If you’re an expat living in Morocco for some time, a traveler who loves to absorb different cultures, or simply a lover of Morocco and a good observer, you undoubtedly can say what “typical Moroccan things” are 🙂
I wrote the first version of this list after just over a year in Morocco, when I caught myself doing many things exactly as Moroccans do. More than a decade later, every single one still holds – and the list has only grown. Check how many apply to you:
1. You no longer say a simple “hi.” You ask and are asked numerous questions: kolshi mziane? bekher? labass? hamdulillah! The full greeting takes a minute, minimum – and answering all of it with a single hamdulillah is an art form.
2. You gave up on being pissed off when they are late. You come a little bit later instead 😉
3. Your rhythm has changed. You no longer eat the last meal at 6 PM but at 10 or 11 PM! (Bad habit, and it comes into your life quite fast.)
4. Sharing is caring. You no longer ask for “your” cup. You drink water from one cup with friends and even strangers. In many Moroccan snack bars you will find a bottle of water and two cups – for everyone to use.
5. At least once a day you say “inshallah” instead of “I hope,” “maybe,” or “I don’t want to say NO and I am scared, so I say inshallah” 😛
6. If you are a woman, you stop noticing men on the street. You don’t hear their comments anymore. At first you want to punch them in the face; then you just ignore.
7. You’ve surrendered to the home uniform. You’re too lazy to dress up when going downstairs to buy bread. You simply wear leggings, babouche and djellaba. Your home outfit is often a djellaba too.
8. You are no longer shy to negotiate prices. You start off with half the price offered by the seller – and you enjoy it.
9. You physically cannot function without atay. Somewhere along the way, Moroccan mint tea stopped being a drink and became an emotional support system. You pour it from a great height and judge anyone who doesn’t.
10. Bread has replaced your cutlery. Fork? What fork? A piece of khobz scoops tajine, salad and sauce better than any utensil ever invented – and no meal feels complete without it on the table.
11. Friday means couscous. Non-negotiable. Your week now bends around the Friday couscous ritual, and by Thursday night you’re already looking forward to it.
12. Your sentences run on Darija autopilot. Safi, wakha, yallah and b’shwiya have infiltrated every conversation – even the ones in your mother tongue. Your family back home has learned what safi means out of pure necessity. (Want to sound even more local? Start with my market Darija phrases.)
How many did you score? One or two means Morocco is growing on you. Five or more – congratulations, the transformation is well underway. All twelve? Safi, you’re one of us now 🙂
More expat life: how Morocco compares to my homeland in Morocco vs Poland, what a real Moroccan wedding is like once you’re invited, and the practical side of making the jump in my complete guide to moving to Morocco.
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