Comparing Cultures

I am more than halfway through my time here in Morocco. After being here for over three weeks Fes begins to feel like home. I have a neighborhood I spend time in everyday, I have Moroccan friends I hang out with, and then shopkeepers I see everyday. After a certain amount of time, the new and different aspects of life and culture become the norm and the adaptation to a new life creates a new sense of normality. One difference between life in the states and here in Morocco that I enjoy and will miss is the community. This aspect of interpersonal action is even stronger in the old city where I live. At home in the United States we are a culture very much driven by the automobile, the concrete roadway, and sprawling development. To get anywhere, driving is a requirement and work and home are spread miles apart. Pedestrianism is hard to find and people are somewhat disconnected on a day to day basis. This isn't always the case for every community in America, but is a general theme in cities across the nation. Here in Fes, especially my neighborhood, the streets are filled with as many people as there are cars. I can walk down the side street from my family's apartment and pass numerous shops, bakeries, and vendors. On the main streets, people, mainly men, sit in cafes sharing coffee and conversation at all hours of the day. You can't help but interact with people wherever you go. In America it is easy to detach yourself from society and miss out on the biggest part of life: people and relationships. If I am walking around the Ville Nouvelle at school I say hi and have a short conversation with the barber close by and a local cafe owner. The barber shop I have only been in once, but he still recognizes me and asks how things are. I make a point to get something from the cafe about once a week, and whenever I walk by I say hi and he asks me how the arm is. "So far so good" I always say, we'll see soon enough. The medina is another world that cannot be found anywhere else. It is the largest car free area in the world. It is amazing to walk through narrow streets filled with nothing but people and exotic sights and sounds of the first through 21st centuries. The everyday connection with people and walkability of the city is something I will miss when I return home, and I will unfortunately have to drive to get most places. Fortunately, the demand and move towards a walkable urbanism is emerging in America and will hopefully will create stronger community. Though appealing, it does pose problems and migration pains for urban and suburban communities. The abundant human element is something I enjoy and will miss about Morocco. This also makes me think about current and future urban planning trends in the U.S. that you should check out. The next couple of decades hold interesting changing demographic and social trends that will reverse those of the past half century. There is your Moroccan cultural notes and something new to check out about American culture as well.

~Andrew