Experiencing My First Culture Shock

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On my first trip to Morocco, I was immediately struck with culture shock. The streets were crowded, it was noisy, people would look at me oddly, and it was chaotic. But there was much more to Morocco than our culture differences, and that is why I recognized my culture shock immediately and chose to embrace it as a learning opportunity and reevaluate my perspectives. 

Getting out of the airport immediately overwhelmed my senses. The roads were packed with cars and scooters flying past. Some scooters had entire families aboard. Then when we got to the old town, the scooters sped into the tiny allies, forcing pedestrians out of the way. In the next couple of days, I witnessed people staring, harassing, haggling, and spitting. It was overwhelming and chaotic. But it was also eye opening. And that is why I chose to embrace the culture shock to better examine my preconceived ideas and my privileges and how they affect my perception and reaction to the people around me. 

The culture shock makes me readjust my views of how the world works. I come form the part of the world where you must constantly work without taking breaks in order to sell your product. But in Morocco that was not the case. Shop owners were on their phones or chatting with their neighbors. To a Westerner, it appears as is no one is working. But then after examining my views, I realized that busyness is part of our culture as community engagement through talking or texting is part of their culture. It isn't considered rude there to be on their phones, it's considered normal. And people aren't thought of as lazy for sitting in a chair waiting for the next culture. Who am I to judge someone for their culture in their own country? 

Getting overwhelmed by the infrastructure, or lack of, was probably the biggest shock for me in Morocco. While there is quite a bit of infrastructure in place, there are no crosswalks and cars don't stick to one lane. Also, men would look down on me when I ordered for my boyfriend or translated for him since I spoke French. That is where I needed to remember just how privilege I am to live in countries where my voice as a woman is not offensive to masculinity and that I am safe to cross a street thanks to crosswalks. It showed me that there was still quite a ways to go in Morocco for human rights but that I should not dislike a country because I was suddenly uncomfortable there. Instead I chose to love Morocco for its beauty and for the kind people that we met along the way. 

The culture shock in Morocco inspired me to learn more about the country. Why is it the way it is and where did its traditions come from. I chose to make culture shock a learning opportunity and hopefully encourage others to do so as well. While I still need to remember my privilege and make no attempt to take away the voice or autonomy of the Moroccans, I do find myself advocating for their culture and lifestyle more, as long as there are more human rights. So I hope I continue to get culture shock so that I learn more and challenge my perspective.