Boukornine

So yesterday one of my friends and I went on this GREAT hike to a mountain (Boukornine) which is about an hour from Tunis. It's really cool that we actually did this because on the first day after we had arrived from the airport and were driving around Tunis to the hotel our advisor pointed out this mountain (the 2-horned mountain) and I asked if you could climb it. He said yes and about 2 weeks later I can say that I did it. I think that's pretty great.

Anyway, this weekend was finally perfect weather so Saturday we took a train to Tunis and another train to this town and then walked around until we saw what we deemed a hike-able route and set off. As we were looking for this route we walked through some villages and actually some Saturday day markets which was pretty cool. We definitely stuck out like sore thumbs but whatever. When we saw our first hike-able route a construction worker approached us and warned us that we should not hike there as there were "evil dogs and dangerous men" (in French). Good thing he was there to warn us. We asked if another route to the left would be better and he didn't seem to be worried so off we went. We went through another village and after we passed a muddy futbol field, up we hiked. This local boy was trailing behind us which was kind of funny we waved and smiled "Aslama" but he seemed amused enough to just watch us.. about 1/3 of the way up he was still following. We finally seemed warm enough I guess and maybe we montioned him over, I can't remember, he joined us. His name was something like "Isme" but he became our tour guide. This route was extremely familiar to him and he hiked up (and down) like it was nothing. Oh, and he was 13 years old.
I could go on about this hike a lot more and perhaps I will later but I'm about to lose internet connection so I will update more in about a week. For now, here's a picture! Haha, kind of an awkward one but the view is nice.





Tomorrow we leave for the South!! We're gone for a week but I'm sure I'll return wit MANY beautiful pictures, sights and stories... I also need to pack!

Short and sweet.

I just wanted to put it out there that I love my host fam.  Things have calmed down now that it's more than a week after the baby was born and the party (kind of like a baby shower) has passed.  I really enjoy being with just the (now) four of us.  They're really really awesome people, so welcoming, so calm but energized at the same time.  I really enjoy them and am very thankful that they're my host parents.  I'm posting a little pic (the only one I could find so far for some reason) of them.  Okay, that is all.    

(this is my host dad on the far left, my host mom next to him and the guy is Toney, who is my host "cousin" and also on my program and lives right below me which is awesome.. this is on his birthday about a week ago)

C'est bonne!

Two weeks already.. really??

Okay so it's been about a week since I've posted so I suppose it's time for another. Since I have this picture thing semi-down I guess I'll kind of explain some pictures which adds a nice touch I like to think.

But first, I would like to start off by saying that my host sister was born last Tuesday! Yay! Her name is pronounced "my-ma" but I'm pretty positive that's not how it is spelled. She cries very little and does not wake me up at night which is nice. I haven't been around her much because she is always in my parents' room with my host mom and grandmothers and aunts. For the past week my house has been bustling with my host grandmothers and other female relatives. They are in my host parents' room (now sister and mother's room basically because Myma has taken over the host father's spot on the bed) and also in the kitchen kind of flying around. There are a lot of new chores with a new baby and it's really nice that they are all around it help. It's also great that they're around because they're always in a great mood. There is a lot of laughing and a lot of warm talking and it's great to be around. For example, last night about 8-10 female relatives were over and they were all getting ready for this baby party we are having tonight and they were SO giggley and laughing a LOT and making these other sounds that are rather unique to Tunisia but happy ones nonetheless and it makes home a great place to be. I'm excited to go back to the party tonight (especially as many of the other kids in my program will be there also).

