I am coining a new word for Morocco, Beautifully Challenged. Sitting with the Director of an American school in Casablanca, I can’t
help, but feel so thankful for our brief discussion. I had met with him in regards
to becoming a referral service for Psychological counselling for students.
While I had heard many positive things about their school, it was clear that there students had the same common problems of students ranging from addiction to divorce to truancy. He presented their student populations, issues, and I shared my experience. Working in Morocco for two years, he stated that that the culture definitely has its challenges (my word of the week). I asked him, “How challenging is it in comparison to other countries you have worked in abroad?”
“The Most Challenging.”
All the statements are of course general
statements and do not apply to everyone in any way and also change with type of
person and context. We had deeper discussions on each point, but in general most of his points are true with certain people. They do
hold validity between his experiences for 2 years and my experiences for the
past six months.
While I had heard many positive things about their school, it was clear that there students had the same common problems of students ranging from addiction to divorce to truancy. He presented their student populations, issues, and I shared my experience. Working in Morocco for two years, he stated that that the culture definitely has its challenges (my word of the week). I asked him, “How challenging is it in comparison to other countries you have worked in abroad?”
“The Most Challenging.”
This gave me such a sense of relief and made me Thank my higher power
that I was not alone facing these cultural battles. We had a discussion about the “Yes” and “No”
and the inability to be direct. Before
he would say things he would make sure to say, “This is a general statement” to
ensure that these statements do not apply to everyone, but many people of
course.
A few new interesting analyses he brought to the table:
People communicate to get a response
rather than just communicating. True
People can function with a 1950s mentality and people function similar
to a Japanese or Chinese culture.True
People are not aware of how much they need your help due to a huge lack
of insight and awareness. True
The poor have better morals and values than the rich True and False
After our discussion, I just felt so comforted and thankful to speak
with an intelligent, well travelled, educated, and experienced individual like
him. He gave me some business tips and I again, see the market for my services, which is to help boos the economy by helping students get into US schools and then bringing them back to Morocco to work-brilliant.
While he loves Morocco and says it
is a beautiful country, he takes the time to analyze what he sees within the
culture. Both of us speak positively
about Morocco and how smart Moroccans are and how the country does have
potential to grow and become great. Of
course, these changes take time, but they also take an effort from the
people-the government to do more for their people, to believe in them, and
support them on a educational level and professional level. It is so difficult for a Moroccan to get a
job, but a French, American or European takes priority. I have this reminder from time to time when people
tell me they have their job now, but they never know what the future
holds.
In these American schools, they are designed for wealthy Moroccan families to give them the best
education. It should not be that the only children who get a good education are
those who are rich( Of course this statement is very general, but true) or those
who can afford French schools and American schools.
Each and every Moroccan deserves a fair
chance because most of them are good at their core center being.....
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