Photos in Morocco, Africa

Chapter 2: Intercultural Communication-Culture Shock
I wanted to show these photos as a testament to my time visiting Marrakech, Morocco, Africa and share my first instance that I encountered profound culture shock while traveling abroad. Up to this point I had been to Spain, Italy, Ireland, and England, and even though those are four different countries entirely as compared to America, I did not truly experience a feeling of distance to the states. Each country had the ability to give me what I needed, I saw the same restaurants, cars, buildings, etc. Therefore, when we got off the plane and our suitcases hit the cobblestone walkways (which had both donkeys, motorcycles, cars, and buses using the same paths) I was hit with an immense amount of shock. We were immediately whisked into this African lifestyle of bartering and making trades within the shops. I was also signaled out on the street as an American many times, mainly due to my blonde hair. They took advantage of the tourists they saw walking through, and tried to have you pose with their animals. They immediately demanded money after the picture which is what you see in the third picture here. Never before in my life did I feel like more of a tourist out of place and having to be careful and on the watch for fear of being taken advantage of. Although some vendors were so sweet, some were trying hard to trick you and I had to be conscious of that. All in all, I cherished my time in Africa because it truly took me out of my comfort zone and by experiencing that immediate culture shock, I was able to take a deep breathe and work hard through the differences in culture, to the best of my ability.