Probably my favorite adventure that occurred this last week was a visit to this market that is set up every Sunday in a town next to us. It's crazy. Imagine about 3 football fields of dirt land on this corner of a street and then within those 3 football field, 2 of them completely covered with the market. What I mean by market is a LOT of tables set up with either spices, produce, clothes, electronics, hair things.. almost anything. It's incredible. The fruit is fresh (as always) and so are the vegetables. I wish we had a market like that to buy our produce from every day in the states. Anyhow, where I, and most of my friends, spend most of my time was at the clothing area. Apparently a ton of surplus clothing from the United States somehow gets shipped over here and distributed to people who sell it and this market was one location where they sell it. There's everything from underwear to jackets. It's all used.. kind of like the Salvation Army. Since it is so much colder here than any of us expected most people were on a hunt for a jacket.. some succeeded, others not so much. Either way, the experience was great. I liked just kind of wandering around and finding these great jackets from like 20 years ago back when neon colored pull-over jackets were in and those professional sport pull-over jackets were the coolest (the Miami Dolphins were a popular find at the market). I wish I took a picture to show you what it looked like but we didn't bring anything valuable because pit-pocketing is common in this market.

To give you a better idea of some of the Tunisian markets here are two pictures I took in a market in Tunis. This is a huge market and I don't know if it's always there or only comes a few times a week. I would imagine it is always there (except for maybe Saturday) but I don't really know.

This is some FRUIT! Mmmm mmm.

This is a look down a section of the market and the picture over that archway in the back is of Ben Ali, el presidente and his picture is in just about every shop that you would enter and probably a larger presence along street ads than any other type of advertisement.

This next picture is of my friend Maureen and I near the ocean. I thought it was really pretty. This was located right near where the market was. (However there was not quite the same picturesque view from the market).

In relation to food this was an interesting find while walking to my house the other day. A cow head hanging from a meat store. But actually this sight isn’t really TOO uncommon as people who sell meat do like to hang animals around. Mmmm.

This last picture is taken on the beach in my town. I can’t wait to go in the ocean and play on the beach when it’s sunny! This is a picture of Courtney, Maureen and I after a day at the market.

And lastly, this one is taken from the street over the same beach as the last one and shows a game of soccer going on… this one is kind of for my dad. Soccer is everywhere obviously.

So yeah, all in all everything is great. It’s interesting sometimes adjusting (for example, getting used to this dance class I’m taking) but I like that it can be interesting sometimes because that’s the challenge that I’m looking for on this trip. Everything is different but I’m definitely learning from it. Well actually, I take that back.. it’s more the same than different. But as hard as the differences can be I like them because it’s what makes me reflect and learn and think about things that I wouldn’t otherwise. For example, tow of my friends and I got in this huge discussion earlier today about being a woman and what that means and whether it’s more empowering or more of a burden etc. and our perspectives are just so different. I like that difference and I like how I am experiencing a different life/identity for a woman over here because otherwise I probably would not be able to reflect (or maybe think about at all) on my own.

Oh, and this is getting long but one last thing that I did. Today I went to a school for severely learning disabled children with three other students who are also interested in potentially volunteering. Tomorrow we are going to learn about another one and then decide if these are places we are interested in being involved in or not. I think I am definitely going to volunteer at one of them and that will be another completely new challenge. I am excited and I hope that I am not getting in over my head with the experience.

Okay, that was very long. I’ll end here.

Except guess what! A week from today I will be venturing down to the southern part of Tunisia! We leave on Monday and are going for a week! I get to ride a camel and see where Star Wars was filmed! (two of my tourist goals for this trip)

Much love!

MY HOST MOM IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE HER BABY TODAY!!!  

..it's going to be a baby girl and I'm so excited!!

Look, a map!

Okay, this is kind of a small picture but if you're really curious you can just type "La Marsa, Tunisia" into google maps and you'll find a similar image.  This is the Sidi Bou Said portion of the La Marsa map and the places on the map are cool beacause they're actual places where I've been.  For example, the harbor we accidently walked by Saturday night after we viewed it earlier that evening and the place with the steps in Sidi Bou Said is a place we've had incredible mint tea and hookah.  The table on the right when walking up the stairs hosts a perfect view when the sun is setting.. overlooking both the ocean and the city of Tunis.  I suppose the best purpose of this picture is the adventure we went on Saturday night.  Basically we ended up hiking down from where the picture of the place with the stairs is all the way to the white portion (rocks) in the middle of the map next to the ocean and then around to the harbour with the boats and then back around to the left and up to where we started.  It was quite beautiful though.  

