what do you miss about Morocco?

[abbi627 43]

Hi everyone. While I am doing a mental countdown for my trip back to Morocco I was thinking about what I miss about Morocco. Of course the obvious one is I miss my fiance A LOT. But I thought it might be fun to see what everyone misses about Morocco.

I miss the warmth of the family

I miss the bread and hot mint tea

I miss the peace and serenity I felt on the farm

I miss everyone eating together as a family

I miss wandering through the markets

There is so much I miss about it but those are the ones that come to mind. I just thought it would be fun to see what others miss about being there.

[Shoot Em Straight 385]

Hearing the daily calls to prayer

and the Ocean

edit the Atlantic Ocean

Edited January 3, 2013 by Inluv

[SarAyouBliss 38]

Hi everyone. While I am doing a mental countdown for my trip back to Morocco I was thinking about what I miss about Morocco. Of course the obvious one is I miss my fiance A LOT. But I thought it might be fun to see what everyone misses about Morocco.

I miss the warmth of the family

I miss the bread and hot mint tea

I miss the peace and serenity I felt on the farm

I miss everyone eating together as a family

I miss wandering through the markets

There is so much I miss about it but those are the ones that come to mind. I just thought it would be fun to see what others miss about being there.

The times my wife spent with me here, being the first love, gave a special new taste to Morocco, i've never had, so, what i miss about Morocco is having my wife here, we will see what the future holds for us.

[kristen_maroc 126]

The ocean.

The fresh produce within walking distance of home.

The fresh seafood within walking distance of home.

The ability to choose parts of Moroccan and parts of American culture and live in the way I want to that is also acceptable to the majority of society.

The connectedness with people.

The respect people have for elders.

The way children take care of parents in old age.

That even people who have next to nothing themselves can still be seen giving a dirham to a beggar with a blessing.

The communal eating style.

The freshness of the bread.

The hospitality lavished on guests.

The feeling of being in a room with all women and that intimacy that comes from it.

The shared experience of a nation fasting.

The constant reminder of the divine with the call to prayer.

The white tombs on the side of the road.

The greeting of one another with kisses or touching one's heart.

Watching grown men embrace, walk down the street arm in arm, or laugh unabashedly like children.

Old men with cell phones in their jellaba caps.

People's willingness to get to know a stranger.

Hospitality and charity as a form of worship.

Children still playing in the streets.

Children growing up and having a great childhood without hundreds of toys or gadgets.

The crowded mass of humanity at souk or in old parts of the medina at night.

Work meetings at cafes.

Living somewhere with the privilege of being able to interact comfortably with people from all walks of life from the most impoverished to the most elite.

The architecture.

Getting lost in an old medina.

The rich history.

Talking to older people about the past and their memories.

Multilingualism, code-switching, and conversations in multiple languages.

Getting to know "my shopkeeper," "my butcher," "my baker," "my chicken guy," "my cafe guy," "my juice guy...."

Public transportation.

Seeing things that are handmade on such a regular basis.

Being able to see artisans on a daily basis and purchase what they make for practical purposes.

Taking naps after lunch.

Not needing to plan to spend the night places but being able to just stay with friends whenever with no problem.

Being able to get things fixed easily and inexpensively.

5 dirham DVDs/cds.

Being able to have serious conversations with people on such a regular basis.

Traveling inexpensively.

The slower pace of life.

Cheap healthcare.

Being able to shop on credit (I rarely did it, and only really if they couldn't make change for a large bill, but just that you could do it was incredible)

I typed all this without stopping to think. I could go on. I miss it every day. I think I was there too long...

[Happytobe 164]

Him and his family, of course. I live alone here, so it is sooooooo quiet after being with him and his family. Some one is always speaking or laughing. I miss the food, even the seafood pizzas! I have acquired a taste for them. Like Abbi said, the markets... They are so amazing to me. Strangely enough, I even miss the taxi's. As crazy as the drivers are there, it was nice to have some one else drive. And the landscape! Having to take the train from Casa to Fes, we got to see many hills and farms along the way.... reminds me of home. And everything else that has been mentioned... I'm sure there are more things that I will miss, but I just got back, so.....

[abbi627 43]

I also miss the call to prayer. Such a beautiful sound five times a day. And like HappyToBe said - I even miss the taxis LOL. I live on the coast of Florida so I still have the ocean here - but it is not the same. I am so ready to go back!

[berber_wife 90]

I can't put it into words.

I just felt like I could walk out of my hotel room and have a new adventure everyday. (S/O was just one of the many adventures I had in Morocco!)

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

The ocean.

The fresh produce within walking distance of home.

The fresh seafood within walking distance of home.

The ability to choose parts of Moroccan and parts of American culture and live in the way I want to that is also acceptable to the majority of society.

The connectedness with people.

The respect people have for elders.

The way children take care of parents in old age.

That even people who have next to nothing themselves can still be seen giving a dirham to a beggar with a blessing.

The communal eating style.

The freshness of the bread.

The hospitality lavished on guests.

The feeling of being in a room with all women and that intimacy that comes from it.

The shared experience of a nation fasting.

The constant reminder of the divine with the call to prayer.

The white tombs on the side of the road.

The greeting of one another with kisses or touching one's heart.

