My life is a Tunisia rap song.....

Avenue Bourghuiba (Tunis)

So here's the deal, I’ve been in country for three days and it has been quite the experience. So far we’ve had tons of class, everyday, all day. Our group is great and we’re really getting to know each other. They’re all very nice and we’re bonding over struggling with Tunsie. We got to Washington and had our first orientations and then a couple more here in Tunisia. The first three days here we spent in a hotel (on the Avenue des Etats-Unis, how appropriate) and just moved in with our families today.

It was a bit of a surreal experience. From start to finish. I guess that we’re at the move-in process finish at this point and I need to recap for your own benefit. The morning started off great, we all had breakfast together, packed up, got our stuff ready, etc. etc. We hopped on the bus and drove up to Sidi Bou Said. It’s a suburb north of Tunis that is sort of upscale and full of tourists, with good reason. We saw it the other day and it’s beautiful, whitewashed houses everywhere with blue doors and windows. Looks exactly like Greece. We’re going to school there and are spread out in families there and in the next town over, La Marsa. That’s where I live, with one of my best friends on the trip, Kevin. We’d been hanging out a bunch the last few days and so it was a bit crazy we ended up living together. Everyone got to the school and unloaded their things and we sat around waiting, like on Survivor, to see who was getting voted off the island first. Except it wasn’t a negative feeling, just sort of an anxious one. You ever go to the doctor and sit, and sit, and sit, and people keep getting called before you? That’s how it was. We were just waiting to see who was next. And of course a bunch of the families were already there so as we walked in everyone was looking around at each other. Because they knew we were their students and we knew that somewhere one of our families was lurking. So of course everyone said hello to everyone else as if they were about to move in with them. Even though the chances were slim. I swear I said asalama and shnua hwayluk (hello and how are you) to everyone in the place.

Downtown Tunis

So we all sat down and waited like I said. And boy was it awkward. People started leaving and I couldn’t resist joking about it being like a dodge ball tournament where the last person picked is the rotten egg. People kept leaving in pairs and so we were kind of excited to see if we’d be living with one of our friends. As I mentioned, I’d been hanging out with Kevin a lot and we hadn’t expected to live together, but wouldn’t you know it. Sonia was telling us that they’d placed people together based on their interests and personalities and such. So I guess it wasn’t really that odd. But of course, after my jokes about being last, we were. Us and two other guys whose families weren’t there yet.

But our guy got there, our brother Bessem. He’s 24 and just about to take his final exams to get a degree in financial engineering. Quite the guy. We think he’s a bit of a frat boy. Kinda crazy, likes to drink a lot, hit on girls, get into trouble, etc. And he knows the entire town. His friends were everywhere we went. We spent a couple hours in a café and then went back to the house. And then went back to the café. And then went back to the house. And then went out to another café. See. Long story. Sort of awkward one too. But to put it straight, our host mom just died. Um. Two weeks ago. From cancer. Not exactly the usual situation you move into. We feel a little awkward to say the least. But what can you do? That’s just how it is. Anyways, point is, the house was getting a shakedown in preparation for the party tonight. So we spent a bunch of time out with Bessem and then came back to eat and hang out with the family. Really nice people. And what was crazy to me was how familiar it all seemed. They were all so close, joking around, etc. The people are so close here. They love each other and aren’t afraid to show it. They crack jokes, push each other around, hug, yell, etc. It’s just a great kind of interaction that you rarely see between different age groups too. But they’re amazingly close and so open and friendly with strangers.

 Near the souk.

The other part, was the whole time out on the town. Bessem, as I said, is Mr. Popular. And he knows everyone. So a bunch of his friends joined us for drinks at the café, and then we drove off downtown with two of them. The one, was a hilarious guy who apparently is the same, he spent the entire time yelling out the windows to his friends as we drove by. The other, is a Lebanese Idol star. Has multiple CDs and such out. He’s really popular here in the area too I guess. So we went to the cafes and then drove around for a bit. And like I titled this post, our lives are now like a Middle Eastern rap video. They sang with him (of course) and drummed on any part of the car they could. Ceiling. Dashboard. Each other. You name it. And in addition, they spent it yelling out the windows at people, teaching us every swear word they could think of, hitting on random women, and generally just being big rowdy bears. Which I compare them to because they were so harmless, a bit like Baloo or Yogi. The type of people who were happy with life and everything around them. It was a great afternoon and we spent it laughing at their antics in the backseat.

We made it back and ate some food and met the family. We sat out on the porch and talked, listened to some stories, worked on our Arabic some more, and then said goodbye as people started to wander out. We helped add another bed to our room, and now here we are. Just getting ready for bed, writing a bit before we hit the hay.