What goods to bring back to morocco from U.S.?

[msheesha 548]

Uh, wrong, but nice show of continuing to generalize.

[Lisamarie 79]

lol.....

Mine are in Marrakech, and they're just normal, everyday people. They're not materialistic and they were the sweetest, most welcoming family to me.

Uh, wrong, but nice show of continuing to generalize.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

All of you probably have Fesi inlaws.. judging all Moroccans based on Fesi people is like judging all Americans based on people from LA or New York. And you probably stayed in hotels that looked like the brochures in the airplane seats on RAM. I was fortunate to see real Morocco. I love it, but it ain't a bed of roses.

I took a bath in a toilet because the house didnt have a bath or a shower and you had to take bowls of bowling water, sit on a stool over an open sewer and if you wanted a shower, you had to walk down the block. We had water 4 times a week collected in a barrel that you had to boil just to safely wash with and rats the size of cats walked the halls. I have absolutely no idea where anyone elses family lived but you cannot generalise ever about anywhere in mena. There are so many classes of people there and so many levels of poverty. I forgot to mention the 40 foot pile of open garbage behind the apartment and the piles of garbage everywhere around the apartment, dogs and cats roaming the neighborhood. Everyone who goes to mena has a completely different experience. In the apartment I was in , there was a brothel upstairs. You cannot expect everyone from there to have a perfect life or lots of money nor to be unmaterialistic. The poverty level I saw was horrifying to say the least but I wasnt insulated in a tourist hotel, I was in urban poor neighborhoods in a major city

[Mithra 1,185]

I this forum. Even the most innocent of threads turns into a competition of some sort. The OP just wanted to know what kind of gifts to bring her inlaws, lol.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

I never got the sense that many women on forums stayed at hotels at all, most I know stayed with their SO's family when visiting Morocco. Is that not more common?

My SO's family is not from Fes. His relatives do range from middle to upper-class, though. It sounds like my experiences there are markedly different from some posters', but I don't think they are any less "real." Of course, I don't think life in big US cities like NYC or LA is any less "real" or "American" than it is in smaller towns, either. Anyway, it sounds like people's SO's are from a variety of backgrounds in Morocco and many are reporting different experiences on this whole materialism or gifts topic. It seems to me like we'd learn more if we could just state our own personal experiences without discounting other points of view as wrong or only got to see a sanitized or limited sliver of the country. That probably applies to almost all of us to some degree or another, anyway!

Back to the original topic, I've had good luck with Little Debbie snack cakes, slim-fitted button-down shirts or polo shirts for men, belts for men, hair spray and hair gels for everyone, and skin care products for women. I've had terrible luck trying to bring candy other than Little Debbie. At least my SO's family strongly prefers creamy light milk chocolate to harder candies and to bittersweet dark chocolate. I wonder if that might be a cultural thing because I find a lot of Moroccan cuisine and especially the tea as far sweeter than what we tend to have in America. I tried bringing a few athletic tshirts once that were baggy the way men in America wear them and that was a disaster. Of course everyone has always been polite and thankful, but I could tell the baggy stuff and the bittersweet chocolates weren't something they would want again. I've also had good luck with flavors of Pringles that aren't available there, making sure there is no pork in them, and I've had bad luck with Gatorade and Kool-Ade. Good luck with gum, tissue packs, hand sanitizing gel, and medicated lotions, but I've never given that as a real present. Same with advil. I once brought menstrual products because I had heard what we have in the US is different and better but later I was in a store in Morocco and I saw stuff that looked to my eyes identical to what we have here.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

I also brought a few tight muscle shirts for the guys and those were a huge hit.

[Yass 0]

Seriously too much drama in this thread. In Morocco there are dozen of different races( Chaleh, Riffi, Soussi, Marakesh, Fassi, Arbi, Hassani, Mzabi, chawi\ etc......) is like you trying to compare apples and oranges. Everyone's family is different.

The OP asked for what she should bring to Morocco, I will say the best thing to do is get the wish list from your husband and go from there. Some families won't like it if you brought them cheap stuff.

I'm from Casablanca, I have no idea why do you need to bring candy and food all the way from US to Morocco. When everything is available in Label Vie and Metro.

