A Lion Runs Amok

Today I got home just as the rain started coming down. The rain that normally comes in August has hit in late September this year, and it's caused a lot of problems around Tunis. For example, yesterday they shut down the metro because of a storm - which made getting a taxi absolutely impossible. Luckily, I passed by Lee outside of Amideast as I was walking home, and he gave me a lift.

So, I get inside, relax, and start checking up on my favorite sites (BBC, Kottke, Fark, The Sartorialist, Chubby Hubby, Buzz Feed, etc...), when I get a text message from a Tunisian friend. It turns out that the lion escaped from the Belvedere Zoo today. The Belvedere Zoo, for a geographic reference, is right by Amideast. Luckily, I didn't happen to get in the path of said lion. In fact, nobody got in the path of the lion, to such an extent that it almost made it downtown - about a 20-minute walk from Belvedere.

It reminded me of one of my last days in Sierra Leone this winter. We were planning to all visit the Tacugama Ape Sanctuary on Monday and leave the country on Tuesday. As Monday morning came up, one of the people helping us around, Harry, informed us that the trip to the Ape Sanctuary had been canceled. He said "it's not safe, there are some problems." It turned out that it not being safe was an understatement, the famous Sierra Leonean chimp Bruno (already known in the international press) and some other chimps had escaped again and attacked a car carrying Americans. Tragically, they killed the Sierra Leonean driver before the other people managed to escape.

On another note... Work goes very well. I am now the coordinator of the American Corner, which is the American cultural center at Amideast. It's an exciting job because there's a lot to tackle and to plan. My first order of business has been rearranging the place, which has a lot of English-language books, to make it into a more useful space. The best part of being coordinator is that I get essentially carte blanche to do what I want - it's a great feeling to be "master of your own domain," and it's challenging me to see what I can do with what I have. So far, I'm keeping the weekly Friday English conversation group, I'm going to add a weekly Amideast American Film Club soon, I'm working with a Fulbright scholar who's a French professor in the States - she is going to be using the American Corner for a film class and also possibly for lectures, there's a few other lectures/photo exhibits I'm working on and I just met today with two recently-arrived American artists.

The artists lived in France for ten years, and are now here in Tunis for the next two years to paint. I like their work, which has a lot of French influence, and we're going to work on hopefully doing a showing sometime soon. In addition, Laurie used to be a librarian, so she's going to help me with our collection of 2000-odd books. Here some links to their work: Art Notes and more paintings (I especially like the one of Les Deux Magots, even if I was always more of a Cafe de Flore guy...). I'm thinking I'll pick up one of their paintings of Tunisia when I get a chance.

Also... one final and very exciting thing. SIT, which runs an exceptional study abroad program, is going to be doing their first program in Tunisia this Spring, and Amideast and CEMAT (Centre des Etudes Maghrebines) will be helping to administrate it. Here's the link to the new program.

People from Last Night

Sahla - Hichem's younger brother.

Hichem on the roof looking out over Ibn Khaldoum.

Me with the family.

The mom need a shot of me with the cake and some tea.

An Iftar at Hichem's

The starters: Tahina, vegetables, and soup - tomato based with mint, meat, couscous, and a little bit of cinnamon.

Well, today is the first big storm I've been through here. It started this morning, and the roads in front of Amideast were basically flooded around 3:00pm. Luckily, I didn't have to deal with it until I decided to go home around 5:00. I marched on down to the metro with my buddy Doried only to find that the metro was shut down. Since it was still sprinkling, it also made finding a taxi impossible. Just as we resigned ourselves to walking a solid 30-40 minutes back to Ariana in the rain, we found Lee back by Amideast about to get in his car. It was a bit of rain karma, and it saved me quite the walk.