Watching grown men embrace, walk down the street arm in arm, or laugh unabashedly like children.

Old men with cell phones in their jellaba caps.

People's willingness to get to know a stranger.

Hospitality and charity as a form of worship.

Children still playing in the streets.

Children growing up and having a great childhood without hundreds of toys or gadgets.

The crowded mass of humanity at souk or in old parts of the medina at night.

Work meetings at cafes.

Living somewhere with the privilege of being able to interact comfortably with people from all walks of life from the most impoverished to the most elite.

The architecture.

Getting lost in an old medina.

The rich history.

Talking to older people about the past and their memories.

Multilingualism, code-switching, and conversations in multiple languages.

Getting to know "my shopkeeper," "my butcher," "my baker," "my chicken guy," "my cafe guy," "my juice guy...."

Public transportation.

Seeing things that are handmade on such a regular basis.

Being able to see artisans on a daily basis and purchase what they make for practical purposes.

Taking naps after lunch.

Not needing to plan to spend the night places but being able to just stay with friends whenever with no problem.

Being able to get things fixed easily and inexpensively.

5 dirham DVDs/cds.

Being able to have serious conversations with people on such a regular basis.

Traveling inexpensively.

The slower pace of life.

Cheap healthcare.

Being able to shop on credit (I rarely did it, and only really if they couldn't make change for a large bill, but just that you could do it was incredible)

I typed all this without stopping to think. I could go on. I miss it every day. I think I was there too long...

Beautiful post !

[kristen_maroc 126]

I can't put it into words.

I just felt like I could walk out of my hotel room and have a new adventure everyday. (S/O was just one of the many adventures I had in Morocco!)

Exactly. And after 4+ years that feeling never went away. And there was always more to learn. I think one of the most humbling and frustrating parts of being in Morocco was knowing that no matter how much I learned, how privileged I was to be able to get to know so many facets of Moroccan society... I still would and could never be Moroccan, and I would still never be an expert on Morocco or Moroccan culture or society. The more I was there and the more I learned, the more the country and people opened up to me and showed me how much deeper everything was than what I could see or begin to understand.

(I hope that doesn't come across as Othering; I think it'd be the same anywhere, and I certainly don't consider myself to know everything about American cultures... just that it is so easy to say "I've lived here, I know!" but it is nothing further from the truth. I knew my experience as an American living there. But I don't know what it's like to grow up as a woman in the countryside who stopped going to school after 5th grade, I don't know what it's like to be a middle-class Rabatia who works at a bank, or what it is to grow up in a bidonville...)

[Shoot Em Straight 385]

Sitting down to my MIL cooking, saying Bismillah and digging in with everyone

[abbi627 43]

Inluv: I miss the very same thing. I miss the whole family experience. I love them all so much. They treated me so wonderfully and to see the love and respect that everyone in the family has for each other is amazing to me. All meals were taken together. Everyone worked together. Everyone sat together and talked and watched TV in the evening. I loved that sense of family. And they took me in and considered me as family and that made me so happy. I am counting the days until I am back.

[Darnell 8,478]

I miss mutton tajine and reading about zagray / zagrey .

[Peace.... 281]

I miss sitting on the steps adoring the beautiful view of the Hassan II Mosque during prayer time. So beautiful.....

I miss seeing my husband with his family, he truly misses them all.

I miss going to the country side sitting on his family acreage and enjoying the valley views and fresh bread being baked in the fireplace outside.

I miss getting pizza at pizza hut and taking it to the beach for sunset.

I miss seeing all those people behind me in my rear view mirror, throwing up their hands and yelling move out of the way you crazy American driver

I miss it all....... Can't wait to go back this summer

Edited January 5, 2013 by foreverwaiting

[abbi627 43]

Foreverwaiting: I'm still laughing about the "crazy American driver" statement. My fiance asked me if I wanted to drive there and I said NO NO and NO. I might change my mind later - but the Moroccan drivers scare the daylights out of me LOL. Being on the road is definitely an adventure!

[Peace.... 281]

1357397917[/url]' post='5904592']

Foreverwaiting: I'm still laughing about the "crazy American driver" statement. My fiance asked me if I wanted to drive there and I said NO NO and NO. I might change my mind later - but the Moroccan drivers scare the daylights out of me LOL. Being on the road is definitely an adventure!

LoL...my first trip, I rented a car at the airport for my trip, i thought hmmm how hard could it be to drive here

I took the bull by the horns and started driving day one and never looked back ever since. My husband says I drive like a true Moroccan lol, not sure if thats a compliment or not. I even started blowing my horn, cutting off taxi drivers that always seem to ride my bumper and blow their horn, or pass in a third lane that DOSENT even exist. I told Mohammed, I think, I probably pray here while diving more than half of the muslim population that prays here daily lol.

I dont think there wasnt a day when I drove, I didnt get pulled over by the police for some kind of driving error. I never understood the circle loops, when to stop or when to go lol, this is where the police always seem to be and I always got pulled over, or turning right on a red light, which was just a habit as we can here. I definitely paid out my share of dirhams for sure while driving, but I throughly enjoyed myself and never let those crazy drivers defeat me.

Edited January 6, 2013 by foreverwaiting