The people in Morocco, when not trying to sell you something, have a great sense of humor and are very friendly. They share their food on the train, they have conversations with the people around them and then exchange numbers like they are the best of friends afterwards, they join in card games with you!!
When KA and I took the train from Casablanca to Marrakech (3 hours, second class) we sat in a train cabin where there is a bench on each side for four people each. Well, the trains are crowded, and as "grandma", we affectionately called her, in the corner began having a heated and animated debate with the guys across from her and next to us, they began crushing us against the window leaving a tiny bit of space on the bench. This, I guess, was an invitation for a 5th person to sit on our bench.
It was so hot. And they were all speaking in Arabic. The guy next to grandma kept looking at us and smiling because we were laughing at grandma and her hand motions. Then he pipes up in English saying they were talking politics. Then the two guys next to us, Akmed and Youssef (spelling is probably wrong) start talking to us in English and we proceed to talk and laugh about lots of things until grandma, in French, tries to get KA to agree to buy everybody in the cabin dinner. But this was only AFTER she took her shoes off and wiggled her foot up between mine and KA's legs!!!!
It must be noted that in the opposite corner from us were two debbie downers who spoke both French and English and basically refused to participate in the conversation (I'm assuming they were French, and grandma thought we knew each other because we were all, um, visibly non-Moroccan. Hahaha!). The Moroccan guy in the corner even had to apologize for engaging them. They sure missed out because we had a great time!
On the way back to Casablanca, we were playing cards, and the two guys next to us were watching us and finally spoke up asking what we were playing. So we described it and they both joined in!! We also learned a Moroccan card game, called "draw two and don't play" (but in Arabic of course), which was basically UNO.
I must say, our train rides were definitely a highlight of the trip!! And all the other people we met along the way - our hotel owners and tour guides - were extremely nice, very friendly, and made sure we had a good time and a Moroccan experience!!
FOOD
Moroccon food is delicious. First of all, there is always fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast, coffee, croissants, crepe like pancake things, bread, jam. Yum. Main meals consist of warm bread that is crusty on the outside but soft inside and kind of sweet, tagine (slow cooked stews of meat or vegetables), kebabs of meat or veggies, and dessert which can range from fresh fruit to flan to chocolate fondue to pastries!!! There's also delicious mint tea!! I miss it already!
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