Okay, I feel like I've over-posted today but I couldn't help it when I found this on google maps thanks to a friend.  

Hope all is well!!

They do what with their toilet paper?

Okay, so now that we're all living with host families we've discovered a few different practices (most of which are in the bathroom) and I decided I'd share them.. 

-The toilet paper (if you use it) goes in a trash can in the bathroom.  Typically toilet paper isn't used.  

-Instead of toilet paper people traditionally wash themselves in a biday

-Do NOT put anything down the toilet.. NOTHING except for liquid

-Shower heads do not usually go on the wall.. usually they just kind of go on the faucet thing in the shower.  

-If you go to bed with wet hair then the bad spirits are going to get you 

-Luckily just about everything is better with harissa

-Also, bread is the main component for most meals... but it's fresh

-The fruit is always amazing

I can't really think of anything else right now but it has also only been two days.  I'm sure we'll realize many new and different practices.. 

Update!

Hiii!  

Okay, a lot has happened since I last posted.  The most important thing is that I've moved in with my host family!  YAY!  My host family consists of me, my host mother (28 years old and pregnant and due any day now- wow!) and my host father.  Luckily Toney who is also on my program is living with the family downstairs.  The family downstairs is my host father's sister, her daughter, her mother and maybe her other sister?  I don't exactly know but there's a lot of family around so the house is never empty which is really nice.  Three other families that my friends from the program are staying in are also somehow related to me.  But anyway, living with a host family who speaks barely any English, a tiny bit of French but mostly Arabic has been interesting.  The first night was a LOT of charades but in a fun way.  We are able to communicate very well and my Arabic is improving every day (although obviously still a challenge).  

The food here is AMAZING if you cannot tell already.  I've been with my host family for 2 nights and the first night we had green peppers that were stuffed with cheese and some veggies I think and also soup and salad.  Yum.  Last night we had scallops stuffed with something along with cheese (YUM) that went with a type of mashed potatoes that was sweetened and had herbs or something.  It was great.  The best part is that this morning I had freshly squeezed orange juice that I literally squeezed myself right before I drank it.  AMAZING.  I could definitely get used to this.  

I just got back from a 4 hour break that we had in the middle of the day.  We went into the capital of Tunis and searched for this place that had the traditional Tunisian dish, "Leblebi ", which was incredible.  And get this- 8 dishes of leblebi (a TON of food which consists of about a bun size of fresh bread, chickpeas, harissa (this amazing spice thing that is on everything and I guess is red peppers and hot), cumin, oil, egg (runny), lemon, and other random spices and sauces), one huge bottle of water and a bunch of extra bread was about 12.30 dinar which is NOTHING.  To give an idea of prices a sandwich and a drink is about 5-12 dinar.  

This is a picture of some of us at the Leblebi place.  You can also see a version of Lee's leblebi on the bowl closest to the front.  Mmmm.  

So basically it's beautiful out here.  The views are AMAZING.  The last night we were staying at the hotel (because the next day we went to our host family) we went to this place we have now called "the view".  It is simply breathtaking.  The funny part about it is that it's also a kind of romantic random spot so when two of my friends and I went we kind of interrupted some romantic moments.  But anyway, Saturday night two of my friends and I hung out there before dinner and I still can't get over how beautiful the view was.  I wish that my description would do some justice but I'm going to try anyway.  So basically we're on this kind of overlook with trees, some random cliffs, and brush and clear spots.  On one side is a restaurant and the other is eventually houses.  Directly below are also houses (all houses = white with bright blue doors) and then below to the right is a harbor with big boats.  The moon lights everything so much that we can hike down to the ocean (which we are overlooking) while even going through trees and still see where we are walking.  So we are sitting on this point over the ocean with mountains in the distance, a city in the distance and other mountains really far away over which a lightening storm is occurring.  We couldn't believe what we were seeing.  This amazing view with the sound of ocean waves breaking right below us.  Wow.  It's really hard to imagine with this description but let me just tell you, I wish you could have been there.  