Edited January 16, 2011 by Yass

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Seriously too much drama in this thread. In Morocco there are dozen of different races( Chaleh, Riffi, Soussi, Marakesh, Fassi, Arbi, Hassani, Mzabi, chawi\ etc......) is like you trying to compare apples and oranges. Everyone's family is different.

The OP asked for what she should bring to Morocco, I will say the best thing to do is get the wish list from your husband and go from there. Some families won't like it if you brought them cheap stuff.

I'm from Casablanca, I have no idea why do you need to bring candy and food all the way from US to Morocco. When everything is available in Label Vie and Metro.

I have found mascara always works...and American perfume and make up

Morocco and Algeria and Egypt have their JERRY SPRINGER families just like the USA does. If I took you to dinner with my mother and father and they praised Morocco up and down it would be a different story than if I drove you through a trailer park in Narcoosee and you got to listen to an hour long speech about them fereners coming over here and taking our jobs and you got to meet the ex wife of the mans sister who is now the mans new wife and hes cheating on her with their cousin. Everyone has value in this life and calling people trash is unkind . But I have met my share of drama queens and and weirdos in the mena population just like in the American population.

We have to just accept and be patient with each other

[Yass 0]

I have found mascara always works...and American perfume and make up

Morocco and Algeria and Egypt have their JERRY SPRINGER families just like the USA does. If I took you to dinner with my mother and father and they praised Morocco up and down it would be a different story than if I drove you through a trailer park in Narcoosee and you got to listen to an hour long speech about them fereners coming over here and taking our jobs and you got to meet the ex wife of the mans sister who is now the mans new wife and hes cheating on her with their cousin. Everyone has value in this life and calling people trash is unkind . But I have met my share of drama queens and and weirdos in the mena population just like in the American population.

We have to just accept and be patient with each other

What is this has to do with what the OP asking for and what I said? and whats the purpose of that video? what is your motive? and what is your sole intent?

Anyway, those who have an in-law family with manners, will accept any gifts you offer. Others doesn't need your gifts, and they will stat that before you travel from US to your in-law family.

I didn't praise Morocco, Morocco has it up and down, and we are not here to debate the life situation over there.

I stated that I don't understand what the purpose of bringing food from US to Morocco when everything is available in Label Vie or Metro.

If this continues I wouldn't be surprised to see this move way off-topic.

[Jenn! 918]

The OP asked for what she should bring to Morocco, I will say the best thing to do is get the wish list from your husband and go from there. Some families won't like it if you brought them cheap stuff.

So what would they do if you brought them Little Debbie snacks? Will the wish list then be for things like iPhones and Armani?

Gift giving just should not be so complicated!!! Argh!

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

What is this has to do with what the OP asking for and what I said? and whats the purpose of that video? what is your motive? and what is your sole intent?

Anyway, those who have an in-law family with manners, will accept any gifts you offer. Others doesn't need your gifts, and they will stat that before you travel from US to your in-law family.

I didn't praise Morocco, Morocco has it up and down, and we are not here to debate the life situation over there.

I stated that I don't understand what the purpose of bringing food from US to Morocco when everything is available in Label Vie or Metro.

If this continues I wouldn't be surprised to see this move way off-topic.

I meant it in response to squeaky who had posted that she had seen alot of crazy stuff while living there. My response is that there are all kinds of families and all kinds of crazy stuff in every country.

Personally, I spent hundreds after requests from everything from American cigarettes, to make up, you name it . Not wanting to not bring something, I actually had to borrow money to get all the things I was asked for , I went to Algeria not Morocco and I was absolutely expected to bring things, mostly cigarettes because of the expense there. I brought medical supplies. If I didnt bring anything, no one would have been mad at me but they did ask and still do , even from here. I was asked for specific shoes, for baby things, for shoes for children, for spices, I had literally 20 requests. Even uggs,things I even couldnt buy myself. Some of the most impoverished people had a better phone than me and clothes too. They lived without a bathroom with water running through the walls but looked great...

You can never ever generalise one way or the other about anyone or anything and that goes both ways. I have seen Moroccans over here generalise about American families when they dont know any personally nor interact with a regular American family outside the job they work and the apartment they live in or someone s wife they know. There are many levels of education, life experience, travel overseas, etc. That goes absolutely both ways. The topic is not going off track because it doesnt need to. I think we have all agreed to agree that you cannot generalise about an entire group of people because there will always be exceptions to the rule. But its absolutely ok to talk about personal experiences...I have had some really wild ones over the last 9 years in Tunisia and Algeria and honestly,I have seen things that even when I tell people living here from there,they just shake their heads. When you live some place for longer than 2 weeks and in a hotel, you learn alot more than if you just go for 2 weeks and stay in a hotel , insulated from the reality of everyday life.

