"What does the other side of the world look like, smell like, sound like?"

That's what my dear friend Garrett Richardson asked me on facebook the other day.
Here is my attempt at answering.

It looks like...

Boxes of fruits and vegetables waiting to be bought and cooked and served with cous cous
Shop owners standing on the street waiting patiently for someone to come in and strike up a bargain
Narrow alleyways that may or may not take you where you need to go and plastered walls painted different colors
Splashes of teal
Wizened old men sitting outside the mosque
Women walking down the street arm in arm
Framed pictures of the king in every public setting
Kids playing futbol in the narrow streets
Seedy guys wearing designer t-shirts who stare at you for a little too long

It smells like...

Fresh mint and parsley
cigarettes
Freshly baked pastries wafting from the corner bakery
A mix of spices found along every street, paprika, saffron, cumin, cinnamon
Instant coffee
Frying bread and cooking sausages from the street vendors
The earthy smell of unwashed vegetables
The trash on the corner waiting to be taken out
Exhaust fumes from the little mopeds and peugeots that dare you to cross their paths
Hints of the ocean
Leather

It sounds like...

Muezzins each singing their unique call to prayer
Mama yelling to people on the street from the kitchen window
Magical moroccan pop music streaming from little music shops and cell phones
Street vendors yelling out sales and showing off their latest items
Those same guys on mopeds and peugeots honking and beeping for you to dodge out of their way