Nov 9, 2010
Fez, Morocco
Elevation: 806m
I have been on the receiving end of the kindness of strangers more times than I can count. These unexpected encounters w/ strangers be it large significant amount of time spent with them or small fleeting moments have always been a best part of my time on the road. Friends of friends of friend have been extremely generous in reaching out and offering phone numbers of cousins and friends to contact while I am here in Morocco. The welcome and generosity has been tremendous.
As guide books warn you of touts and insistent shopkeeper I pride myself in being pretty tough and being able to handle the hard sale. After all, no one has yet to beat the pushy Asians. Well, here in Morocco, they implore a different technique, kindness. I must say, I am having a much harder time with this method of selling than the hard sale of my kin.
Yesterday I was groped by a shopkeeper who wanted a photo w me and used the opportunity to grab me. Then followed by being lead to the tannery (which I wanted to see) and then being demanded a tip in the end. Today, I was lead around by a faux tour guide.
When the faux tour guide came up to me I knew exactly what the deal was. He was gonna guide me around the medina and take me to shops where he gets a commission and hope for a tip as well in the end. Of course the young man was polite and tells me that he doesn’t want money. He just wants the opportunity to practice his English. He was slightly hard to shake and we were walking side by side before you know it.
It was a long day through the medina with him. I got to see many bits of it that I wouldn’t have otherwise on my own. I did make a few purchases in the shops that he took me to (I try hard to buy nothing as I still have a long way to go). By the end of the day, I was tired of the continue sale through kindness. Everything was framed around hospitality and friendship which made it hard to say no to.
I practically ran back to my hostel declining invitation to tea as I go and locked myself in the room for a moment of quiet.
Something about the experiences of these last two days in Fez really worn me out. I am having trouble telling if the kindness I am experiencing is genuine or because they want money or to sell me something. In defense, I want to put up my guard and be a typical tourist where I say no to everything and everyone, believing that they all want something from me. But I don’t want to be that. I don’t want to cut myself off from all the magic and goodness that exists in people too.
What to do? What to do?!
After a shower and a hungry stomach, I plucked up the courage to head out for some dinner. A bowl of soup from a street vendor and of course I got invited to tea by a young Moroccan guy. Ok. Sure. I shared a cup of mint tea with the Barber guy from the Rif mountain, asked him a ton of question about the upcoming holiday. Thanked him for the tea and ran out of there!
It might not have been the most elegant solution but at least I said yes to an invitation.
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