Looking for new friends!

Hi

I'm sorry to hear you are not enjoying your holiday.

Try the bars and discos, especially as you drink. You'll make lots of friends there, both Moroccans and expats.

Hi!

Thank you for the reply.. it is hard to bomb someone's table and ask to be friends hehe, im trying to go to those places i hope i will meet some nice people soon

You wouldn't have to bomb someone's table. They'll come and chat to you, Moroccans are such friendly people. You are Moroccan, you surely know this.

hehe i wouldnt do that anyways 

This evening i will explore new places in Gueliz area, it seems like a good spot to meet nice people

Oh, you're looking to meet foreigners?  Sorry, I didn't realise. Yes, Gueliz is a good spot for that, lots of chic cafés, restaurants, hotels and so on. I think that's a good idea. It can be pricey though, even for a coffee and certainly for a drink.

Good luck. I hope you feel less lonely after tonight.

im open to meet anyone really, just that meeting locals in the past had cost me issues ( sometimes they confuse politeness with flirting!).

Yeah it is pricey but you do get what you pay for!

Thanks alot! i hope the same! xx

oussama.sahloul wrote:

hey siham :p


okeey so let's planing for this next week end to hug out together and having fun ,
what are you thinking ?

Hey Oussama. Did you not notice that you are, allegedly, in Casablanca and she is in Marrakech?

oussama.sahloul wrote:

hey siham :p


okeey so let's planing for this next week end to hug out together and having fun ,
what are you thinking ?

It seems you're on this site to meet tourists/expats. What are you looking for, from these meetings? One can argue you're looking to improve your English. But I, and you, know exactly what you're looking for. I don't think she is looking forward to "hug out together" with you.

Hello again,

well that escalated quickly   i have no intentions of having those kind of meetings and i hope my message did not give out any wrong signals. All i am interested in is meeting friends that is all

these past 2 days i have met some wonderful people and we spent all the time chatting, going to nice restaurants/bars and swimming pools etc.. we had a great time!!

siham26 wrote:

Hello again,

well that escalated quickly   i have no intentions of having those kind of meetings and i hope my message did not give out any wrong signals. All i am interested in is meeting friends that is all

these past 2 days i have met some wonderful people and we spent all the time chatting, going to nice restaurants/bars and swimming pools etc.. we had a great time!!

I'm glad that you are having a better time on your holiday. As for the post upthread, I'm afraid that there are many locals who come on these forums either to scam or to try to use the blog as a dating site so that they can get a visa and leave Morocco. Very sad really, both for them and their (many) victims.

Unfortunately for them, I can spot them a mile off.

you are so right, i had an experience like that before, few years ago, so that is why i prefer to steer clear from the locals.. i would like to believe they are not all the same, just that the majority  seems to share that same mentality..

thank you very much i have actually made new friends and looking forward to meeting them again in the future

Hello Siham

Are things better than at the beginning of your holiday?

I hope you made some new friends. When are you going back to the UK?

Hi again Siham.  I see you are still lurking on the site sometimes, but you haven't been posting.

I'm probably going to Marrakech next weekend with some other expats, guys and girls, so we wondered if you would still be there. That's why I made the previous post, but maybe you have made enough new friends.

Let us know.

hi!,
haha not lurking at all, i just didn't have a proper time to reply.. oh i did not make many friends ..there is never such thing! ha

I am leaving in few weeks so next weekend  i  am definitely up for it! PM your whatsapp or some other way to contact you, it would be great

Thank you for letting me know! x

OK. If we come, I'll let you know. We are just talking about it right now.

My, what a long holiday you have! You must be rich! 

haha not rich at all.. i wish!..just took few weeks off work for  post operation recovery 

ok i hope you do come over to Marrakech :-)

siham26 wrote:

Hello again,

well that escalated quickly   i have no intentions of having those kind of meetings and i hope my message did not give out any wrong signals. All i am interested in is meeting friends that is all

these past 2 days i have met some wonderful people and we spent all the time chatting, going to nice restaurants/bars and swimming pools etc.. we had a great time!!

Your message did give out the wrong signals. You said you're from England, that's more than enough to attract the likes of Ousama and his ilk, who go around looking for foreigners for whatever ulterior motives they have in store for them. Even Moroccans themselves (living outside of Morocco), have advised me to avoid Moroccans IN Morocco. That is saying something. The few that I initially thought were decent, turned out only to be playing an act, as they wanted to get something out of me later on. While I enjoyed my trips there, I don't plan to go back any time soon. It's far too different to London, and I couldn't handle the culture & society.

siham26 wrote:

haha not rich at all.. i wish!..just took few weeks off work for  post operation recovery 

ok i hope you do come over to Marrakech :-)

You are very brave. I would have gone to my family if I were recuperating from an operation.

Anyway, I'll let you know if we go down there.

My parents are in Marrakech that is why im here :-)..i am not totally by myself, i wouldn't stay in Morocco on my own for this long!

Well Ion i do agree with you but it is so absurd to ask on an expat to meet up with new people in public places of course and get creeps your way..but we have to be smart here and we could use our common sense..these people will not get anything from you if you do not let them..for me I stated I was moroccan living in England, that was just to state the truth and introduce myself..I think I haven't misslead anynody and I am not responsible for what others look in this forum..
I am sorry you had a bad experience with Moroccans..I totally know where you're coming from..but I hope you get to enjoy another holiday here stress free :-)

siham26 wrote:

My parents are in Marrakech that is why im here :-)..i am not totally by myself, i wouldn't stay in Morocco on my own for this long!

