Student Profile - Cristian Benavidez

Marrakech? More like Merchants want my cash!

Marrakesh is a major city of the Kingdom of Morocco. It is the fourth largest city in the country, after Casablanca, Fez and Tangier. It is the capital city of the mid-southwestern region of Marrakesh-Safi. Today it’s a massive tourist city that never sleeps…

While our weekend there consisted of several adventures, there are three specific experiences that were the most eye opening/inspiring/beneficial to the immersion of the Moroccan/Marrakech culture. 

The first experience happened as soon as we arrived to the city. Like most the trip, were all constantly on the move. For example, after a long four-hour bus ride to our hotel we automatically made our way to the busiest part of the city, the Souk. The Souk is basically a market square where vendors and merchants sell their products. I would loosely compare the environment to Time Square in New York except times 10 more intense. People are constantly trying to catch your attention to sell their goods whether it be sunglasses, tissues, leather bags, touristy shirts, henna, or even to take a picture with their monkeys and rattle snakes they keep on a short leash. Every part of it was a complete over stimulation to the senses. The smell of street food combined with the smell of horses. The taste of cigarette smoke in my mouth, and the voices of endless car horns, elevator pitches, and people screaming to get anyone’s attention.  However, don’t be misconstrued, the whole experience was probably the most abstract complex man-made system I had ever seen or been exposed to. Everything was functioning like the gears a massive clock tower. There were hundreds of people just doing their thing; selling, buying, eating, watching, and going to where ever they need to be. It all felt like an orchestra and everyone was playing their part perfectly.

While in most cultures the persistence of the vendors would be seen as beyond rude and just disrespectful to other people’s time and patience. I say this because, they would literally get in your face as your eating, on the phone or just walking by and flash whatever they were selling in your face until they got tired of hearing you say no. However, looking back I can appreciate the drive and ambition of all of the merchants. Due to speaking with the locals I now understand that getting a stable job in Morocco is almost impossible. So, for most, selling whatever is available to them is their only way to sustain their lives and provide for their families. Given my experiences I can respect their drive. Now I see them as normal business men/women instead of looking at them through an ignorant lens. It’s all about the perspective. To me and to the locals they’re just trying to provide a life for themselves just like everyone else in this world. Day by day Dirham by dirham.

The next day we went to a small village on the outskirts of Marrakesh. We were told to be prepared for a new social environment, because the people living there have very conservative traditions. Of course, it was nothing new to us compared to our past experiences with the Moroccan culture. When get there we went on a small hike led by this small man who also showed us his massive garden that he maintained himself. He brought us to a beautiful place where we could see the landscape made up by the Atlas Mountains. Then he took us to his village that first seemed very underdeveloped and for a lack of better words, poor. There were the smell of horse poop and the people looked like they hadn’t washed their clothes in weeks. But a reoccurring theme I’ve learned on this trip is that nothing is what it seems. If you were to literally sit down and watch the people of the village interact you would see that they’re actually a very developed community and sustain a minimalist life style, but now I’d never think to call them something so degrading as being poor. You would see the handmade soccer field that was actually completely leveled. You would see the donkey system that was perfectly organized to deliver resources to houses. You would see a woman tending to a clay stove (made by hand) baking fresh bread. You would also come to the conclusion that the people had the opportunity to pick and choose what aspects of city life they appreciated such as TVs, radios, and a few computers given the fact they were about an hour away from the city. However, everything about their life was based off tradition and as minimalistic as possible. I think many people have this preconceived notion that everything that is not modern is underdeveloped or impossible to live in, but then never take the time to realize that those people have the discipline to sustain tradition. Our PL told us, “that being poor is relative to how you live your own life. You can grow up with nothing and never feel poor if you remind yourself of what you actually have.” This is something that I think I’ll never let escape my mind when experiencing new ways of life and different cultures.

My third experience was definitely a more personal one. On the second day of staying in Marrakesh I purchased a sizeable Moroccan flag. (this is important later into the story) That same day my one goal was to find a small picture of the king, Mohammed VI. It mattered so much to me because I find it hilarious how every restraunts/business/service building has a different picture of him. The love for the king/nationalism is very evident in this country. On my search I was thrown back and forth from shop to shop. I had practiced asking “Fin photo Mohammed sta” which roughly translates to “Where can I find a picture of the king?” Every store owner pointed me to a different location and eventually I ended up in sketchy alley. Soon I realized that I was probably in a place I definitely shouldn’t have been. I felt safe, but it was getting dark, and I could tell that all the men sitting outside could easily tell I didn’t belong there with my massive tactical backpack and my name American name brand clothes. So, I started heading back to the bus stop when I was approached by a tall lanky man who looked like he was in his early thirties. He literally came out of nowhere and he greeted me by pulling my backpack from behind. I’ve gotten used to being stopped my venders and beggars but this time something felt different. None of them had ever actually touched me. So out of instinct I said “no thank you” (I the local dialect) several times and walked away, but the man persisted and continued to follow me for about two blocks. It was attracting a lot of attention and I didn’t want to make myself any more of a target than I already was. I made the executive decision to turn around and try to talk to him and figure out what he wanted. I told him I was a student, my name, and that I was visiting. (in the local dialect of course) I found out who he was his name and what he did for a living. It got to the point where I felt safe enough to kindly walk away, but as soon as I tried walking away, he grabbed my bag hard and fast. I was ready to leave my bag behind and just run as fast as I can because it wasn’t even worth it. However, as soon as I turned around the man was simply holding my flag and gently kissed the green star like something, he’d done hundreds of times before. He then says in his broken English that he loves his country and then simply walked away like it was just another normal afternoon. Everyone who was watching just looked away and continued about their business. It might not sound intense but I was super confused and a little shaken up. It’s a weird story but it helped me understand the perspectives of the people here. Like any other sensible place in the world, Morocco is full of people just like you and me who only want to meet others and have no intent of harming people. I’ve learned that Morocco is actually super diverse with several French/Spanish/Darija/Fusha speakers and several people from other African immigrants who have moved to Morocco. Coming into this trip I was expecting an American hating environment and the cliché Hollywood interpretation of an Arabic/African country, but throughout this trip It has become evident that the quality of life let alone way of life is not that much different from anyone where else in the world I’ve visited. We all wish that every idea we hold would be sensible but obviously the only way to find that out is to truly experience it.

I definitely feel privileged to understand such beautiful concepts about society. I’m beyond moved by the beautiful community that continues to grow in this country and if there’s one thing that inspires me every day it’s the hearts of the people. I’ve been lucky enough to experience the kindness and generosity from just about everybody. Anyone ranging from my host family to my CIEE language teachers to just a stranger on the street. Everyone is willing to help you and help you immerse yourself in their beautiful culture. A culture I have never experienced before and a culture that will never be forgotten.

Written by our Session 1 student, Cristian Benavidez