All I Wanted Was A Dagger...

That's seriously all I wanted. As we wound our way through Les Souks, the central market of Marrakech, Morocco, I kept seeing cooler and cooler looking daggers for sale. The little kid in me who used to have swordfights with wiffle ball bats just wanted to buy one, wield it at some pretend enemies, or even pull it out at a potential Moroccan mugger to ward him off.

Like "Aw yeah sucka, you best not mess with me and my ruby-hilted, sharp-as-hell friend right hurr." The adult in me didn't think that was such a good plan. But my inner 6-year-old found it to be the greatest idea ever conceived by humankind. However, I wanted to make it out of the market alive, so my inner 6-year-old had to take a timeout. Because getting out of the market alive seemed easier said than done. Of course I'm not serious, but handling myself as well as three female friends in that maze of a Moroccan marketplace was a difficult task.

Salesman after salesman jumped out at us, nudging us into their shops, ensuring us they had the best price. Following us down the street after we had left their shop. When a shopkeeper would just give us a calm "Bonjour" as we entered the shop, we were much more inclined to explore their array of merchandise. Especially the daggers. Oh and swords. Yup, there were swords too.

But for some reason, airport security guards aren't the biggest fans of swords being brought onto airplanes, so they had to be left behind at each shop. However, scarves, bags, and clothes are perfectly acceptable carry on items, so the girls had one hell of a shopping spree. Bargaining is an expectation in Morocco. They give you a price and expect you to offer something lower. One man even got insulted when his first offer was accepted. But as the day wore on, we learned some tricks of the trade. Like even when you want something, you walk out of the shop and allow the salesman to follow you and agree to your desired price. That move got Devyn a blue leather bag for 150 dirham after the shopkeeper originally offered it for 400. Being that 1 dirham equals around 9 U.S. dollars, she got away with a steal. With the help of yours truly of course. So despite the fact that there wasn't really any merchandise that interested me, I had fun helping the girls bargain and interacting with the calm, level-headed shopkeepers. It was actually very easy to do so because French is one of the main languages in Morocco. I guess all that Arabic practicing I did on the place was for nothing. After 3 hours flew by in the marketplace, we had a quick lunch in a restaurant that overlooked one of the main squares of Marrakech. Couldn't have asked for a better spot on such an awesome 75 degree day.

After lunch we decided to do some exploring around the main squares and monuments of the city. This little adventure set me completely on edge. While the sights and weather were beautiful, the people on the streets all but ruined the experience for me. Every 30 seconds some random dude would come up to us trying to peddle some cheap keychain or trinket. And it took multiple No's and Not Neccessary's in French to get them away. But the unwanted tour guides were even worse. A common way people get money out of tourists in Marrakech is to latch onto their group and start giving them directions to random locations, expecting money for their unwanted advice. It was nearly impossible to look at our map or take in the sights without a random dude bombarding us with directions. What's worse is that they keep following you, insisting they guide you. It took all my willpower to remain calm as 3 separate guys tried to lead us in random directions. It finally took a firm, stern command in French "We have no need for a guide, now please go away" before each guy would stop and leave us alone. However, that didn't stop them from muttering rude insults at us or inappropriate obscenities at the girls. One guy even spit at us. Classy. All in all, despite the beautiful sights and interesting culture, constantly feeling like you were prey to some guy just waiting to suck your wallet dry set me completely on edge for the remainder of our time in the streets of Marrakech. Things were made infinitely better, however, when I got to chill with some monkeys, two of the nicest primates I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

It just goes to show that every situation has a silver lining. In my case, it was monkeys. Now that I'm sitting here on the quiet rooftop terrace of our Riad (hotel) about to have a 5 course Moroccan feast, I can breathe again. And as I think back on the day, I've come to the conclusion that I'm glad I came to Morocco, despite my aversion to the behaviors of the people here. I wanted my study abroad experience to introduce me to cultures vastly different from my own. That job was taken care of to the n-th degree here in Morocco. And even though I wasn't the biggest fan of some aspects, I experienced them anyway. I pushed through, I dealt with it, and I don't regret a thing. You're not going to like every aspect of a culture. But in no way does that mean you should ignore it. You just gotta sit back, have some Hookah, and enjoy life with some great friends.