Morocco Day Two: "Welcome to Morocco!"

This hotel keeps being awesome.  My room is a beautiful little alcove with a window over the street and a huge double bed.  The hotel has a terrace that looks over the big square in the center of the city.  The guys who run it keep getting nicer.  One of them took me into the souks today and ran me around to the best shops in town, the ones down little streets where tourists fear to tread.

Like I'm so intrepid, I realized how walking around with someone to his family friend's store makes me essentially obligated to buy one thing or another.

And that brings me to "Welcome to Morocco".  It is, without a doubt, the phrase I have heard the most in my time here.  It's a close second to "Hello" or "Bonjour" or "Salaam".  It seems like whoever first translated this phrase meant it to replace "I have no idea what you're talking about" and "Fuck you".

I argued for twenty minutes with a guy over a price and finally got a somewhat reasonable price.  He gives me my change and says "Welcome to Morocco".  Which I think translates to "I just ripped you off, stupid tourist."

I got annoyed with a guy who wouldn't let go of my hand even though I didn't want a tour of the street I was walking down and he lets go and says "Welcome to Morocco".  Translation: "Suck it up"

I was trying desperately to explain that I wanted help buying a hat so I don't burn my face off in the desert and the guy at the hotel throws up his hands and says "Welcome to Morocco".  Translation: "I don't speak English."

So.

Desert tomorrow.  Involves a 1.5 hour camel ride.  When I have children, they're going to walk with a limp because of this.