Comments on: Marrakesh, You Broke Me Down

By: grrrltraveler

grrrltraveler — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:48:59 +0000

Standing ovation to you and for traveling Marrakech alone! I do think you should cut yourself more slack & look at how well you navigated Morocco as a whole. But I honestly- know how acclimating to extreme culture shock and craziness can break your vulnerabilities down. And you were actually just “a female tourist” who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, taking the passing hit for any one of us…

We traveled first to Fez. By the time we got to Marrakech, we were so numb and deaf to racial slurs (me and my gf are both Asian) . And actually, what we experienced wasn’t so different from what I occasionally get from NY construction workers! Anyways, we read somewhere that in Muslim communities like Morocco, there’s a definite line that’s NOT to be crossed between a man and a woman- the Muslim codes of propriety and touching, sexual harassment, etc… are pretty severe and is enforced by the community as a whole. If a man touches you inappropriately, you just have to yell and make your anger at the transgression known and the surrounding community will gang up on your transgressor! Going on that Muslim premise we felt kinda safe.

Because Marrakech is a larger more touristy city that’s definitely “polluted” with sketchier and bolder street characters, maybe things slide a bit; they know they can get away with the female tourists who are unsuspecting of their rules. Next time you go there and someone touches you, push them back, get angry, call for help and let everyone around you know you mean it.

By: Week Reflections and Favorites 11/20/09 » nancy.the.gnomette

Week Reflections and Favorites 11/20/09 » nancy.the.gnomette — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:06:11 +0000

[...] 2. Marrekesh, You Broke Me Down. I am always stoked to see pieces by Lauren at Lonely Girl Travels. Her piece on Marrekesh, published on GirlsGetAway this week, is authentic, passionate, and universal. (Check out the thought-provoking MatadorAbroad article she wrote this week too. [...]

By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:58:32 +0000

I can’t express how much I loved this piece. Beautiful and brutally honest. Oh how many times have I felt the last sentence of your piece while traveling.

By: Reaching Out My Tentacles « Lonely Girl Travels

Reaching Out My Tentacles « Lonely Girl Travels — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:51:51 +0000

[...] Getaway republished the post I did on my emotionally brutalizing day in Marrakesh. “Marrakesh, You Broke Me Down” appears in full, even with some of my own photos (though the girl pictured in the header is [...]

By: Candice

Candice — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:24:41 +0000

Wow, what a piece. My roommate just got back from Morocco two nights ago, and his description of Djemaa el Fna was much the same. I feel like I really got to know you with this writing, awesome.

By: Tamy Emma Pepin

Tamy Emma Pepin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:29:37 +0000

I LOVE this post. I’m going back to Morocco with my mother over the holidays and I just can’t wait to go stroll around Djemaa el Fna in the evening and bring back loads of goodies. Thank you for this, now I can’t wait till December xoxo

By: Susan Macaulay

Susan Macaulay — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:00:34 +0000

I’m based in Dubai and have traveled extensively, solo and in groups. I visited Marrakesh a couple of years ago on the way to hiking in the Atlas mountains, and I absolutely loved Djemaa el Fna, Marrakesh, and in fact everything about Morocco.

Such unwanted comments and attention are not confined to any one country. I have experienced the same in my native Canada, as well as the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

There’s not much use in feeling victimised by this kind of behaviour, wherever it occurs. The best way forward is to “fight” it by rising above it, and, in the long term to educate sons, brothers, husbands, fathers and all men that are part of our personal circle regarding what is acceptable and what is not.

By: lisa field-elliot

lisa field-elliot — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:26:03 +0000

stunning story. i’m touched, deeply, by your candor and insight.

By: Cara Lopez Lee

Cara Lopez Lee — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:22:15 +0000

I haven’t been to Marrakesh, but with a few minor changes you’re story vividly mirrors several of my own days as an American woman traveling alone in a bustling foreign city. The casual cruelty, the unexpected kindness, the ugliness, the beauty: you capture it all perfectly. I think you’re incredibly brave to dare Marrakesh alone. I spent 3 days alone in Delhi and that was challenge enough.

I also think you’re much too generous in assuming that the men thought it was OK to touch you so personally because it was part of their culture. People may touch each other more in that culture, but did you see any local men intimately touching local women whom they didn’t know? Probably not. I admire your recognition of culture clash, but cut yourself a break. Some people are just jerks, whether they’re from Morocco or the good old USA. Luckily many people are kind. Here’s hoping you meet less of the former and more of the latter on your travels.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:55:41 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by girlsgetaway: New story on girsgetaway: Marrakesh, You Broke Me Down http://bit.ly/49SKye by @travelerlauren #travel #lp…

By: Vera Marie Badertscher

Vera Marie Badertscher — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:26:40 +0000

What an incredibly moving story. And how wise of you to be able to recognize your own feelings and pass them on to us. Thanks for this unusual view of Marrakesh.