Well Ion i do agree with you but it is so absurd to ask on an expat to meet up with new people in public places of course and get creeps your way..but we have to be smart here and we could use our common sense..these people will not get anything from you if you do not let them..for me I stated I was moroccan living in England, that was just to state the truth and introduce myself..I think I haven't misslead anynody and I am not responsible for what others look in this forum..
I am sorry you had a bad experience with Moroccans..I totally know where you're coming from..but I hope you get to enjoy another holiday here stress free :-)

Morocco does not miss me, and I certainly do not miss Morocco at all.

In London, no one talks to you, not even looks at you. When I went to Morocco, I had someone talking to me the moment I left the Airport. I'm not used to this. I don't entertain the idea of strangers coming up to me, and talking to me, asking me where I'm heading off too, so that they can direct me to the taxi to take. I like to be left alone, and decide at my own pace, what I want to do next, and which taxi to choose, without someone making the decision for me, which benefits them, not me. If I wanted their help, I would ask. But I didn't. Same happened at the coach station and elsewhere. I felt rushed. I don't like things that are hasty & choatic. There is so many things that are different in Morocco than England, which is why I couldn't handle it. Lack of professionalism, not understanding the meaning of "mind your business", a lot of "beggars" (no real need to beg, I even came across a "blind" beggar, who I later realized wasn't blind after all!), disorganized, a lot of lies, and how everyone seems to be trying to get something out of you, money or whatever. I don't think I once got the correct change. All in all, I think it's a country more suited to extroverts, those who don't mind choas and care little for order, and those who have a lot of patience with chancers and willing to forgive them.

Hi siham26,
Still in Marrakech? I'm new expat here and I'm also looking for new friends. And don't worry I'm from Czech Republic so don't need visa to Europe  .
I met already some people from CouchSurfing community but not many. I was expecting there will be much more opportunities to meet local or expats in Marrakech. But it's maybe because I don't speak French :-( I met just few so far.
So if you want to meet for tea, coffee or drink or for harira I'm in.
Vit

I'm sorry to say that we shan't be coming, Siham.

The guy who would have driven us to Marrakech must have eaten something bad as he has violent diarrhoea right now and has been sick in the night.

Perhaps another time.

Hey thanks for the reply vitek and sure, let us know if you're free this weekend.

Oh I'm sorry to hear that I hope he feels better!
Till the next time!

if you like to meet up then contact me please

Lon1,

What you said about the "pushy" culture in Morocco is, unfortunately, a very good description and I have come to expect this whenever I visit Morocco.  I feel the same way, I would rather be left alone until I ask for help, and not be harassed constantly on the street.  Of course there are exceptions, and I have been pleasantly surprised by people who went out of their way to help me without being asked, who did not ask for anything in return.  There is genuine kindness and caring, especially if you have been around long enough to become a familiar face so people know you are not just another tourist here today and gone tomorrow.  But if you are a stranger, for the most part, you are merely an opportunity to make some money or get something else.  And it is nearly impossible to get anything done for you there at the level of promptness, accuracy, and professionalism I'm used to having here in the US.

Basically, it is a good idea to not trust anyone in Morocco more than strictly necessary, to regard everything with skepticism, to expect even simple things to be at least twice as difficult to accomplish, and to accept it all as the price to pay for some of the other, wonderful, benefits of living in this colorful, warm, exotic, chaotic, very different kind of place.

Vitek, I am in Marrakech every so often, and am always looking to meet other English speaking Expats.  If you are around when I am and want to get a coffee and chat it would be a pleasure. 

Jen

JenB wrote:

Lon1,

What you said about the "pushy" culture in Morocco is, unfortunately, a very good description and I have come to expect this whenever I visit Morocco.  I feel the same way, I would rather be left alone until I ask for help, and not be harassed constantly on the street...

Hi Jen,

That was my old account - "Lon1". Maybe the pushy culture is suited to those who like quick answers, involving others in their decisions & getting things done quickly (without much thought to it). I'm an introvert & quite the opposite. I prefer to take things slowly, think about it, not involve others and make up my own mind about what I want to do next at my own pace. My brother who came along, is very different to me and prefers to ask & move quickly, so the fact people came up to him without him having to ask them, he liked it. Unfortunately this usually leads to making the wrong (more expensive) decisions because it's rushed.

So although I felt that people were not helpful (towards our wallet), we did come across genuinely helpful people who would, without us asking, help us unload our suitcases off the train without expecting anything in return & other acts of kindness. So that makes up for the times we got ripped-off.

In conclusion, I agree with you. Now I expect to get ripped-off, to meet nice people, not to trust anyone, and for things to take longer than what was originally promised. But there is at least some positives that makes you forget about those negatives. I've come to accept it's a different place and I have a love/hate relationship with it. I don't want it to change for me. I'm sure there are others who prefer not to be left alone, to beat scammers at their own game, the challenge of not getting ripped-off by listening to the prices given to locals, and not caring too much about attention to detail and accuracy.