After living in Morocco for two and a half months, I still don't feel like I've adjusted to the country. Perhaps one of the hardest things for me to get used to and not be affected by is the inactivity of the people. I'm not sure if all of Morocco is like this, or if it's just because I live in the medina where probably over 80% of the people have not graduated from high school or gone on to higher education, or if it's because of what I've seen from my host family, but I sometimes honestly feel like people here don't care about anything.
My host brother could probably care less for what goes on in world, he probably doesn't even know about the recent volcano eruption in Iceland and if he did, it would probably only pass as a brief moment of surprise. All he ever does or wants to do is watch TV or play on his PSP, I kid you not. I have never seen him do homework or study, even though he is retaking his last year of high school because he did not score well enough on the Bac last year (an exam taken in order to continue higher education). He doesn't seem to care about anything- he is one of the most inactive people I have ever met. He doesn't hang out with friends, is not involved in any activities or groups (the only thing he does outside of the house is Aikido at a gym), doesn't think about his future or what he wants to do. He isn't interested in politics or health or the environment or anything at all! Once in a while, he uses his brain and attempts to think or make observations about something, but he never acts on his thoughts or wants to find out more. Simply put, he is not motivated at all. Nor curious enough about anything to do something or step out of his comfort zone. He's never eaten food off the streets, probably hasn't been to a concert before, and has not tried any kind of ethnic food, which isn't very hard to get in Rabat.
My host sister is similar, though I think she's entering that girly age where she's getting interested in boys and relationships. One time, she invited me to go "running" with her along the beach. Literally, she ran for 15 seconds, stopped, and said she didn't want to run but wanted to walk. Instead of walking along the sidewalk, she took me off the path and onto a part of the beach where there were couples all over the place, kissing and holding each other. It was SO awkward. We walked along and she kept shyly sneaking peaks at couples and bursting out laughing at couples passionately engaged kissing. After I came back from a long run yesterday, she invited me to go "running" with her today. I guess she at least has dreams and put some thought into her life, though I'm not sure how far she'll get in becoming a famous actress in Turkey.
The men on the streets are still incredibly annoying and bothersome. Last week or the week before, some guy talked to me and followed me for a while. I kept ignoring him, but he grabbed my arm! Though I shook him off and kept walking, but he did it again! This time, I glared at him, shoved him off harder, and yelled at him, "Get off!" Luckily, a friend of my was nearby and came over to rescue me. I am so disgusted by most the men in Morocco. Young men, middle aged men, even old men have cat-called at me. Sometimes I wonder what Morocco's future looks like, if it has the potential to grow as a whole. Most of the Moroccan youth I have spoken with don't have the capacity to think critically or challenge fundamental ideas they've been raised with.
I guess I'm frustrated and questioning my sanity because of these vast differences that define who I am and the things I'm interested in. It's really hard not to get bogged down in a country where the majority of the people you encounter aren't active, physically or mentally, most of the time. It's sometimes really depressing being bored because there's literally nothing to do here except maybe shop in the streets, go to a café to eat something, or watch TV. My mind is rotting.