Last night, I had dinner again at my friend Hichem's house with his family. He lives in Ibn Khaldoum right by Manar. His mother made some more special food for me that was part Algerian. I got a test as well last night. It came in the form of stuffed sheep's stomach. I rose to the challenge, and ate a whole sheep's stomach that was stuffed with spinach, rice, garlic, and some ground meat. This was in addition to the tahina, the three nem-like things I ate stuffed with potato, garlic, and meat, the soup, the olives, the... well the list continues, but suffice to say, I had my fill of food and hospitality. It all went very well. After dinner we sat around and watched some Algerian TV which they get through satellite, and then I went off to get some tea with Hichem and some of his friends from the area. Also, I have a new DVD to pick up, from an Algerian comedian named Fellag (is that right?). I'm hoping he'll be as good as Gad El Maleh - I loved L'Autre, C'est Moi.

I forgot the name of these - something like buraka - but I know it's not brik. They tasted a lot like an Indian nem. The outside was the same pastry you use for brik (moussaka). The inside was potato, garlic and ground meat. I had three.

This was good as well - the green veggies were stuffed with meat.

Ah, the piece de resistance. This was the stomach (or plural, you might say). Inside was spinach, rice and meat. I'll be honest, once I got over the psychological barrier, it wasn't that bad. Stomach doesn't have much of a taste, but it does have a texture/feel that is a bit chewy and hard to get used to. It also separates a bit differently when you cut it.

Mmm, this was good. Chick peas, chicken, and potatoes. Nice and basic, but a great sauce.

The Next Episode

So, this morning I wake up to more pet problems. This time the same puppy threw up worms. They were still alive. It was disgusting.

I called the vet, and took the poor little guy in to her. One injection plus 1/4 of a pill later, the puppy was back at home. I guess it's somewhat normal here for any dog that spends time outside. In any case, I just recently got into work (it's around 11:00 AM here right now), and I'm taking a breather... The puppy will get sicker before he gets better.

On a more positive and less stomach-churning note, I had a really great iftar, or Ramadan dinner, at my friend Hichem's last night out in Ibn Khaldoum. His mother is Algerian, so we got to talk a lot about Algeria, and she made Algerian food for dinner. The soup that we had was similar to the Tunisian tomato-based shurba, but it had cinnamon and some mint in it - very nice and refreshing. The couscous is also whiter, more like Moroccan. Tunisian couscous is noticeably red in appearance from the tomato paste (right?). There was also a dish with cow's intestines and white beans, and some great chicken. She made brik as well, and I went through two of them, which was probably one too many. Also, since Hichem's dad is part Syrian, we had some fresh tahina.

She loved to talk about Algeria, and I loved to listen. I got to see some photos of Algiers and of the countryside, which was absolutely beautiful. Algiers retains a very strong French look in the new quarter - it practically seems like you're in Nice. She is going to try and get me an Algerian visa, but I don't think it'll work out. Plus, Algeria is not exactly safe for Westerners.

Hichem's mom is one of quite a few people that I have met who has no desire in living in Europe or America. I think often the stereotype of people in the developing world is that they all want to go and live in America, and I've met a lot of North Africans who don't feel that way. They have their families here, and it's part of who they are. I remember even the first week, I was talking to Cherifa, and I asked her where she wanted to go and work with her business degree, and she responded, "Tunisia, of course!"

Pet Rescue: Tunisia

Sometimes I feel like my life has turned into an episode of an Animal Planet show. It turns out that one of our puppies is quite sick with a nasty infection. At first we thought it was Mange, but Alison took it to the vet today, and it's a more serious infection - it seems that this puppy doesn't have a great immune system.

The little guy needed a shot, and now needs to be kept inside in a clean environment, have a cream applied, and also oral medicine. Also, we need to take him back to the vet within a week. He's just really tuckered out now - all of his siblings are off in new homes, and he's going to stay with us for a while. This also means we have to potty train him with the "newspaper method."

Here's the damage... he's got a nasty infection on his leg and around his neck.

This is basically all he does right now.

Like a Bad Tom Cruise Movie

I had a long day at work today, culminating in me finally leaving around 7pm. I got down to the metro station (which is actually a tram), and waited for the metro. And waited. After about twenty minutes, I realized that since it was so close to breaking the fast, even the metro was on hiatus. Looking down the long Mohammed V boulevard, I could've sworn I saw tumbleweeds. Finally, I decided to take a walk down to Ave. Bourguiba and get dinner down there - the other option being some bachelor's eggs back at my place.

