I have already experienced significant cultural differences between the US and Morocco. At the mall, I left a bag beneath my feet, and a worker tried to throw it away. I was shocked, and I put my foot on the bag. I looked at her in confusion, and she motioned to me to not have anything on the ground. This made me think of the airplane ride to Morocco, where the guy sitting next to me talked to me for a couple hours. He was from Toronto, and we were discussing the different cultural norms between Canadians and Americans. He was making fun of me for wearing hats of my favorite sports teams and was surprised that I wore shoes in my house. Through this conversation, I thought about my life and how my norms are completely different.
The ride from the airport to the Mosque was eye-opening. I didn’t expect there to be as much English. All the signs were in English. I counted 6 McDonald’s that we passed on the way to the Mosque. I was surprised by that. I expected to see some clay tennis courts, and it was really cool when we passed them. The city of Casablanca is more westernized than I expected, but there are still clear cultural differences that I have already experienced. Another struggle that I had today was buying some beach toys with Moroccan cash. I bought some game for $91 MAD and gave the worker a $100 MAD. I just expected to be given 9 MAD but she didn’t have the change to do that. I was confused, and she eventually gave me a $20 MAD bill, and I gave her a $10 MAD coin. It was really confusing to me at first because I am used to not even thinking about calculating my change.
The tour of the Mosque was interesting. I thought it was cool how they built the Mosque and all the technology around it. I found it interesting that it only took 6 years to construct the Mosque (1987-1993). There were 3,000 workers who worked day and night (24 hour shifts) to get the Mosque complete. I thought that was insane. I found it cool how there were hidden speakers. Lastly, I wish we had gotten to see the roof open and how that affects the Mosque’s appearance.