My Time in Morocco

Culture Shock and Mental Exhaustion

Being in a new place where you don’t speak the language or know much about the culture is exhausting. Normal things like taking a taxi or grocery shopping are so mentally taxing. I have traveled before, but it has either been with a group or with my family so this is a whole new experience.

I was determined to get groceries the other day because I had no food left, so after work, I went to this market I had heard about. As soon as I got there, I was hit by all these new smells, a crowd of people, and men trying to sell stuff. I didn’t understand how it all worked! Were there individual booths or was this a group of sellers who work together? Were the different men talking to me competitors? Who do I pay? What’s a reasonable price? One of these sellers noticed my confusion and got me a brown paper bag telling me to fill it with what I wanted and then pay him after. I stayed in what I assumed was his section, but I honestly have no clue. After wandering around the same stand for a solid 5 minutes, I grabbed what looked like cucumber and red pepper. But then I couldn’t find the guy who had first talked to me! Looking around and once again clearly looking lost another man came over and weighed my stuff in a completely different booth and gave me a price. When I paid him, he assured me that I had taken the correct amount of coins out of my pocket after I flipped them about a few times in my open palm before giving them to him. Then I walked out, I had done it!

The experience wasn’t all that bad, and the people were very nice even though they totally could have taken advantage of my foreignness. After the experience, I was exhausted and did not even try to go to any of the other shops to get meat or rice or the other things you need to make a meal. So, it was cucumber and red pepper for dinner that night! Which were great and so incredibly fresh, though not exactly filling. I am hoping that with time these simple, normal tasks will be less taxing and become routine. Hopefully, I will eventually be able to get everything to make an actual meal instead of eating carbs one night, fruits another, followed by protein on the third day, then veggies on the fourth, and lastly, finishing off the week with a plate of dairy :p