When I made it down to Bourguiba, it was empty. Like Vanilla Sky opening sequence empty. I saw a few conspicuous white people walking around with guidebooks, and made my way up, hoping the basic but decent Cafe de Paris would be open. No such luck. However, I did find a place and sat down next to three Asian tourists and an American mother and daughter (ugly American moment - trying to pay for dinner with American dollars, in English. What made it worthwhile: I got to smile as the waiter gave them quite possibly the worst exchange rate I have ever heard of in my life).

After sending back the pasta once for bugs in the cheese, I finally dug in and enjoyed my meal, one earbud stuck in my ear, playing some old Boards of Canada. Finally, things started to liven up, and the night atmosphere that I've gotten used to during Ramadan showed itself a bit.

For the next time, I'm going to make sure to bring my camera. I don't think there's any phenomenon in Western culture that can rival Ramadan's ability to clear people off of the street. Even with something such as the Super Bowl, there's still visible life in the city. This was as if Times Square was emptied.

Another side effect of Ramadan is that the people you do see out around sunset, you question a bit. Tunisia is still, at its base, a family and community-oriented society. People who don't have anywhere to go make me a bit wary.

Col. Mustard and the freakishly large stray cat

I just got back from another night out on Ave. Bourguiba. I think I've discovered my favorite crepe combination - Almond-Honey-Nutella. It's pretty damn tasty - the honey gives it a little extra natural sweetness and stickiness, and the almonds add a nice crunch. It helps that the place I go to really fries it up - the crepe was practically bubbling when I first tried to sink my teeth into it.

This was one of those days that bears remembering, if only for my own sake. First off, there were two traffic accidents today. The first one happened right outside Amideast, which is bizarre because it's not a thoroughfare. Two cars collided and then ended up hitting one of the teachers' Land Rovers. She wasn't happy. The second one was a wild spin-out I saw in front of Cite Olympique. Luckily, both happened with no injuries.

Secondly, I saw quite possibly the biggest stray cat I have ever seen in my life. Alison can attest to this as well. This cat is as big as a medium-sized dog (Alison compared it to an ocelot). At first, we both thought it was a mountain lion - no joke. Survival of the fittest, I guess?

Thirdly, I now have a new favorite man in my neighborhood. I call him Col. Mustard. I was walking out to the metro this morning when I saw a man dressed in mustard-colored pants, a mustard-colored shirt, and patent white shoes. Giving him a closer look, I realized that he looked like an overweight Tunisian Steve Buscemi, replete with gold chain stuck in his chest hair. You gotta love a guy who has adventurous style.

One More Time

Chemtou

The ruins of the Italian church with one of the jagged sides of the old mine in the background.



When you walk around the backside of the hill, you can explore the actual quarry. There's even a mine shaft open for the courageous.


Relaxing after hiking around the site. This Twins cap always goes with me. Once, I was in Essauoira, a beach-side Moroccan town hosting a large music festival, when this guy randomly walks up to me and asks "are you from Minnesota?" He had made the trek up from Ghana (aka: through Mauritania and the Western Sahara - two rather unforgiving places), and was enjoying the festival as well. So, I keep the hat around as a beacon to Minnesotans. If you ever see a red cap flash by in tunis, stop me and say hi.

One of the many cool artifacts from the Chemtou museum.

Nader demonstratingthe lax control at Chemtou.

People around Tunisia

Slim and me last Saturday

Checking out the facilities at Bulla Regia. Nice view.

Rim dancing. Here's the whole album.

Animal Roundup

Well, most of the animals will be out of here soon. The puppies have homes, and Ginger and Samra are both going off to stay with friends for the next three months. I'll miss the puppies, but not so much Ginger and Samra. They just got too weird, I don't know if it was doggie adjustment disorder or what. I'm really going to miss the puppies, they're calendar-ready. Also, they have really cute barks.

Checking out my feet.

Peering out.

The cat has become a little too human.

