Peace Corps Volunteers in Morocco aren’t trained in French. However, with the majority of them being tall and white they are often mistaken as French. The fact of the matter is that very few Moroccans can fathom why an American would be living in a small community in Morocco, let alone one who doesn’t speak French. The fact that many of these Americans speak Moroccan Arabic is confusing; that some speak Tamazight is flabbergasting! And that they still don’t speak French is unfathomable.
Luckily, most PCVs get used to dealing with this very situation. When a Moroccan is too dumbstruck to communicate with a white person in anything but French, there is always English. Only about five in a thousand Moroccans speak English, but to do so gets the message across that, thought you are tall, though you are white, you still are not currently, nor ever have been French.
Of course, this still does not solve the problem of communication much. Luckily, most PCVs get used to dealing with this very situation. When a Moroccan talks to a PCV in French for the first time, it is a reasonable guess they are asking something like “What are you doing here?” All a PCV can do however is to respond in English: “I do agricultural development to help create opportunities for economic improvement.”
However, as previously stated, most Moroccans don’t speak English. Luckily, most PCVs get used to dealing with this very situation. They simply repeat what they just said but give it the most ridiculous over-the-top French accent they can muster: “I do le development agricultural por help create le opportunitiés for improvmént du les écônømÿ.”
And 99% of Moroccans will understand.
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