[agdidihlan]

Hey all,

I am moving back to Morocco very soon and I am very worried about everyday life there. Especially my social life! People there, I am told, are very different and have somewhat limited perceptions of things and life in general. We are also used here to a certain degree of personal freedom and we might feel frustrated with the so called Swab and Nifa9 Ijtima3i of Morocco. I am also told that career wise.......................... .........not the work environment that would be named healthy and motivating. Anyone has a brighter view of the subject?? Some white lies wont hurt at this point JK!!

[PureMinded]

Envoyé par agdidihlan ↑ Hey all, I am moving back to Morocco very soon and I am very worried about everyday life there. Especially my social life! People there, I am told, are very different and have somewhat limited perceptions of things and life in general. We are also used here to a certain degree of personal freedom and we might feel frustrated with the so called Swab and Nifa9 Ijtima3i of Morocco. I am also told that career wise.......................... .........not the work environment that would be named healthy and motivating. Anyone has a brighter view of the subject?? Some white lies wont hurt at this point JK!!

Where do you live ?

I don't think we can tell you about how your life is going to be in Morrocco.
It depends on the economic et social environnent you have there.

I don't think you have to be worried about anything, You can find very smart and clever people in morrocco just like you can find narrowminded and ignorant people where you live now And the Material side of life is also available in morrocco !
We need more informations to help you answering your questions, which city are you going to live in ? Will you be working ? where ? ...

[agdidihlan]

Hey Pureminded, thanks for your reply. I live in NJ and planning to live and work in Rabat. we are from Casa but family moved from there and I would prefer to live with them ( main reason why I am moving back) I am told only weird stories about those narrow minded and full of issues people in Morocco so I am freaking out since am very social and can only fully connect with link minded people living the same experience which I think would make the transition overall more fun

[PureMinded]

I understand that you are worried, but Rabat is quite a modern city where everything you need is available.

I don't know what you heard about morrocan people, but forget it all and go have your own opinion. Cliches are kinda useless. I'm sure you are going to like that experience, and especially the people.

And look at the good points, Morrocco is an emerging country full of opportunities !

what's your job ?

[agdidihlan]

I am mainly concerned about people rather than opportunities ( rze9 mn 3end lah). I am still finishing up my degree in Clinical psychology but since it needs forever to be done properly ( over 6 years) I thought of studying online and living with family and getting a translation job till I get my degree and hopefully the economic crisis here in the US would ease up by then.What freaks me out the most is the drama of social interactions, especially at work... here we barely take shit from anyone.... it would be hard to take it in your home country !

[qubit]

It's people like you who worry me the most. People with preconceived ideas about this country and its people, prejudices that date back to a good decade or two.

> People there, I am told, are very different and have somewhat limited perceptions of things and life in general

People everywhere have different perceptions of things. That's what makes people different. They have their own subjective perceptions of things. If you expect from other people to have the same perception(s) of life as yours, you are being irrational. I'm aware the word "limited" is key here, but it's subjective. What you rate "limited" could be nothing but a different moderate prospect of life, one that is not being forced onto you (not within this country, at least).

> We are also used here to a certain degree of personal freedom

So do we, here. Admittedly, not the exact same set of freedoms, as I already stated that things, indeed, are (as they naturally should be) different around here. We value our own personal freedom, and we enjoy it, so will you, whichever way you fancy.

> and we might feel frustrated with the so called Swab and Nifa9 Ijtima3i of Morocco.

See, prejudice. "Swab" is our own way of being polite. It doesn't mean we're being dumb hypocrites when we're being nice to each other and/or respectful of their personal space. In fact, we take this "being polite" thing a step further than what you might be experiencing in NJ; we "care" for each other. A complete stranger you meet on the street, this "swab" thing kicks in, and you, eagerly, give them a hand.

"Nifa9 Ijtima3i"... I will take a wild guess here and assume you mean that we don't do in public what we do in our own private space. If that is what you're getting at, I can think of a hundred examples of the same "Nifa9 Ijtima3i" going on within other cultures, including NJ's. You have to keep in mind that this is not something as simple as you're trying to make it out to be. It comes down to particulars, as in, particular cases and matters. Be more specific, and we'll provide feedback.


> I am also told that career wise.......................... .........not the work environment that would be named healthy and motivating.