A new discovery. We have two turtles, and I don't know how long it took, but they must have managed to get all the way across the lawn and conceive.

Esperance VS Jendouba

I just got back from my first soccer (or should I say football?) match between Tunis Esperance and Jendouba. Esperance rocked the house - in the first half and scored two goals, and then just let the second half slip away with nothing of notice. Despite that, I had a fun time. The atmosphere was great, and except for one cheer involving "Guantanamo" I felt totally at ease (even then, I just laughed).

When I arrived at the stadium with my buddies Slim and Maoz (I have no clue if I spelled that right), we had a quick exchange that went something like this:

Slim: "There's a lot of police here."
Me: "Yeah, why?"
Slim: "Well, there was kind of a problem yesterday in Bizerte." (Another city just 45 min North of Tunis).
Me: "Oh, you mean like burning cars, etc?"
Slim: "Yeah, kind of like that."

Despite that, the atmosphere for the whole game was very convivial. Jendouba, the opposing team, has kind of a reputation as being the "redneck" part of Tunisia (despite that, I was recently there for a weekend and had a great time - the people are very nice), so there were plenty of Jendouba chants - even being called a "Jendoubee" or a resident of Jendouba, is an insult here.

Also, I was able to go into the season ticket area, because, well I'm an American. I just kind of followed Slim in, and looked at the guard, and Slim was like "he's American." I guess that works.

The two big teams here in Tunis are Club Africain and Esperance. I'd advise anyone coming out here to choose their loyalties carefully. I've been a modest fan of Esperance up until today, when I became a full-fledged supporter. My advice is find out who your new Tunisian friends support and roll with it.


Last night, I experienced a Ramadan night in the Medina. I met up with Rim downtown around nine, and we had some tea at my favorite cafe on Ave. Habib Bourguiba - Cafe du Theatre. After that, we headed into the medina and went to a traditional medina cafe, which is basically benches and chairs lining the medina streets. There was a group of Sufi musicians doing some very cool chants, and I stayed there until well after 2:00 AM. It's definitely the other side of Ramadan.

Ramadan

On Thursday night, I went over to my friend Dhia's house to eat dinner for the first night of Ramadan. As the sun set, Dhia and his family went off to do their prayers, leaving me sitting in front of a banquet of brik, tajine, chicken, soup, salads, and cheese. Within five minutes, they were back, quickly but politely pouring themselves glasses of water and serving themselves soup - a tasty vegetable potage. After the soup, we commenced on what I thought was the main part of the meal - all of the food arrayed before us. I had my fill of his mother's excellent meat tajines and tried to keep my egg yolk in my rapidly-disintegrating brik.

Much to my surprise, the first part of the meal was followed by a large tray of couscous and a plate of chicken, potatoes, carrots,and broth. Dhia's father filled up my plate with a generous portion, and I, realizing it would be bad form to stop, tried to see if I could find some more room in my stomach. After that plate was done, it was insisted upon that I have just a little more chicken, which I grudgingly oblidged to. After the main course, we relaxed and had some fruit, which I had to politely decline.

This is my first time being a part of Ramadan in a Muslim country. When I was in Morocco, or even Sierra Leone, I wasn't there during Ramadan. I've read accounts and talked to friends who have experienced it, but it's a unique thing to live firsthand. First off, I am going to be up-front, I am not fasting. However, I'm making sure not to be overt about that fact - I don't eat or drink in front of Tunisians (which has actually led me to joke that I am "half-fasting" because I spend a lot of my day around Tunisians at Amideast - I routinely go through 4 hour stretches without drinking or eating, which I know isn't a lot, but I'm a big water guy, and it's been an adjustment).

Fasting for Ramadan means that one does not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. It also includes other stipulations, such as being extra-careful about being a good Muslim, and abstaining for negative activities, as well as from sexual intercourse during the day.

