Checking out of Riad Zolah

Today we leave Marrakech and our wonderful guesthouse Riad Zolah. In the picture you see me standing with Ismail, the riad's manager. He, Aziz and the rest of the riad staff were very gracious and hospitable throughout our stay. Each day they would book fantastic restaurants for us or draw maps so that we would not get lost. We particularly enjoyed speaking with Aziz on many occassions regarding everyday life of Moroccans and Americans. It was fun to see all the similarities and differences. Family is important in both cultures, but in different ways. In Morocco, when a man gets married, the wife moves into the husband's family home. Everyone continues to live in the family home and help out. This is not terribly different from Taiwan, but it is different from America. Seems that the general belief is that Americans/Westerners do not care as much about family since we all move away.

Aziz confirmed that in Morocco there are discount shops similar to outlet malls and we also noticed young people listening to American pop music. So in many ways things are very similar to Western life. In fact, Aziz changed out of his traditional robe and into baggy khakis and a denim shirt before leaving. We really enjoyed our chats with Ismail and Aziz, and it was nice to get a hug goodbye from our new friends.