Skoura Ahl El Oust, Morocco
We encountered these boys while we were out for a walk in Skoura.
Primary school children in Morocco learn French, so that is the only language we have in common, and ours is rudimentary.
Having said that, we absorbed some French in high school, and reading Canada’s other language on the Corn Flakes box helps. We can say Hello, Goodbye, what’s your name, my name is…. etc. However, the best communication devices we have are nonverbal. Smiling, nodding, and hand gestures often work where language fails.
When I saw these two characters walking toward us, I smiled and raised my hand for a “high five.” The first kid gave me “five.” I went in for a fist bump with the second boy and got a solid fist connection on the knuckles as we passed. Bear was walking behind me and set up for a similar interaction, but communication broke down at that point.
The first boy reached out like he was ready to make contact with Bear’s hand but withdrew before they touched. The second kid didn’t even try.
Later, I asked our driver, Hicham, if boys shaking hands with a woman was culturally unacceptable. He said it was uncommon and not something they would be comfortable with.
Skoura Primary School
Later that same day, Bear was standing alone by the gate of our hotel, getting some sun while we waited for Hicham. Two very young children, both boys, walked by in the company of their mother. Bear said Bonjour to them but refrained from reaching out or shaking hands. The boys seemed curious initially, and Bear was doing her best to be friendly, but the language barrier defeated them.
I was standing back by the hotel door, trying to pick up a Wi-Fi signal so the boys couldn’t see me. Neither Bear nor I could tell what the boys were saying, but their tone was friendly, but reserved. Their mother scolded them to draw them away from the strange single woman sitting alone on a fence, without a head scarf.
This is their home, we are the interlopers, so the mother and the boy’s thinking is not wrong. But, in an increasingly small world, it is unfortunate that barriers to common understanding remain …
… wide and deep.
While we are in Skoura…..
A Fifty Durham bill will buy you a Big Mac in Morocco.
If you don’t spend your bill at MacDonald’s, look at the image of the Kasbah behind the King.
Bear and I spent the afternoon at Kasbah Amridil. Our guide took this photo from the same perspective as the one on the 50MAD bill.
Addendum
The stories above were drafted 24 hours before they were posted. In the mean time, we went for another walk around Skoura. I got the usual “Bonjours” and “High Fives” from the kids, but Bear was feeling left out. Then, out of the blue, this 10-year-oldish boy came walking purposefully across the street and shook both of our hands, Bear first.
Maybe the culture gap is not so deep and wide after all.
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