The first day here in Tunisia was an experience. I woke up, grabbed a quick breakfast (lamenting the fact that my breakfast sandwich guy won't be available for the next month - we're talking a half-baguette absolutely slathered with butter and jam), and walked out into the cloudy morning. Everyone who I passed by, and the other passengers on the tram were acting more or less like zombies - I felt like I was in one of the opening scenes from Shaun of the Dead. Everyone was half-awake, and dealing with the new routine. According to most people I talk to, the first few days are difficult, and then it becomes more or less OK.

Passing through Tunis during Ramadan can be disconcerting and isolating as a foreigner. Almost no cafes or restaurants are open, and everything feels deserted (especially when people are breaking the fast at around 7:30 PM). The few restaurants that are open have newspaper over their windows, and most people go in just to smoke - which is otherwise prohibited during the day. Even Avenue Bourguiba, the central avenue of downtown Tunis, is practically empty. This has been a tough adjustment for me because I am so used to and comfortable with cafe culture here. Also, my friends who fast are much less available during the day - cafes function as the big social outlet, so we don't have as many options open to us, and forget having lunch. I've gotten a "haram aleek" from someone when they saw me buying bread for lunch (basically "shame on you/that's forbidden").

I'm glad that I'm having this experience, because I do admire my friends who are keeping the discipline of fasting and working on being better Muslims. My main gripes with it so far are that I feel rather isolated, have no desire to fast myself - even as a cultural experience, and feel that my social options are limited.

The positive side of Ramadan is that the nighttime is fantastic. Lots of places open up at night, and people play music and get together with friends until the early hours of the morning. People who don't have jobs might even just stay up all night and sleep during the day (which kind of defeats the purpose, in my opinion). There's a music festival in the Medina which I'm hoping to check out soon, and lots of other special events.

Ultimately, I think the whole new experience of Ramadan will wear off within a week or two, but I am glad that I'm living it right now - at the very least to have an idea about how many people decide to conduct their lives once every lunar year...

Three Months...

I've officially hit three months here in Tunis. While this is far from a gigantic milestone, it's a chunk of time that merits looking back on. While the weather in Tunis remains rather hot, I'm slowly witnessing the imperceptible change into a new season. People are coming back to Tunis from vacations in Hammamet, tan and resistant to their entry back into the workweek. This is especially palpable at Amideast, where I am teaching a 2-week intensive English session to 16-18 year olds. Getting these kids motivated to study grammar points is a herculean task best accomplished with the carrot and not the stick - I've made sure to include plenty of games, and a showing of Little Miss Sunshine.

My personal time here has been all over the place. I started off with an understandable bout of homesickness that cleared up within the first two weeks. However, it still manifests itself every now and then - sometimes I can't resist thinking about walking around the lake by my house in Minneapolis, the good local food at Lucia's, my family, and our own zoo (which has been somewhat replaced by the new zoo here - six dogs, a cat, and a turtle). I content myself with the knowledge that this is a natural part of any experience, especially when you push yourself out of the country right after college graduation.

I've created my own new social network here, which has been the number one reason that I'm still around. Without people, any place is alienating. I've made friends with some local guys from the neighborhood, and we get tea about 3-4 times a week. They're good guys, and honestly, at the end of the day, guy culture is guy culture. We make bad jokes, talk about women problems, politics, and anything else that comes up. While it's not a substitute for the great guy friends I left in the States, it's what I prefer to classify as an addition to my life. Everyone else is still there, if a few thousand miles away. Amideast has become my little expat family. The director, Lee, has been a great help, as have some of the older teachers and plenty of people around my age. While the workplace is always fraught with social land mines, so far I've managed to sidestep most of them.

In terms of work, I'm content. Teaching is a great skill to cultivate, because its base offers you many opportunities. I've taught some adults, and to go in as a 23 year old, and handle 14 people who can be as old as 55-60, helps me be more socially versatile, and hopefully professionally as well. My internship is great - while I do make the occasional photocopy, I've been able to convince enough people that I'm important. That means I've been able to dictate more and more what I work on - having a flexible schedule has kept it fresh.

