This past Tuesday, I created my first blog post for my Corporate Service Corps Assignment to Morocco this October and posted a link to it on my Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter pages. I was amazed by the amount and breadth of the support and encouragement that I have received from the communities. This experience has reinforced my belief that despite the many societal, racial and cultural differences that humans face, there is a fundamental good in the human experience that drives us to support, encourage and uplift each other.
One example of this came from a fellow IBM employee who I did not know well before my blog this past Tuesday. After reading my blog, she reached out to me and offered to help me answer any questions about Morocco that I have. She has not been to Morocco, but knows people who have lived there.
Some answers from this past week:
My question:
What are the top five cultural topics that I should be aware of?
Answer:
- No public display of affection
- It is a Muslim country, but they are cool people not very orthodox.
- Moroccans love soccer, they don’t follow baseball or hockey or basketball
- Moroccan cuisines to try out: couscous, bastilla, tagine ( i have tried tagine, its amazing).
- Morocco is ruled by a king and he is well respected and loved by the masses
My question:
How should I great someone? Is it different if the person is male or female? Government official vs business person? Should I use business cards? Any hints on what to do ?
Answer:
The Moroccan people are very warm and courteous but very reserved. Men usually hug and greet each other and you don’t hug women while greeting them unless you share a certain comfort level with them.
Finally, below is a picture of some of my church community which participated in a local 5K run yesterday. As some of you know, my wife and I have become serious runners over the last couple of years. Yesterday, we went to this 5K race with my church group not to race, but to encourage the others in their race. It was a wonderful experience to run with others and help them to achieve their goal of finishing this 5K race.
larry clevenger 