As I've mentioned before, I studied abroad through a program called Semester at Sea, in which we traveled around porting in various countries throughout the summer. It just so happened that our very first port was in Africa! Casablanca, Morocco, to be exact. Talk about culture shock!
Before going abroad, I was prepared to experience some level of culture shock because I had never been to Europe before. However, I don't think I was prepared for the culture shock that I stumbled upon during my time in Morocco. I would have to say, of all the countries we visited, Morocco was the most different, in comparison to anywhere I had been before. First of all, it was blazing hot (I should have expected that since we were in Africa, but I didn't). Not to mention, Morocco is a muslim country so the dress code is very strict. Therefore, I was forced to dress in long pants and long-sleeves everywhere I went. This was definitely a new concept to me and took some getting used to.
The food was also extremely different than what you would find in the United States and water was hard to come by. My entire stay in Morocco felt like a quest for water because I had to be extremely careful about the water I drank and where it came from. We were instructed to only drink out of bottled water and to even be careful then because the seals are often broken. Brushing my teeth was a struggle as well because I needed to have bottled water on hand every time I wanted to brush my teeth. Culture shock seemed to be setting in fast and let's just say, my time in Morocco wasn't my most hygienic days.
The culture shock I was experiencing doubled when I decided to take a walk through the local market in Casablanca. It was quite the sight. There were live chickens being beheaded and hung out in the open as I strolled through the market. At that point, I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into, but I knew I wanted to get out.
Additionally, I spent a few days in a Berber camp in the Sahara desert. As you can imagine, water was, once again, hard to come by and we were living in the stifling hot Sahara desert. Oh, and did I mention that our only mode of transportation was riding camels? Yeah, that was quite the surprise and only enhanced my culture shock. Although my time spent at the Berber camp was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I was certainly ready to leave by the last day.
Once we arrived back in Marrakech, I was so excited to finally be back in civilization. Our last night in Morocco was looking up as we had planned to stay in a hotel in the city and go out that night. However, like most travel plans, things didn't go according to plan. The first disappointment of the night came as we checked into our hotel and were informed there was no air condition or WiFi. Let me just tell you, those were the two things I was most excited about after spending three days in the Sahara.
Although I knew air conditioning was hard to come by in Europe and certainly Africa, I held hope we would be in for a treat. Unfortunately, we weren't. After accepting the no A/C or WiFi fact, we decided to make the most of the night and visit a local grocery store to pick up some alcohol before going out. And here's where disappointment number two comes in....
Unbeknownst to us, Ramadan was in full swing and there was no alcohol to be found anywhere. It's important to note that the only reason this was such a big deal was because it was our first opportunity to go out since we had been abroad. And there we were again, faced with just another element of culture shock, as it is unheard of for alcohol to be scarce in the United States.
Looking back on my time abroad, Morocco wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been our very first port. If I had previous exposure to different cultures and customs before visiting Morocco, I think I would have experienced a much smaller level of culture shock.
