Day 40

I was woken up this morning by the noon announcements. 

Which confirmed that there will be "violent rolling" as we head into the port of Casablanca tomorrow morning at about 6:30. 

Crap. Molly was right. 

We were told to secure all loose items in our room. To put things away so that nothing will fly across the room in the middle of the night. 

Later, we were sitting at the snack bar and talking to Heidi, one of the life long learners, about the rocking. She said that she didn't remember it being all that bad. Then Dr. Dave walked up and so did Rita and they both said that it is just this one patch going into the port where the waters mix. It is always there and so is predictable and it just makes the ship pitch like crazy. Hopefully I will sleep right through it. It may be time to cave and take some seasickness meds. 

Everyone was up on deck 7. I missed lunch so I went up there to see if I could get something to eat at the pool bar but it was so packed that I did not feel like waiting. Everyone was sunbathing and playing ping pong and chilling in the pool. It was a beautiful day and I probably should have taken advantage of it by sitting outside but I had to watch a movie for my International Management class. 

We all have T.Vs in our room. I don't think I talked about it in my Life at Sea posts. There are only a few channels. One of them shows a map of where we are and moves with us when we are traveling. It also lists all of the bridge report stats, except the temperature, which is frustrating, and it plays a smorgasbord of music. Basically like a very random, varied radio station. It likes to go through phases. One time there was a lot of T-swift all in a row and another time it was some harder rock music for a while. Its a hit or miss. 

Channel 4 is the feed from the Union. So if there is a pre-port going on or a talk they will broadcast it into our rooms. 

Channels 2, 3, and 5 and I think maybe 6 play movies. The movies rotate day to day, start at 9am and play on a constant loop. 

They are all academically based because of copyrights, although there are some ways to get around it. Yesterday they were playing Casablanca because, you know, that is where we are going. 

Our Management teacher scheduled a movie for us to watch so that we can discuss it in class. Today was that day. It was On the Waterfront, a black and white gangster movie about the operations of the ports of New York City. We are focusing on ports in class so it was fitting. 

I'm not big on black and white movies so I wasn't really feeling it, and it was a little confusing, but it was pretty good. Basically a gangster was controlling the operation and workers in the port and was killing people off that he didn't like. Then, the guy played by Marlon Brando, was going to testify against him and couldn’t decide if he should or not, and then stood up to him at the end after getting the crap beat out of him. 

Something like that. 

That’s a rough summery. 

And I was only half paying attention and may have fallen asleep. 

After the movie I had dinner with my family and Lori was telling us all of the horrors that we were going to be told during our pre-ports. 

Ok, not horrors. Just the culturally different things that will make our visits to these countries very interesting. 

The second half of this voyage is going to get interesting. This is when one grows as a person. And apparently Morocco is going to kill us,.

Cultural Pre-port was hosted by our interport guest from Morocco. I learned a whole lot. This is a completely different part of the world, obviously. 

They are a lot less individualistic. We have talked about this cultural difference in class quite a bit. They act more as a group and think less about their own needs and more about the needs of the group. They believe the guest is a friend of God and as a result they are very hospitable and kind to visitors. 

They are much more conservative. Our culture on the ship is to wear anything anywhere. And to not where very much. As our lecturer said, we need "A lot less less, and a lot more more." 

They are offended by clothes that don't cover 'private' body parts. For women that is from the wrist to the ankle and for men is from the shoulders to the knee. 

Their gender roles are a lot stricter. The women are more comfortable in the home while the men are more comfortable out and about. 

If you are traveling in a group with a man, Moroccan men will address him rather than you – it is out of respect to you and you will not be ignored if you join the conversation. We have been warned that if we are with a man in a restaurant we should be prepared for him to do all of the ordering for us. It doesn't happen everywhere but it does happen. Especially if it is one male and a few females. 

Harassment of tourists is more prevalent here, especially sexual harassment. Extra long handshakes, grabbing your backside, and even blatantly asking to go at it on the street. This is because of the portrayal of the west in films. Sex is so prevalent and out there that they assume we are all like that and will be willing. 

