The older I get and the more I travel, the more I care about my experience. I’m no longer simply content to pose in front of famous places just to have nice pictures to post on social media. I want to meet and get to know people in an up close and personal way; and hear their stories. This is the reason why I created @thehumansivemet Instagram page to tell these stories.
I’m deeply grateful for all the Moroccans who helped me go through things, new friends that I got to know here so far, people that I get the chance to have a conversation with. They are genuinely nice and welcoming!
Before coming here, I read some blog posts of other people saying that we should be careful of scammers, do not talk to strangers in the street, do not trust easily, etc. But the time I arrived here, I had a different experience. The janitress and a man in the parking area were trying to help me contact my riad even though they don’t speak English because I couldn’t find the car service. I decided to rode a taxi and the driver walked with me until I find my riad because it is not passable by cars. A young man helped me activate my Morocco sim card and registered it to a mobile data plan because the instructions are in French and Arabic, a cook in this small resto gave me some add-ons to the food I ordered without adding anything to my bill! He just said “Welcome to Morocco! I hope you will enjoy your trip here.”
I can go on and on with encounters that I experience with genuinely nice Moroccans. But just like any other places, there are still people out of necessity who will try to scam, overcharge, lie, and any other things just to take advantage so they can earn a little of money. That being said, being alert, mindful, and being careful will stay you away from these kind of situations.
There’s no language barrier for kindness and friendship. They would either speak to me in French or Arabic and I speak in English. Some of them can speak those three though fluently! We would always try to understand each other through keywords and sign language. I would say that I’m asian and they would asked me if I’m Japanese or Chinese. I would tell them I’m from the Philippines but they are not familiar with my country.