FF – Foreign and Female

While this lethal combination definitely comes with its disadvantages in Morocco and in many countries for that matter, it is not without its perks.  

A few of the better highlights:
- Free Taxi Ride: It only happened once, but one afternoon when I had caught an empty taxi to La Mimosas, we stopped to pick up some other people who were going in the same direction (a completely normal occurrence here). They were two gentlemen who seemed very nice and tried to engage me in conversation, but the language barrier prevented most of that. When my stop came up, I attempted to pay the driver, but was stopped by one of the other passengers who said he would take care of it.
- Front of the Line: Aside from the fact that people in Morocco didn’t understand the idea of a queue (a line), I would occasionally find myself being pushed to the front of the line because I was a white girl. This especially paid off at the waterpark where they not only allowed us to go down the waterslides after turning away large groups of guys, but additionally, if there was a line they would call us up to the front so that we wouldn’t have to wait. It was a pretty sweet deal!
- VIP Access: The absolute best perk thus far of being a Foreign Female in Morocco came about on Throne Day when my roommate and I found ourselves stuck in a massive mob of concert goers, most of whom were male. Not wanting to place ourselves in a potentially risky situation, we noticed a group of people up front. Trying to make our way up to them, we quickly found ourselves blocked by three rows of jersey barriers. Noticing a security entrance at the side of the stage we decided to try and see just how far we could take the foreign card. Thanks to my amazing roommate and her impeccable grasp of the language, we had a nice little discussion with security who asked us if we had passes. Politely explaining that we did not but asking if we could still get in, with a smile, they asked us to wait while they conferred. Waiting a few minutes nothing seemed to be happening, so we inquired again. Being asked to wait yet again we just stood there, until a moment later they decided to let us in. Score another point for being foreign and female. We were granted VIP access (basically front row) to a concert with a lineup comprising some of the most well known Moroccan groups the country had to offer.