Throughout my past eight weeks in Morocco, I have had a great time and the opportunity to explore and immerse myself in a new culture and different families. I have been able to see a lot of the country and meet some amazing people. However, I want to be realistic and share some of my struggles during my time here. It would be untruthful to act like my time here has been amazing every single day. Traveling is difficult and uncomfortable and there are days when you question why you are doing this. But then there are days that make it all worthwhile.
As they mentioned to us in orientation, when you think about any three-month chunk of time in your life, not every day of those three months was amazing, and it is the same here. I am going to take this blog post as an opportunity to share what I have struggled with over the past eight weeks to hopefully help prepare future IFYEs. Some of the struggles I share are going to be Morocco specific and some are to being an IFYE in general.
Language barriers: Anywhere you go as an IFYE you will likely face a language barrier; however, I see this as a bigger challenge here in Morocco because there are at least four different languages your host families could be speaking. My first host family mostly spoke French to each other. My second host family spoke Amazigh (not on google translate) to each other. My current host family mostly speaks Arabic. There is the traditional dialect of Arabic, and the Moroccan dialect (also not on google translate). It is very possible that in each host family you could be trying to navigate a new language. However often people here speak at least two if not more languages which can be very helpful.
You are starting over every 2-3 weeks: While moving to your next host family is exciting, it is also stressful and nerve-wracking. You must start over. You must build new connection and relationships with your hosts. You have to figure out all of the small daily tasks again. Where is the trashcan? How does the shower work? What time does the family eat breakfast/what time should I get up in the morning? All of this can sometimes be difficult to figure out each time and can be very frustrating when such a small daily task as throwing something away is difficult. Having to figure all of this out and be uncomfortable like this every 2 or 3 weeks is a challenge.
You have no control: During your time as an IFYE it can be difficult to come to terms with how little control you have over your life. You don’t get to choose when or with who your next host stay is. You don’t get to choose what you are eating, or the locations you are staying in. You can’t drive so you don’t as easily have the freedom to go places on your own. This can be a great learning experience as you go with the flow and learn to adapt to new situations. However, there are also times when this is stressful and frustrating, and you wish you could have some control over your life and the situations you are in.
Sexism: I wish I didn’t have to add this to the list but a huge challenge I have faced in my time in Morocco is sexism and misogyny. Almost every time I am walking anywhere alone, I will get yelled at, horns honked at me, or men will even roll down the window to stare at me. When I have been out with my host family and had a man ask to find me a husband. There is also having to see and face sexism within the families and people you are staying with. I have had men constantly ignore me and interrupt me when I am talking. After we are done eating meals the men and boys will go off and watch TV or something while the women are left to clean up. I have heard fathers and brothers tell their daughters/sisters that they need to find a husband soon because “their value is decreasing.” Each of these things individually are small, but after weeks of dealing with them on almost a daily basis they add up and can wear on you.
Boredom: During my time here, I have struggled with being bored and not having a lot to do. In Morocco, there are not a lot of family farms. The people who own farms do not live on them, they live elsewhere and have workers who run the farm daily. Because of this you are often staying with people who work all day elsewhere. This can mean you have a lot of time on your own and have to learn to occupy yourself. I would recommend that future IFYE’s bring a lot of books, word searches, art supplies, etc. to help keep themselves entertained, especially since it is possible you will not have access to Wi-Fi.
Wifi access/living conditions: This is something other IFYE’s to Morocco need to be aware of. It is not necessarily a dealbreaker but it is nice to have a heads up so you are not shocked when you arrive. So far in two out of my three stays I have not had Wi-Fi. Also, in two out of my three stays I have been sharing a room with someone. In one it was with the other IFYE, Sanders, and in another it was with the farm manager. Finally, I want to mention the bathroom situation. In two of my three host stays there has not been a ‘normal’ toilet that we are used to in the United States but a traditional squatting toilet. There is often not toilet paper either. Also, for those who menstruate, I have yet to stay at a place where there is a trashcan in the bathroom or my room. In my previous host stay they also did not have a shower; we would wash ourselves using buckets. Like I mentioned, these are things you can adjust to and does not mean you should not come, however a heads up and warning that you may encounter this is very helpful in preparing for your stay.