Teaching English

My first experience teaching English here was very enjoyable. I met a lot of great people, had a lot of laughs, and learned many interesting things about Tunisian culture and the business world here. I’m not sure what the upcoming months have in store for me but I hope to continue teaching English whenever and wherever possible. 

 

Knit, Knit, Knit

I apologize for falling behind on posting photos and stories these past few weeks. I sometimes feel like I don’t have anything new to share. Yet actually, I do have quite a bit to share, but I sometimes forget to take pictures of the activity or just don’t feel comfortable taking pictures. However for the first post of today I thought I could show a few pictures of some of the things the girls in knitting club have made lately.

 
Lots of hats, lots of scarves and one shawl (with a matching crocheted ring).
 
More scarves and other sorts of neck warmers. (I’ve only managed to make rectangular items so far, but have plans to make something else soon).
 
I didn’t manage to take pictures of all the baby booties and baby hats, the crocheted bags, or pillow cases but I will soon. These girls are really fast learners and enthusiastic. They’re also good at getting their friends hooked on knitting as well. More pictures to come soon.

 

A Few Updates

Volunteer work is going well. Kids rotate in and out as they come to get their medications, I often see the same kids every three weeks. I’ve also been meeting new kids together with their families almost every week. There is one nine year old boy, Edem, who has been there for over four months and I have watched him get progressively worse. He is a very bright and fun child and it’s very hard to watch him suffer.

English teaching has also been going well. The course I was teaching is coming to an end next week. I’m going to apply at another English school and am looking into a few different options for work.

Knitting club has been becoming more and more interesting. Two of the members talked to some government officials about our club and got permission to do a city-wide knitting activity and they were also given a free table at a few very popular art fair. Now all the girls in the club are busy making things they’d like to sell. (Also, after our fishing trip, one of the girls went out and bought her own fishing pole, so I think we’ll be having more fishing trips in our future!)

There are lots and lots of different clubs and associations in our city, most of which started after the revolution in 2011. A few of my expat friends and I are doing our best to visit as many of these different groups as possible. It’s been fun seeing what people in this city are getting involved in (polyglot group, photography group, drama groups, groups that support the needy, parent associations, etc.).

Also, I had a fun Thanks Giving celebration this weekend with a number of expat friends. Some of them had never been a part of a Thanks Giving gathering before and had never tried pumpkin pie, so it was fun to give them that experience. The food was excellent and so were the games!

Tunisian Cats

Cats are everywhere in Tunisia. They’re in the dumpsters, on the walls, in the gutters, and under cars. They’re in the trees, on the streets, in the cities and on the beach.
Compared to mangy street dogs I’ve seen in other countries, I quite like the street cats. They’re not as scary as dogs, not as dirty, and they don’t bark. They also help catch mice!

     
Being that there’s so many cats it’s hard to live here without ending up with a cat of your own. My neighbors started looking after a stray kitten that moved into our yard and my friend just gave me a cat which I named Gizmo. My new cat is just 6 months old and would have died in a dumpster when he was two weeks old if my friend wouldn’t have saved him. So far he’s doing a great job scaring away little critters that try to get into my house. He also keeps my legs warm when I’m reading books at night or working on the computer.

Knitting Club Goes Fishing

I was surprised when one of my friends from knitting club told me that she had always wanted to go fishing. When I mentioned the idea of going fishing to my Norwegian model friend she also surprised me by saying that she, as I, really liked to fish. So the plan started to grow. After a little bit of searching I found a street in town that has seven different fishing stores on it. We convinced the whole knitting club that it would be fun to take a day trip to Mahdia and go fishing. Then a few of us went to the fishing store street and bought three fishing rods. We also got some lessons on how to do things like tie knots on the fishing line.

A few days later, eight of us met up early on a rainy morning in Mahdia. We braved the elements and started to fish. After a few knots in the lines, lessons on how to cast the fishing rod, a little boat ride, and a lot of laughs we started catching fish. Though we only caught extremely small fish, the girls were so excited and insisted on keeping them to make soup with. The weather turned out to be beautiful and sunny so we were able to fish most of the day, only breaking to have a picnic and to go get hot drinks at a nice coffee shop in town.

      

Getting to work

This past week has been busy. Between work, volunteering, my online class, Arabic classes, and business meetings with some of my expat friends, I hardly feel like I have time to think or relax. I’m enjoying all that I’m doing though! The most stressful part of my day is getting to work. I’ve figured out how to get to and from work using either one or two louagges (public vans that have specific routes), but the time it will take to get to work seems to be out of my control. One day it will take 10 minutes because the louagge fills up quickly and there’s no traffic. Another day it will take 30 minutes. And when it rains, there’s no guarantee that the louagge I need will ever show up.  I was thirty minutes late for work last week because I stood in the pouring rain for forty minutes waiting for the public car I needed, but it never came. I was fortunate enough to have some friends who were willing to drive me but we got stuck in the worst traffic I’ve ever been in here. Luckily, my boss and my students were understanding.

  

Here’s a few pictures from my volunteer work at the hospital.
 

Knitting in Tunisia

As most of you know, I’m part of a knitting club here in Tunisia. No knitting clubs are not common here, as far as I know this is the only one in the whole country. Most people here think knitting is for old women, but we were fortunate enough to meet one young lady who had studied art and textiles in college and loved the idea of starting a knitting club. Through her we have met a few girls who were interested in learning how to knit and now have become avid knitters. On an average Sunday afternoon seven of us come together to knit or crochet, drink coffee or Tunisian tea, and talk. We’ve also had some lunch parties and gone on a few road trips. This club is truly the highlight of my weekends.

Here are a few pictures from recent gatherings and outings shopping for yarn.

    

Recent News

For those of you who haven’t heard on the news or radio there was a suicide bombing attempt today in my city. Thankfully the resort staff stopped the bomber from entering their beach resort where a great deal of damage could have been done. The bomb went off on the beach front by that resort at 9:45 in the morning, but miraculously no one was injured except for the suicide bomber himself. This incident is extremely shocking and grievous for the Tunisian people. This is the first suicide bombing attempt in more than a decade in Tunisia and the authorities are doing everything possible to make sure it is the last. For those of you who are worried about me, I want to remind you that suicide bombings happen in Europe and America as well. Feel free to email me though if you want to express your concerns!

If you’d like a general update on the political climate here in Tunisia watch this short news clip for a general overview.

Engagement Party!

Many Tunisians don’t really date; the majority get engaged, spend time getting to know each other, and then get married about a year later. Engagement parties are a really big thing here. All the friends and family come to celebrate, the bride-to-be wears a wedding dress, the groom brings gifts and a cake to his future brides family, people dance, and then the couple puts on their engagement rings in front of everyone.

All guests were given tea with pine nuts and special Tunisian cookies.

 
The future groom (and friends) arrived with a large wedding cake and some special gifts.

The couple watched as a group of women danced.

Then the couple danced.

….. and danced.

My friend and I arrived at 7:30pm but the party didn’t really get started until around 10:30pm. Unfortunately, we had to leave right about that time to get her sleepy little boy home. We missed the exchanging of the rings and a few other traditions as well; next time we’ll make sure we can still until at least midnight.