Rant...

I'll be going to Morocco for 2 months to conduct an academic project. It isn't an abroad study were I go to a comfy university and take their classes. No, I live in a Moroccan Apartment in the medina of the city, have to live life there, cook there, interact with non-tourists. Sure there will be SOME tourist things like one weekend a group will be going on a camel ride and me and my GF (she'll be working on a separate group project, mine is single) plan to go to Spain one weekend. Other then that our time is living and working with Moroccans. You need to know their culture, basic etiquette, and at least some phrases in French or Arabic.

So of course our school has a brief one hour orientation on how not to be a dick in another culture. For example they went over how to dress in Morocco and to accept that modesty for women is essential even though it isn't required by law.

Then a girl from my GFs project group, a hipster who dresses "skimpily" and shows off all her self cutting scars, said in such a bitchy tone "Yeh, I don't do dress codes". You may not like Islam, you may not like Moroccan culture, you may not like that in some places in the world women have certain expectations put on them. You don't have to go above and beyond but you can fucking handle not wearing short shorts for a bit. You are going to THEIR country fucking deal with it. Unless being human rights activist is your job and you work with NATIVE human rights activists from that country, shut up and sit down.

Deal with the fact that their are different customs, deal with the fact that you aren't in a comfy hotel, deal with the fact that your project will take you to no so pretty areas of the country. In fact don't deal with it fucking enjoy it. Living and working with another culture is probably better than snapping pictures of a dumb thing you can already google and find profession photos of. Yes, you can enjoy these touristy things but still get used to NOT BEING IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY.