset and just be flexible about changes and other things for example:

1.) When the itinerary changed for the first time removing three of my top 5 favorite countries I was visiting.

2.) Packing and repacking in the airport

3.) Staying up all night in the Philadelphia airport between flights to save money on a hotel and transportation.

4.) Having my luggage get lost for two days somewhere in between Philadelphia and the Bahamas (Luckily I got it back before I got on the ship!)

5.) New beginnings on the ship such as meeting people, getting used to my new home, the rocking and sea-sickness etc.


Another recent development that disappointed a lot of people happened on Feb 1st , a day the ship declared Morocco day in which there was no outside classes except one where we learned about Morocco because we were to arrive there the next day on Monday. We made it from Cadiz, Spain to Gibraltar to refuel. It was really pretty outside that day and very windy and the seas were getting really rough because a storm was due. We could sea Spain, Gibraltar and the coast of Africa in the distance. It was exciting! And we got to sea the big rock of Gibraltar, which was really pretty. They tried for hours to connect the pipes from the oil ship who was going to give our ship gas to ours but because of a storm, and strong winds and rough waves the two were unable to connect and didn’t want to spill oil into the ocean. It takes 7 hours to do the whole fueling process and they couldn’t do it until the storm had passed in the morning. This meant that we weren’t going to make it to Morocco on the date that was intended. We had to be flexible. The ship did end up getting fuel and by late morning we were off. By dinnertime we made our way into Morocco. I guess for some reason around there now the seas get really rough from the time you’re outside the harbor until you get in. The captain came over the loudspeaker and announced to everyone to make sure that things in their cabins were secure and to prepare for the ship to roll quite a bit. We weren’t sure what this meant but we all took things off of tables and put onto the floor and taped our dressers closed. We had about a 5 min. warning. I secured my things and then grabbed my camera to film what was about to happen. It took us all by surprise, I was in the dining hall at the time it started and all at once the ship rolled swiftly to one side, people fell out of their chairs, water pitchers spilled all over the floor, people tried to keep plates of food from falling, dishes broke, plants fell leaving dirt everywhere and before you could get up the ship rocked again to the other side leaving the same mess. There we’re mixed reactions, obviously everyone screamed at once and grabbed ahold of something to hang on to, some were scared but most were laughing at the event and thought it was kinda fun. That was me, I enjoyed it and filmed everyone else. A lot of people filmed what was going on in different areas of the ship. The rocking only lasted about 10 min or so and then it calmed down as we slowly made our way to the dock, everyone had the videos uploaded to their computers by that time and were watching them. It was about 8pm and we we’re a whole 24 hours later than planned but we were finally in Morocco!!


I got lucky and nothing for my intended trip was changed or cancelled like some peoples. Courtney’s camel trek from her trip was cancelled but ours was still on which made me very excited. The next morning I got up and met with the group for our trip and then we loaded the bus and were on to Marrakech from Casablanca. The first thing I noticed about Casablanca was the traffic it was insane! People don’t really follow traffic in a very organized way like they do the the U.S. people just drive where they want to, very close to one another in mixed up lines and pedestrians cross the street in front of cars and will stop in the middle of traffic even to wait! I thought our bus was going to get in an accident or we would witness someone get hit. Obviously the people here are used to how they drive, but I know I couldn’t handle driving here and I’m glad I wasn’t it did not seem fun at all.

I didn’t know really what to expect in Morocco. I guess when I thought about it and saw pictures it was all of beautiful palaces, Arabian decorations, belly dancers, mosaics, bright colors music and dancing and such. When we finally made it to Marrakech I realized that Morocco is not what I thought at all! We were to tour the city of Marrakech which I’ve heard people say is the place to go, clearly they must have been talking about something else. We all got off the bus and we’re completely out of our element, some people had a harder time with it (such as those who are used to getting what they want and being cleaned up after and treated like a princess at home there were some girls texting on their blackberrys the whole time complaining about the dirt and smell not believing that they were being made to walk in this condition) That’s what this is about though, coming out of your little bubble and seeing the world for what it really is besides yourself. I knew of impoverish places because you talk about it in some classes and see it on t.v. but nothing that I have seen on t.v. or read in a book could prepare me for this or even compare to what I gained from it. It’s one thing to see something on t.v. or read it in a book, but to actually be thrown in the situation to see it, smell it, hear it, experience it is completely different and overwhelming. You really get the entire picture and there is no other way to learn about it and truly understand until you have gone there and had this kind of experience, which is what we were getting.

In this culture we were told by our interport lecturer (who resides there now), that we wouldn’t be able to take pictures. You had to ask permission first. Many people from here believe that if you take their picture its really you stealing their soul and their essence. It kind of sounds silly to us who come from a place where pictures are second nature but to them its very personal. You are taking away some of them with you and stealing it. It’s true though, we’ve come to this country as tourists and people visit places in general and want to take pictures to share with others. But I really took that to heart. Pictures to us are our entertainment and we can take pictures of something sad and awful and take it back to our perfect lives and share, but for a lot of people, its like our entertainment is our pictures and videos. But these people are not entertainment! This is their home, where they live, this is who they are, and they can’t leave. And us taking pictures of them to put in a scrapbook is not right, this is all they have. It was a very different experience but a real good one in that I learned a lot about myself in relation to other people and other cultures and became better able to understand and empathize with people.

Also, harassment of females was very common. We weren’t allowed to make eye contact with anyone especially males because they think that it means other things in their society. We had to wear baggy clothing and dress in layers that we’re not flattering to our body’s to help us not be harassed. This first day we basically toured the inner city of the old Medina. It was an eye-opener! These people are living with absolutely nothing in the worst conditions possible! I wasn’t even sure what to think, I just felt bad and there was not much I could do for anyone that would help everyone. Some of the locals were curious about us but others looked at us upset it seemed. I wasn’t sure what they we’re thinking but I did have a mixed emotion of

1.) That I was so lucky to be born where I was, be from the U.S. and have everything I did but

2.) Ashamed of where I was from and what I had because there are so many people who have nothing.

It really makes you ponder about you and your life as well as the lives of your family and friends and people in your country in general. So many people in the U.S. are so preoccupied with their lives; they have money and are well-off. The simplest things though such as food, water, shelter, and CLEAN conditions we take for granted so much! I know so many who do this and they don’t realize that they are so lucky and shouldn’t take what they have for granted. They have clean clothes, good food, clean water etc. It made me take a step back and look at my life and the trivial things that I would complain of or think was important sometimes, and I realized its not at all. From the moment I took my first steps off of that bus into literally a completely different world, I knew I was changed already.

I really don’t know what to say in this blog about Morocco except that I really can’t say things. It’s one of those places where you just have to go there to understand what its really like because it really overwhelms you.

There are so many people there, and they are so poor living in such poverty that people come up to you and harass you for money. A few times while walking through “the square”, which is a place full of shops and souks, snake charmers, fortunetellers, dancers everything you can think of. It was like a circus with people packed in together, but not a happy circus, more like a nightmare. I was grabbed at by people asking for money saying because I was American I had money and when I told them I didn’t have anything (which I really didn’t, I left everything on the bus because of all the thieves and pick-pocket-ers around) they harassed me and her telling us “you are Americans! You have money!”, surrounded me and my friend grabbing at us wanting our watch and other things, we ran away disgusted, ashamed, and scared with really nowhere to go but run into more who were at us about the same things.
Snake charmers came up behind you and would wrap snakes around your neck and which point they would tell you to take a picture and you would so they’d leave you alone and then demand money from you, it was the same with the people with monkeys.

I was excited to have a picture with the monkey because they are my favorite animals but at the same time, it was gross. They monkey was filthy and everything around us was so dirty. Before we got off the ship the medical clinic had a list of things not to touch, eat and do, especially not to drink the water. We had to carry bottles of water with us that would last the duration of our time in port. Many people followed the rules and still got sick from the food. Others forgot about the ice in their glasses at restaurants and got sick, others from alcohol because they chose to go drinking. I didn’t. The food was actually good though, but because I was on an SAS sponsored trip, I knew I was in good hands when it came to food and accommodations and I knew I could trust it. Marrakesh was definitely an experience that was good and bad at the same time and opened my eyes to a completely different world than my own.

The next day was a learning experience in itself also. We had rode the bus to the Palm Groves, Morocco which wasn’t too far from Marrakesh. It was pouring rain and we were on our way to a village not knowing what we we’re going to do. Turns out we we’re to be ATV-ing in an adobe village which was a blast! at the time, and something I’ve never done in the mud, puddles and rain before. It would have been more fun if I was at home and knew I could shower and change into new clothes, but here we couldn’t. No one could go anywhere to get clean or brought new clothes, we didn’t know we’d be getting so dirty. I’ve never felt so dirty in all my life. We we’re riding so fast through the village of mud in the pouring rain and we’re soaked by the end and freezing. It was another eye-opener because people were all so dirty and confused thinking that the people would offer us a place to clean up at or a towel atleast. The thing is though, they had nothing. If they had even a towel there that they owned they would not be so dirty themselves. All they could give us was tea and some small pieces of bread that they were making. The people in this village were gracious to us and we’re really nice for letting us visit their village. It was a great time except the fact I was covered in mud from head to toe, mud was in my shoes and I was sloshing around in it, it was all over my pants and face and it was raining and cold. It wasn’t pleasant but as we were all huddled in a little hut I realized that it really wasn’t that bad. I was uncomfortable yes, but these people live covered in mud and dirt, walk in sewage water and live like this in this same condition everyday and I realized how lucky I was and how grateful I was. They we’re doing everything they could to help us keep warm by serving us hot tea in a cup that we could wrap our hands around to keep warm and pouring hot water on our hands that they boiled. Even though it was dirty water, it didn’t matter. They we’re giving all they had to us, and we should be very thankful to them. We really were able to experience a day in the life of one of the villagers and what they lived in everyday. It was a great experience, which left a lot to reflect upon. Some girls complained about not being able to wash themselves before dinner, and soon we realized that it really wasn’t an issue over here, we all went dressed as we we’re covered in mud. We tried to look as best as we could and we had lunch at the restaurant which was very good. Surprisingly for me, I enjoyed the Moroccan food. It wasn’t too exotic and tasted like stuff you could get at home. They served an appetizer of different selections such as a bean thing or a sort of salad, then the chicken, cheese and vegetable wraps that were toasted and in the shape of triangles so we called them that, the next was the main course usually consisting of Beef and vegetables in sauce over cuscus (koos-koos) and for desert was the largest and most delicious oranges ever! I love oranges and am going to get Moroccan oranges wherever I have the choice from now on.


After lunch it was time for camel riding which was one of my special goals on this trip, to ride a camel. After Egypt was canceled I knew I must do it in Morocco and was lucky I was still able to do it. I had a blast! I was sad to find that it didn’t seem they treated the camels too especially well, but then again if it were me, I would spoil them, animals mean a lot to me. But still, animals here are not treated as well as they could be and don’t live in great conditions or are cared for like they should be but then again, neither do the people. We rode the camels through the Palm Groves of Morocco another village area and were greeted by the villagers and their children coming out of their huts to wave and the kids tried to give us high-fives. It was a great time for sure! We rode the camels to a Moroccan home where they served us tea and bread and some locals dressed in traditional outfit and played some traditional music, which was fabulous. I love music and being able to hear someone’s native music not just from a “music history CD” for class and talk about what we heard, I got to actually be there and see it, hear it and feel everything about it right there in the country itself, it makes all the difference.

On the way back from the village to the buses while on my camel I looked around me at the village and the people in the desert and living in their huts, hand-made from mud and trash. While watching the sunset (which is gorgeous in Morocco) I reflected upon my time in the village thinking, all of my friends right now are sitting in class, reading books, studying for tests and such and I am living on a ship, touring around the world, right now in Morocco riding a camel around a village learning about religion, culture, music, their way of life and everything first hand. You can’t experience that from a book. A book just can’t beat it at all! It’s amazing what I’m doing and I’m so happy and proud of myself that I made this dream come true and indefinitely grateful and thankful for my Mom and Dad for helping me and sending me on this wonderful experience.

After the camel ride and visit to the villages we went back to the inner city in Marrakech, Medina to go to a special popular pharmacy. I guess its big because they import their items to people all over the world especially in Europe and celebrities in the United States. They sold a lot of what I call “magic” stuff, weight loss products, creams, cold remedies, and other things to keep the body healthy and look better. We tried some of the things he offered and they actually worked, so I bought some stuff to give as gifts. It was pretty interesting, he reminded me of a witch doctor because his building had shelves of jars of random herbs and things. It was really neat though and I got a massage, which was really nice. After the pharmacy we drove back to the hotel and finally was able to take a shower, it took me a very long time to scrub the mud out of my shoes. Me and my friend Chera, my roomie for the trip talked for a long time about things and relationships in particular, it was a good talk and great to get to know her better. I wrote my postcards for people and then fell asleep. I was awoken at about 4 am again because of the “call to prayer”. Morocco mainly practices Islam, so the people there pray 5 times a day and they are called to prayer by someone (I forget the proper name) who calls to them from the Minaret (atop the mosque and usually the tallest point in the city) to pray. He recites the prayer over again. It’s as loud as the tornado sirens back home, you can’t miss it. But that’s how the people here wake up so that was an interesting feature and experience to add to our trip as well. It was really neat. The bus ride was long back to Casablanca so I slept for what I could. When we got back to the ship, I dropped off my things and met my friend Jason whom I met on my trip, and we walked around the city of Casablanca. It was a different feel from Marrakech, Casablanca is very modernized and reminded me of home to an extent with the way the buildings are and business people around. We got poured on, we were in Morocco during their rainy season so it rains about every half hour or so. My only pair of clean pants left got stained with mud and dirt again from the streets and the dock where the ship was which wasn’t very clean at all but very busy with commercial ships and industrial sorts of machines, tools and things. I was very happy to know that our “sea” had laundry day the next day so when I got back to the ship, I took a good shower and separated my laundry out for the service to do the next day.

I met up with Courtney, Val and others at dinner and we talked about our trips in Morocco and found many similarities about the way we felt, culture shock and other things but everyone had a very good time and really learned a whole lot about this country and themselves. It was a good experience for sure but I’m not sure about vacationing there again. It’s definitely something different, but I had fun on my trip for the most part. Some parts we’re scary but overall it was a great trip! ☺


Its this sort of trip that changes your perspective on things, on yourself, others around you, good and bad, right and wrong, what really matters and what doesn’t and that the simplest things to you are everything to someone else, not to judge others and where they come from, we are all the same at heart, we all are bonded by some form or another, we all need each other in some way.


It’s hard to explain what I saw and went through here. When people ask how was it? I’m not really sure what to say…good? Yeah I guess?...I did have fun. A lot made me uncomfortable but some parts were fun? …But it wasn’t good necessarily because it wasn’t fun, it wasn’t a vacation anymore, it wasn’t about just seeing the world and traveling to different countries and marking them off on a list. Its much deeper now, this experience is more than what I expected and they said this would happen but because of the places I have been to and what I have seen and experienced here first hand its so much more personal and so much more meaningful on many different levels.

I don’t want to sound like I didn’t enjoy this trip because I really did, but it was somewhere that you’re not really sure how to feel because of the situation the country is in and the people, you don’t know what to do necessarily or how to act about it. But it was an eye-opener and a good experience that has changed me and many others and our perspectives on the world and the reality of situations and how lucky we are to be here. Morocco was a good experience and I'm way excited for Namibia and my safari in the desert there!! Can't wait!!