So we went to that place before dinner, hung out then trekked back to dinner with the group.  After dinner we ended up going back to the view and then three of my friends hiked down to the ocean which proved to be QUITE the adventure.  I'll save that story for when I get back to the U.S.  

Another adventure was on Saturday when we went into Tunis on a "drop-off" exercise.  Basically we went on a type of scavenger hunt with the group and had to navigate etc. by ourselves for the first time.  It was really fun and there are stories but I'll spare you.  

This is a picture from our first day in Tunis.  It was taken on the top of a roof in Tunis.  The moutain in the distance is known as the "two-horned" mountain due to its two horns at the top.  How appropriate.  

Okay, this is long so I'll end here.  

I'm here!

Tunisian kids who were at the baths.  They were very eager to talk to Americans haha.  
Old Baths

Ruins of Aqueducts

I'm here!  And it's great!  This post is for Ms. Laura Lee.. I'm going to list everything that I ate.. 

-Fresh squeezed organge juice!!  - the best I've EVER had and I can't wait for more tomorrow morning!

-Some bread and cheese spread - also YUM

-This like mix of veggies and spicy chili spread (which goes with everything) that you eat with bread 

-This like soupy thing with a runny egg in the middle but it was SO good and it's served with fries.  It was really good.  

-Then the best part: the fish.. some kind of sea bass and it was SO fresh and AMAZING.. def the best fish I've ever had.  Hopefully a place we'll frequent here.  

-Lemon Sorbet which was AMAZING.  It was wicked fresh and reallly good.  

So far that's it.  

Then today we also went to Carthage which was pretty... a lot of ruins.  The first picture I posted is one of some Tunisian kids that were at the baths for most likely a field trip.  They were eager to talk to Americans.  The second one is of runis of baths.  The last one is where we actually went first, some old aqueducts.  Oh, and the best part was that the ruins of the baths were right by the ocean with mountians in the background.  It was really pretty.  

Later today I'm meeting my host family.. yikes!  Hopefully we'll be able to chat despite the language barrier... hmm.  

Love you all, I'll update more later!  

I'm here!

So I’m finally here!  (this is a picture of our hotel room) Let me tell you guys, it’s AMAZING.  I feel like this is directly out of some picture book or beautiful foreign movie or something.  The houses along the street are actually white with those bright blue doors and the cobblestone roads and sidewalks only add to the effect.  The best part of this is at night when the sun is setting it colors the houses and makes it that much nicer.  I wish I took pictures to show you guys everything but I guess I’ll have the same opportunity later.  We are right next to the Mediterranean with mountains along the same viewpoint and it’s really just breathtaking… especially with a sunset. 

Today was a lot of driving around and a lot of meeting people.  We did not do anything particularly eventful except for get partially acquainted with the both area and each other and stay up for about  36 hours.  However, it’s been a great experience.  I don’t think any of us have completely realized that we are really here but we’ve got to know each other fairly well.  Everyone in the group seems really great and I can’t to get to know more about them… and I especially can’t wait until we all start talking about pop culture and globalization because that’s just how much of a dork I am.  We definitely all have completely different experiences, perspectives and fields of study- perfect if you ask me. 

Okay, well tomorrow we are kind of getting a better idea of everything.  We are a- getting a tour of Carthage (!) b- meeting our host families (!!)  and c- eating some really great seafood meal (!).  I’m sure there’s a lot else involved but those are the highlights I suppose.  I need to go because I really don’t have much time and I know I will have more opportunities to update in the upcoming weeks. 

Love you all and I cannot wait to hear about your experiences also!!  xoxo