Final Morocco Thoughts - You Don't Have to Go Home but You Can't Stay Here

Rabat Souq

It almost seems customary to compose a post of what I will or will not miss about Morocco. I am leaving with a plethora of memories, good and some bad. (That's right, there are enough that I feel compelled to use that word.) Living abroad was a fascinating experience, even if the six week duration was short and did not forge a thorough impression of Moroccan culture. I can fall back upon tired gripes regarding Morocco (or, insert country here) that often do nothing more than portray my own society and culture as rational and higher than the one I'm departing. In all honesty, I started writing exactly that post before I realized what I was spitting out. I'm not singling out anyone in particular, instead I'm avoiding a facile approach to summarizing my brief experience in Morocco. Above all, I want to avoid the snobbery on display from a British tourist I met in Casablanca who crowed about the cultural supremacy and moral righteousness of British and Western culture.

Without trying to don my former academic hat (ie, pretentious, probing intellectual), there were aspects of Morocco and its culture that intrigued me. Namely, space and auditory space are occupied differently than in the States. While I'm not a Muslim--although I wear a t-shirt that says I'm one--the muezzin's call applies different boundaries to a day and time, especially if you're someone who wakes up earlier by nature. It was hard to miss the unemployment protests and marching in the center of Rabat, small bands of kids walking and signing/chanting near my apartment, and the occasional drum and flute (or a woodwind variant) duo.

I composed this post in a flurry of posts on the day or two before I departed my apartment in Rabat for thirty hours of door-to-door travel. Following a couple of weeks reflection and story-telling, I'm thrilled when recounting my time in Morocco. It's unlikely that I will be availed of that opportunity in the future. The strain on my marriage is not worth it at this point and I have a difficult time envisioning a time in the future where it will be OK. I think I can preserve my Arabic until summer 2011, even though it will be a difficult slog.