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.

Aidek Mabrouk!

Just before the big holiday sheep were everywhere. Traffic was stopped regularly because of sheep crossings. Sheep were crammed into the backs of smalls cars or carried on motorcycles. After purchasing one, people would parade it around the neighborhood. The night before the Eid ("Feast of the Sacrifice") hardly any sheep were left by the roadsides and you could hear sheep talking to each other through the walls that separated them. 
 
I went to my friend’s house on Monday night and met their ill-fated sheep. It was quite fond of the camera but I didn’t take too many pictures of it because I didn’t want to get too attached.
  
The following morning everyone in the house got up at sunrise. Some went to the mosque to pray. Others went to the cemetery to mourn loved ones. Others got breakfast ready.   

By eight in the morning the men seemed ready to slaughter the sheep and the women seemed ready to start preparing the lamb meat. Kids played with the sheep.  People took its picture. One guy tried to imitate the sheep whisperer, a man who is able to slaughter a sheep without it struggling because of the words he says to it, but he didn’t have the special touch.
  
The men slaughtered the sheep while I hid inside. Then they skinned it and gutted it while the women watched. They use every single part of the sheep. The wool will be turned into a rug or used to stuff pillows. The intestines are used to make a special type of sausage. Even the feet and the head are used in a couscous dish.  
The neighbors brought their sheep over to be slaughtered as well.
 
By 11am we were eating fresh BBQ lamb with bread and a chili pepper salad.
(Then I went to another friends house where I of course ate a lot more lamb meat).

A Few New Doors

Yes, I’ve continued to take pictures of doors, but I’ve also gone through a few new “doors” recently. I started teaching English at a small language institute last week and this week I started volunteering at the local hospital in the cancer ward.

Both of these things pretty much fell into my lap. A friend of mine told the director at the language institute I might be interested in a job. The director called me early Monday morning.  I had an interview two hours after that. Then I started teaching the following day!

The volunteer position started because a friend of a friend heard that I used to volunteer at the autism center (volunteers are hard to come by here). That person used to oversee the play room at the children’s cancer ward but was no long able to, so they asked me if I could . I was hesitant at first but after meeting the hospital staff and some of the kids I knew it was a perfect fit.

     

Day in Mahdia

Mahdia (Arabic: المهدية‎ al-Mahdiya) is a quaint coastal town about two hours by train from Sousse. It’s known for it’s fish-processing industry and for weaving.  I had gone there roughly four years ago and really liked it, so I was excited when two of my friends from my knitting club invited me to go for a last minute trip there. The two sisters I traveled with had grown up in Mahdia and both took great joy walking through the fish market where they used to buy fish. I felt a little sick from the smell, but my friends walked through the market very slowly, marveling at how fresh and cheap the fish were. After the fish tour we walked through the old town, took lots of pictures of pretty much everything, went to a gallery where one of the girls had some artwork on display, got some tea, bought some weaved items, and sat by the sea. The sisters seemed to enjoy absolutely everything we did that day because each place and activity reminded them of their childhood. Once again, another fun day with friends!