One aspect of your country specialisation that differs from life in Melbourne would be the social norm of dress-code. As a Muslim country, the standards of dress, particularly for women, vary greatly from the western world.
So why does this massive difference exist? As previously mentioned, Morocco is a Muslim country. A country where romantic interaction between men and women prior to marriage is rare, which is a dichotomy to the western world where we don’t generally follow the normal Moroccan custom to refrain from sex before marriage. So in essence, the dress code can be traced to historical and religious values that we may not, as a society, share with Morocco.
Walking around in Morocco in less than modest clothing can falsely advertise that we, as tourists, do not respect the local customs. This may sound extreme but can often be the perception if showing what is perceived in Morocco as ‘private’ parts of our body, particularly in religious places.
Having travelled around southeast Asia, including countries such as Myanmar and visiting countless Pagodas and religious landmarks, the idea of having to wear long clothing into these sites is not foreign to me, and i don’t think this would personally be the cause for much culture “shock” when in Morocco. However, the adaptation to applying these rules of a modest dress code to not only when in religious places but to everyday life would be substantially more “shocking” or difficult to adapt to.
“A big reason tourists to Morocco ignore the dress code is because of the heat.” (The Hostel Girl, 2017) So to minimize the culture shock of arriving in Morocco in potentially immodest clothing, I would research on what to wear when traveling in a Muslim country.
References:
The Hostel Girl. (2017). Morocco Dress Code: How to Dress in Morocco. [online] Available at: https://thehostelgirl.com/how-to-dress-in-morocco-a-complete-guide-to-morocco-dress-code/ [Accessed 8 Oct. 2017].
Tasharafna Morocco 