I was ecstatic when I found out that I was going to attend gMaroc. gMaroc is an annual Google conference held in Morocco. This year it was held in Mohammedia, a city between Casablanca and Rabat. To me Morocco is a faraway exotic land. One place that's on my wish list to visit.
One of my Mom's favorite movies is "Casablanca". When I saw it on the list of movies in the plane, I made sure to watch it.
I didn't get to see much of Morocco since I had to attend the event for two full days. I certainly loved the fact that we stayed at a beach hotel. It was the closest I got to a beach this year (poor me!). Much as I wanted to wade in the water or walk on the sea shore I didn't have time to do so (was badly jetlagged!). So I contented myself by taking some photos from my balcony.
Morocco is very different from all the places I've been to. I had my face plastered on the plane's window so I could check out the terrain. It was my first time to see a different kind of land. In Asia most of the places are either green because of trees and crops, in Africa everything was brown with a mix of black (still trying to figure out what those black spots were).
The culture is also unlike any I've encountered. Some colleagues told me that I should wear a scarf to cover my hair, but a friend who's visited Morocco said that I didn't need to since I was obviously a foreigner and they weren't that strict there. My plane seatmate also assured me that I was going to be okay without a scarf. I noticed though that only men and boys swam at the beach and the women were just sitting around covered from head to foot.
I had the chance though to learn more about local culture by chatting with some of the Google Student Ambassadors and Google Geo Advocates. I must've bored them a lot because I kept asking questions - mostly about how they conducted weddings and if their marriages were arranged (it used to be they said). Too bad though I wasn't able to sample any local food (we always ended up eating in French restos!), save for the Moroccan bread David passed around (it was yummy!).
Well, maybe someday I'd be able to visit Morocca again... but for a vacation!
*BTW, Filipinos don't need a visa to visit Morocco!
One of my Mom's favorite movies is "Casablanca". When I saw it on the list of movies in the plane, I made sure to watch it.
Now I know where my Mom based her hair-do.
I didn't get to see much of Morocco since I had to attend the event for two full days. I certainly loved the fact that we stayed at a beach hotel. It was the closest I got to a beach this year (poor me!). Much as I wanted to wade in the water or walk on the sea shore I didn't have time to do so (was badly jetlagged!). So I contented myself by taking some photos from my balcony.
Morocco is very different from all the places I've been to. I had my face plastered on the plane's window so I could check out the terrain. It was my first time to see a different kind of land. In Asia most of the places are either green because of trees and crops, in Africa everything was brown with a mix of black (still trying to figure out what those black spots were).
The culture is also unlike any I've encountered. Some colleagues told me that I should wear a scarf to cover my hair, but a friend who's visited Morocco said that I didn't need to since I was obviously a foreigner and they weren't that strict there. My plane seatmate also assured me that I was going to be okay without a scarf. I noticed though that only men and boys swam at the beach and the women were just sitting around covered from head to foot.
I had the chance though to learn more about local culture by chatting with some of the Google Student Ambassadors and Google Geo Advocates. I must've bored them a lot because I kept asking questions - mostly about how they conducted weddings and if their marriages were arranged (it used to be they said). Too bad though I wasn't able to sample any local food (we always ended up eating in French restos!), save for the Moroccan bread David passed around (it was yummy!).
Rick's Cafe is a replica from the movie (Casablanca).
Well, maybe someday I'd be able to visit Morocca again... but for a vacation!
*BTW, Filipinos don't need a visa to visit Morocco!
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