Last week, PC invited me to assist with a training event for the 1st year PCVs. There, I got a million compliments/pick up attempts from Americans/staff/randoms on my Moroccan butterfly dress. It was a nice little-pick-me-up. Even though most of my wardrobe consists of pieces I'd never wear in America, I am not too shabby.
Summer started early this year, meaning today was a relatively cool 97 degrees. My friend invited me to her evening wedding on the other side of town. In order to not sweat into my "party clothes," I wore the outfit pictured above. My plans were to change into a jellaba after I walked across town, since my jellaba is much too hot for the day time.
While wearing that green sheath (with white pants and a sleeved pink shirt underneath), I got harassed soooo much more than usual. Boys, men, and workers all stopped to oogle me, invite me to their homes or to "tea," call out how pretty I was, and, of course, remind me that I'm Chinese.
When I got to my friends' houses, they all asked me if I wore my outfit outside. Duh? Apparently, my butterfly dress (ok to wear outside if you're a young girl) is considered pajamas here in B-town. So basically, I dressed like a Victoria's Secret model (pictured above) and thus deserve my harassment.
I really wish Moroccans at the PC training told me that my pajamas were inappropriate to wear outside (or at a PC event), instead of chatting with me about the dress' Moroccan price or how great the color looked on me. Of course, city Moroccans dress more liberally than brousse Moroccans. But then again, with other female PCVs in shorts and tank tops, a lot of us were "inappropriate." To sum up: here's another case of a well-intentioned foreigner making a fool of herself in another country. *Slaps forehead with hand.
