Solo travel struggles in Morocco/travel fatigue
Hi everyone! I’m so happy to have discovered this sub. I’m really sorry for the long first post, but I’m (24/f) in a bit of slump at the moment and need a quick rant and a little advice...
In the last four years I’ve happily travelled solo through 18 different countries on four different continents (not consecutively in one trip) and never had any issues. On this current trip I’ve been away since August, and five weeks ago I decided rather spontaneously to give Morocco a go. Obviously before I left I met with a lot of resistance from my family/friends and even had strangers telling me they “would never let their daughter go there alone”. Needless to say I didn’t put much stock in their warnings—none of the people I’d spoken to had been there themselves, and I believed their negativity was born out paranoia and prejudice. And besides, I have pretty thick skin. Wasn’t too worried.
Well. Turns out they were pretty much right. Maybe their concerns did originate from paranoia and prejudice, but their expectations were still much closer to reality than my own. I feel exceedingly naïve. It’s not just the catcalling. I have been followed multiple times by men on foot and in cars. And what’s worse than whatever words they usually say is when they just walk up to me and make these strange, vulgar “kissing” sounds.
If you’re wondering: I completely cover up when I go out, don’t wear make-up, speak a little French and Arabic, and generally hope to be as unobtrusive and unnoticeable as possible. I’ve read through old posts from women on this sub and I it seems like my experience is unique, so I feel a bit ridiculous and feeble. What I think/hope it boils down to is the length of my trip. It was a bearable nuisance during the first two weeks (which I think is the normal length of a trip to Morocco, I’ve now realised), and if I’d left after that I probably wouldn’t have felt so troubled. But right now I’m about ready to don a burka or book a flight home.
TL;DR: I really wanted to like Morocco, but I don’t feel comfortable anywhere. I have to stay another three weeks and can’t leave earlier as I have a personal obligation to attend to in the last few days before my flight out.
Has anyone had a similar experience or gotten to a point in a long trip where you just felt like you were done? How did you deal with it? I have standing plans to go to France and Spain after this, so I’m looking for ways to bounce back not pack up and go home. I’m just a little mentally spent at the moment
Submitted March 01, 2018 at 08:27PM by jesuisunzebra http://ift.tt/2F5FxYc
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