Life

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Moroccan oranges at a local market

Reason 3,042 Why I Love Morocco: Orange season is long, abundant, and delicious.

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Reason 318 Why I Love Morocco: Many people I meet for the first time while walking around insist I stay with them next time I’m in town.

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Reason 404 Why I Love Morocco: I can sit in a crowded taxi with my arm around a strange man and his hand on my knee without all the Western fears of male/male intimacy.

Africa, Culture, Life, Observations, Relationships, Travel

Reason 3,004 Why I Love Morocco:

by Thomas Stanley • February 4, 2019 • 0 Comments

It’s generally understood that white-skinned people smell like chicken.

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Reason 591 Why I Love Morocco: If you look helpless enough, eventually someone will take you by the hand and lead you through the morass of paperwork necessary for renewing your carte de sejour.

Africa, Awareness, Culture, History, Life, Nature, Observations, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel

Morocco’s Southern Coast

by Thomas Stanley • January 27, 2019 • 1 Comment

First, let’s be clear, since I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. There is an extensive coastline along Morocco’s most southern coast that, as of yet, I am not allowed to enter as a current Peace Corps volunteer. I want to visit Dakhla and Laayoune, insha’Allah, but I can’t. Not yet. So, this is…

Awareness, Life, Travel

Letting Go of Things

by Thomas Stanley • January 20, 2019 • 0 Comments

What is value? What do you value? Why do you value it? As we transition to the next phase in our lives, we have been challenged by these questions. During our eight comfortable years together, we did what most people do – we accumulated things, many things. Our closets were full of wonderful clothing, our…

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Moroccan butcher in Agadir

Reason 933 Why I love Morocco: Despite the rapid move toward modernization, especially in the massive metropolis of Casablanca, there remains a culture of trust and goodwill that permeates informal relationships.

The latest of innumerable examples: My local butcher, who’s known me only a week or so, sent me away with my purchase, even though I’d forgotten my money, and told me I could pay when I able. Incha’Allah.

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Reason 302 Why I Love Morocco: Sometimes, when you ask a policeman for directions, after buying you tea, he tells a passerby to drive you to your destination across town, who then invites you for dinner at his home.