We have work environments that are as healthy and motivating as they get, and we have working environments as unhealthy and uninspiring as they get. From my own experience, I only ever came across the former.

> I am told only weird stories about those narrow minded and full of issues people in Morocco

The US gets the most backlash for its narrow minded people. It doesn't mean I'm right in assuming that every person, group of people, town, city, state, are all nothing but a copy of a single narrow minded person.

> What freaks me out the most is the drama of social interactions, especially at work... here we barely take shit from anyone.

I bet all the bosses in all the US aren't unicorns. At work, either in Morocco or in the US, you'll take "shit" from your boss whenever he feels like giving you a hard time.


On a final note, given you study Clinical Psychology, I'm wondering why on earth would you worry so much about living in a new different environment, one that you relate to? Aren't you supposed to be (get ready for some prejudice of mine) all happy from the inside out and focused on your subjective well-being, rather than being worried about the views of those surrounding you?

[Erolisk]

I couldn't agree more with your statements qubit. A valuable lesson of wisdom that agdidihlan can learn from.

[agdidihlan]

Easy on me Qubit!! I was just sharing some of my concerns!
First of all those are not preconceived ideas. I just heard many weird stories so often from lots of Moroccans who moved back to Morocco and I wanted to know if it's that bad! You seemed like you got all defensive! I am Moroccan too and it's not my intention to denigrate my country and it's habitants! You were just talking about educated people and you forget that the majority of our people in Morocco are not that educated... many are full of self esteem issues that they don't keep for themselves. I never said here it's all perfect, but with firm laws and work courtesies, work life is much easier and less stressful ( not perfect).
What I meant by "limited" is the fact that I heard many complains of Moroccans from here who moved to Morocco, that people tend to get too personal and nosey about their personal lives and when you just prefer to stay discreet they label you as arrogant and distant...
What I meant when talking about personal freedom is that here no body gives a damn about what you're doing, you make your own decisions and take actions without people giving unasked for advices like in Morocco ( it's a form of being considerate I know, but I am told, they tend to get upset or start to criticize you when you don't take their opinion)
Nifa9 ijitima3i is the fact that you feel that you have to be pretend that you like someone and say things you wont do even when it comes to small insignificant stuff, which can lead to unnesessary drama when dealing with unreliable people espcially for improtant things.
Work environment, How many people failed to start up a business or had to leave work because of lack of professionalism? I am not saying here bosses are angels, but at least the majority of them are being professional in their interactions at work.

The reason I am worried is that ALL I heard are negative stories about living again in Morocco ( and God knows how many people I asked) so I wanted to have your opinions, thinking that maybe those I heard are subjective views! wa klitini a 5ouya or a5ti!

[agdidihlan]

Envoyé par Erolisk ↑ I couldn't agree more with your statements qubit. A valuable lesson of wisdom that agdidihlan can learn from.

I don't think I need a valuable lesson of wisdom but to know what to generally expect and how to best deal with it to continue having a tranquil and productive life

[qubit]

> you forget that the majority of our people in Morocco are not that educated..

Let me put it this way to you: The majority of people you will have to deal with, are actually educated. The rest, you shouldn't really worry about.

> many are full of self esteem issues that they don't keep for themselves.

That's an outrageous psychological assessment of people you haven't met or interacted with at all. Psychologically profiling a population based on second hand stories is absurd.

> What I meant when talking about personal freedom is that here no body gives a damn about what you're doing

No one really cares what you do here either. As long as you're not violating their own private space, no one will care. People who care about you (friends, family) sure will provide feedback on a regular basis, invasively at times yes, but they're not everyone, they're but those YOU surround yourself with.

> Work environment, How many people failed to start up a business or had to leave work because of lack of professionalism?

I get that's rhetorical, but do you, in fact, have any data/statistics to back this up? I sure am very interested to take a look at said data if you kindly care to provide it.

What I know for sure is that, start-ups have been very successful in this country the last decade. Young driven start-ups/businesses have actually rocketed the last few years despite the worldwide financial crisis.

And if you think we have it bad, work professionalism wise, I'll refer you to this very recent article:

http://www.tammycamp.com/2011/05/21/...itive-way.html

and the discussion it steered, here:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2571874


A final note: I apologize if my input is coming off as defensive, or if the phrasing is not to your liking.