Manjula goes blogging...

I was in Casablanca eating breakfast at good ole American Dunkin’ Donuts, wearing a wedding band, and feeling quite amused by the oddity of the situation….

When I found myself en route to Casablanca to begin sea turtle surveys in Morocco, I knew I would be working in a more conservative environment, but I still associated the city with romance, Rick’s Café, Humphrey Bogart, “As time goes by,” and exotic settings. Of course, Casablanca turned out to be quite different from Hollywood’s studio set up - a regular city bustling with noise and traffic and people. Morocco is one of the more westernized countries of the Arab world and in Casablanca one sees a fascinating blend of western and traditional culture. But, it is not necessarily the easiest city to negotiate as a woman. Alone in the city, between trips up and down the coast, I had to make adjustments to avoid being hassled. I ate at McDonald’s and Pizza Hut to avoid being mistaken for a lady-of-the-night at local restaurants where unaccompanied women are rare, wore a fake wedding band to ward off courting strangers, spun tales about an imaginary husband who was just around the corner, accepted sympathy from strangers because my husband and I had no children….but, these were minor drawbacks compared to the overall experience of living and turtling in a culture that is rich, warm, alive, curious, and non-sterile…