In my experience, Morocco is a strange juxtaposition of extreme kindness and sweetness, to loud and robust anger – – followed by a hug and a kiss. The pendulum swings wide. One minute two people are screaming at each other in an intersection, the next they’re hugging and kissing with hands over their hearts. Or a driver nearly plows through a group of pedestrians and the next they’re all sweet and apologizing about who’s in the wrong, incha’allah. I think the language itself lends itself to that because it’s so up-and-down in intonation that it sometimes might sound angry when really it isn’t. And they use hand gestures that in the USA we would be inclined to say ‘calm down!’ But here? Normal.

Being here has taught me to calm down. Tranquil. Incha’allah. Things are going to happen as they are so I might as well calm down about it and take it slowly. I like it. I like not being in the rat race. Incha’allah.