Moroccan Markets: Haggling

Haggling. If I learned anything in Morocco, it was how to be a weary consumer and skilled haggler - in both French and Arabic! Haggling isn't just a way to get the best bang for your dirham, it's part of Moroccan culture. Most vendors expect you to haggle inflated prices down and a good haggler is aware of the social nuances involved. The best deals I ever got in Morocco were from vendors who I talked to, sometimes for 15 minutes, others for an hour. Building rapport is an important part of Moroccan culture. While there were tons of times people tried to rip me off, taking me for a tourist, once I knew the right price for things haggling became a lot easier. 15 dirhams for a bottle of water? No way, you and I both know it's six.

Despite the cultural learning and shopping, I did feel a little unsure about haggling. Do I really need the extra $2.50 on this bottle of argan oil? How much would I pay for it at home? 25 dirhams are worth a lot more to a Moroccan than to an American. Many times I was offered services such as tours or guidance through the winding streets of the medina on the premise of "friendship," only to be asked for money at the end. For those people, providing that experience is part of their livelihood. When we went to Marrakech, we told our taxi driver the name of our hostel. He said he knew where it was, but when he stopped the car, we knew we weren't in the right spot. We were at the wall of the medina, separated from our hostel by dark and winding roads. However, it just so happened our taxi driver's buddies were nearby and were glad to show us to our hostel. Seasoned hagglers we were, we let him know we would not be paying him for our services. No problem, I do this for friendship and to practice my English. After ten minutes of weaving and small talk, we're asked to pay up, 50 dirhams each. Between our whole group, he was asking for about $50. It wouldn't have made a huge dent in our budgets, but when we refused to pay, we all felt cheated. He was just doing his job, guiding clueless tourists through the labyrinthine of his city for cash, while just around the corner from our hostel was the biggest tourist destination of Marrakesh, the Jm'a al-Fna, where our taxi could have easily dropped us off.

Haggling made me feel more culturally competent in Morocco. I understood something about their lifestyle that I did not before. Furthermore, I think my time in Morocco led to a shift in my values; building rapport in the workplace or with someone I'm doing business with matters more to me than it did in the past. However, spending money in Morocco also made me recognize my privilege as an American and question the institutions of tourism and study abroad to developing countries, but I'm not really sure what the answer to that question is.