But, a Moroccan women would never tolerate inappropriate behavior so we shouldn't either. We shouldn’t be afraid to blatantly tell someone to get lost. 

We can prevent it by being polite but formal when talking to men, and to appear a bit more attached to the men traveling with you. If they think you are spoken for, they won't bother you as much. 

Body language is important. It is rude to put your feet up and point the soles of your feet toward other people. Female to male touching, like handshaking, is not appropriate. The ok signal when you form a circle with your forefinger and thumb is a very rude gesture. Thumbs up means up yours. Pointing is rude, using the left hand is considered unclean, pulling the bottom of your eye down means shame, and yes sometimes means maybe. 

Well, that’s a lot to remember.

If we do offend someone or are apologetic about something: a hand on your heart and a bowed head means 'I'm sorry'. 

Also, if you clean your plate they will probably bring you more food so you should leave some to indicate you are done. They have less of a space bubble and will stand close to each other to have conversations. Men are very affectionate towards each other in a non sexual way. They will walk around holding hands and will kiss each other on the cheek. Interestingly, homosexuality is forbidden within their religion. 

The best advice that they gave us is to just fly under the radar and observe. We can't control what is already in their minds. Conservative is safe, and following the locals when in doubt is a start. 

The logistical pre-port got even more interesting. 

We learned how to use a squat toilet. 

Squat. Toilet. 

And I was left with a lot more questions than answers. 

They had a video but it didn't work and so Dean Eddie demonstrated it. Don't worry, I video taped it. 

A squat toilet is basically a hole in the ground…that you squat over. 

These were the tips we were given: 

• Don’t leave anything in your pockets
• Bring your own toilet paper
• Don’t expect any privacy. 

Wait… that's it? What about if you are wearing pants? In the demonstration he said he was in a skirt. That doesn't help. 

Some of them actually flush, others have a bucket of water next to it that you just throw in the hole.

Dear god. I am not peeing the entire time. 

Dr. Dave had a lot to tell us. Don't pet the animals, there are high risks of rabies in every country we are traveling to from now on. Wear a lot of sun screen, the sun will murder you. 

Travels Diarrhea. 

Sounds fun. 

It's a real issue from now on.

We can't, or shouldn't, drink the water. This sounds simple except when you think about the fact that that means you also can't use ice. And what is lettuce washed in? So we can't eat salads. 

Basically the rule is, "boil it, peel it, or forget it." Not only should food be cooked but it needs to still be hot. 

As a precaution they are recommending that we pre dose Pepto Bismol every day. 2 tablets, three times a day, the entire time we are in country. 

Ok, so I will not be peeing, drinking, or eating for the next four days. 

The good news is that I am on a SAS sponsored trip. So our food should be safe and I hopefully won't be sleeping on the floor with bugs. It makes me feel better. 

I am now sitting in The World According to Boyer: Morocco. Boyer is that professor that makes me want to transfer schools because he is so good. 

He is talking about oil throughout the world, because the middle east has so much. Although Morocco is out of it. 

I learned that Antarctica is the largest desert on the planet.

I have never found history so interesting. Seriously, he is awesome. There are some people who are painful public speakers and he isn't one of them. 

Molly and I decided that we are going to coordinate our packing for the camels. That's right, Molly is on the camel trek with me, and we already signed up to room together. Cody is on the trip too. The three best friends are back together. Paris fun repeat? 

But really, coordinated packing. We are going to be on camels and I really don't think we need double the toothpaste and shampoo. Packing light to the extreme. 

We leave tomorrow at about 10 o'clock. I say about because we all have to go through customs which involves a customs official coming on board and doing face to face passport checks. It could take anywhere between two and four hours. 

Obviously we are going into the desert so you all will have to wait for the story. The trip is 4 days/3 nights. We get back on Sunday at about 17:00, which is 1 hour before ship time. The ship will depart Morocco at 20:00 that night. 

It is then that we begin a 8 day stretch at sea to get to Ghana. Lots of time to blog then. I will have to get interesting. 

But. Morocco first. CAMELS. And a nomad camp. 

No water, peeing in a hole, the risk of offending someone at any moment. 

This should be fun.