people vs. places - 0:1

"Well, I didn't enjoy being with him as he was a total stranger and he was too open and entered my >>comfort zone<< but at least I enjoyed the view on the river and Hassan Tower from the window."

That is just perfect metaphor of my interactions with the Moroccan culture. I much more enjoy the places, the weather, the architecture than the interactions with local people.

I'll give you some context about the first sentence. Last night, I got home quite late. I was almost there when I met my Polish flat mate talking to the shopkeeper. It was around 11.30 PM. Then another Moroccan guy appeared and started speaking to us quite good English. He invited us to his place. We said "no" and promised to come over another time. So he was only supposed to show us where his flat was. I don't know why but I agreed (my friend was much more willing to follow him but she's just much more different than me in such cases). Unfortunately, we ended up in his apartment. Objectively speaking, he was really nice and totally not harmful. You might think that going to some total stranger's place is crazy but it doesn't work like this here. Here you can do it. Anyway, he was a bit rude to me because he saw I didn't want to be there and I was uncomfortable. I was just thinking "what the fuck am I doing here?" I left a while later. I don't know why but I just don't feel comfortable in such situations. It's just me. I don't fit here.

If you look at the people that I spend time with (I mean go to cafes, parties, hang out etc) you will barely see Moroccans (with really few exceptions). I simply don't have any deep connection with locals. I need to be able to talk with them about everything. And usually it doesn't work out. Not time for judgment here. People are nice but no connection. It's the fact. There is no compatibility of the characters between me and them. There are some things that I like more than in Westerners but there are things that I hate here in people as well. However, summing up everything I prefer European mentality. I mentioned it once but I will underline it again. One of my friend from Norway once told me that people up there are very cold but once you get to know them well, they can be friends for life. In Morocco, in most cases , I've an impression it is totally opposite. The man on the street at the very beginning told us "you are my friends". People here like using the word friendship. But if you ask them for a small favor or help it's not necessarily gonna happen (of course there are some exceptions). I guess I prefer people who are cold outside but warm inside than the opposite. It' just sometimes simply shallow here in many cases.

That's why my life here is about enjoying the weather, the trips, the landmarks, the atmosphere and of course hanging out with my international friends (as I mentioned before with some few exceptions). It's kind of a paradox - I live in Morocco and have not that much contact with local people. I live within the expatriates community which is something like a small enclave. It's true but fake at the same time. One is sure - it's full of interesting people, with whom you can have interesting conversation about everything. I hope I will have a similar environment very soon in Belgium!

And don't get my wrong! I will take the most of my experience here and will enjoy my last days in Morocco!