The important thing is we should never generalise. That means Americans about MENA but that goes their way to, them about us.. Generalizations go both way and there are many misconceptions about Americans in MENA as well. The more we understand our similarities, the better we will all be

[Crossed_fingers 128]

OK, I'm feeling the need to point out that I didn't wrap the Little Debbie snacks in fancy paper and present the box as if it had gold in it. I just shelled out the $2.50 and put the 5 ounce package in my luggage because not every American food product is for sale in Morocco and my SO's family likes it. The same way my brother liked it when a friend of his from Brazil brought him flavors of Gatorade we don't have in the US, the same way I liked it when a friend brought back chocolate coated cookies from Japan we don't have here, the same way my family requested certain candies sold in my large American city and not in their town, and the same way my parents bring local candies and jellies from their part of America when they see me in mine. Had I never seen chocolate coated cookies before? No.... Was the Gatorade expected or demanded? No.... Was it insulting that my parents brought me locally jarred jelly? No.... Was it a big deal? No.... Was it as impressive as if they'd brought jewelry? No.... Was it appreciated just because it was kind of neat to see a touch of something local to other people but not to me? Yep!

[Lisamarie 79]

Amen to that

OK, I'm feeling the need to point out that I didn't wrap the Little Debbie snacks in fancy paper and present the box as if it had gold in it. I just shelled out the $2.50 and put the 5 ounce package in my luggage because not every American food product is for sale in Morocco and my SO's family likes it. The same way my brother liked it when a friend of his from Brazil brought him flavors of Gatorade we don't have in the US, the same way I liked it when a friend brought back chocolate coated cookies from Japan we don't have here, the same way my family requested certain candies sold in my large American city and not in their town, and the same way my parents bring local candies and jellies from their part of America when they see me in mine. Had I never seen chocolate coated cookies before? No.... Was the Gatorade expected or demanded? No.... Was it insulting that my parents brought me locally jarred jelly? No.... Was it a big deal? No.... Was it as impressive as if they'd brought jewelry? No.... Was it appreciated just because it was kind of neat to see a touch of something local to other people but not to me? Yep!

[Jenn! 918]

OK, I'm feeling the need to point out that I didn't wrap the Little Debbie snacks in fancy paper and present the box as if it had gold in it. I just shelled out the $2.50 and put the 5 ounce package in my luggage because not every American food product is for sale in Morocco and my SO's family likes it. The same way my brother liked it when a friend of his from Brazil brought him flavors of Gatorade we don't have in the US, the same way I liked it when a friend brought back chocolate coated cookies from Japan we don't have here, the same way my family requested certain candies sold in my large American city and not in their town, and the same way my parents bring local candies and jellies from their part of America when they see me in mine. Had I never seen chocolate coated cookies before? No.... Was the Gatorade expected or demanded? No.... Was it insulting that my parents brought me locally jarred jelly? No.... Was it a big deal? No.... Was it as impressive as if they'd brought jewelry? No.... Was it appreciated just because it was kind of neat to see a touch of something local to other people but not to me? Yep!

No judgment here. We brought 4C breadcrumbs on our last trip.

[momof1 205]

When I went to Algeria I brought small gifts sets form bath and body works for my BIL's wife, my MIL, and my SIL. My MIL got Dr. Scholl's schoes from Walmart that she absolutely adores. She has no clue what walmart is but she's liked every pair of their shoes that we've gotten her. My BIL's daughter got clothes from babygap that were on sale. MIL and SIL also got some cute espresso sets from IKEA. My FIL got a nice pair of shoes and my BILs(all 7 of them) got bags of fun size chocolates. Everyone was happy. It was inexpensive for me and I received nice gifts in return.

My trip was a surprise for my IL's and my SIL was upset bc she would have asked me to bring "philadelphia" to make her a cheesecake had she known that I was coming. They sell it in their neighborhood so I made her a cheesecake which she liked better than the gifts.