Tunisia itself is a mixed bag. I do like it here. I live well, I go to cafes, I eat out, I meet interesting people, and I'm 100% comfortable going out and doing things on my own. On the other hand, it's been difficult to pursue some of my interests as much as I would like to. The food here is fine, but not great. That singular issue has caused me a lot of grief. There's plenty of decent food here, but not a lot of variety, and its hard to get good traditional food out and about - I wish I had a Tunisian to cook home meals for me.

To sum it up, I'm happy here. It's a hard-won happiness in some ways, and there are always the little battles that get doled out by life, but by and large, it's good. Without being overly parental about my experience, it's building character... In many ways, I chose this because I knew it would be something challenging and different - and ideally, these types of experiences build people, help them more fully understand who they are, and also give a greater appreciation to the complex and constantly surprising world that we all share.

The Pedantic Side of Chemtou

Chemtou is the site of an old Roman town and also an incredibly important former marble quarry. It's about twenty minutes from Jendouba - I took a louage out there this weekend with Nader, but I don't recommend that. The way back is challenging, to say the least. You're out in very agricultural Tunisia (we passed a town's "parking lot" which was twenty donkeys tied up next to the mosque), and have to wait for a louage to pass by. When Nader and I finally found one after walking several kilometers back (dodging large trucks on the incomplete road), we paid him for the other passengers (louages normally carry eight passengers and the passengers all share the total price), so we could get back in time for dinner.

The reason for the title of this post is that Chemtou also has a surprisingly excellent museum. Besides the artifacts, there's a lot of very cool information present on the Numidian language, general linguistics, and also Roman/Numidian sites in general. Since most people can't make it Chemtou anytime soon, I figured I'd post some of what I found. If anyone is interested, I could supply a few other images I took of displays via email. I'll also post some photos of the museum and the quarry, along with an evocative 18th Century ruined Italian church that stands on a hill overlooking the museum.

An artist's rendering of the old Roman town. Supposedly Chemtou marble was the second most expensive in the empire. (Although I don't feel 100% confident saying that - if anyone knows differently, feel free to let me know).

Another thing to note is that, as evidenced, this museum was in Arabic, French, and German. German tourism in Tunisia is big business, and Germans were the only other tourists I saw at Bulla Regia on Friday.

And one more thing... It sure as hell is fun to be a history major traveling around Tunisia. You get great historical sites with minimum interference. Often you're the one at some sites - as we were at Haidra back in the day.

More fromTabarka

This is part of les aiguilles, a series of rocks in the old harbor.

Part of the cliff on the far side of the old harbor.

Nighttime in Soukra

This is a shot I took from the 5th floor of a new housing project in Soukra called Les Palmaires. This is the developing side of Tunis - everywhere buildings are under construction (as shops are just beginning to open to demand), and everything is buzzing.

When you're in a residential neghborhood late at night, there's a palpable stillness. Main routes are always busy, but when I went out for a short breather here, I was the only person around.

Photos from Bulla Regia

Bulla Regia is a partially excavated Roman town just outside of Jendouba. I'd highly recommend checking it out if you're in the area - Jendouba makes a good base to see it and Chemtou within one day. The town was affluent, so there are a lot of great mosaics and some well-kept buildings to explore.

A small part of the town - the hill in the back is an active limestone quarry.

A Roman road leading by the main entrance.

A detail from the underground level of one of the houses - most of the houses had one level underground. The green parts are where humidity has entered in. If you look at the top of the column, you'll see what's left of a cobra decoration - which is Egyptian-inspired.

Photos from Ain Draham

Miles away from camels and couscous...

The view from the town was fantastic.

These guys were working on a truck when we started up the path, not so much when we came back down.

Nader relaxing after lunch. We ate some tasty local m'lawi sandwiches, which are basically thick crepes with mechouia, harissa, and potatoes.

Photos from Tabarka

These are a collection of shots I took in Tabarka - where I spent Saturday afternoon with Nader and Asman. This is the Genoese Castle overlooking the old harbor.

A shot of me in front of said fort.

Nader and Asman chilling out on the rocks behind the fort.

The new harbor with the zone touristique in the distance.

I just got back, so I'll be posting some photos and writing more about my weekend when I have some time.