Tunis
I’ve been in Tunisia for approximately three weeks now. It’s felt like a lot longer because I already feel pretty comfortable here. No doubt I miss home, but overall it’s been a great experience so far. Many of you (yall know who you are) have been asking me why I haven’t updated my blog as of yet. Well, internet here isn’t that great and it takes a while for pictures to be uploaded. It was easier to upload the pictures on a separate website. So when it says picture, go to that picture in the album. Or you can just look at the pictures and not read anything if you want.
Album link: http://ansar.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php
I’ve already taken over 300 pictures but it takes too long to upload with the slow connection.
I’ll start at the beginning. The trip here was nice- one night stopover in London in a small suburb of London. It really messed my sleep schedule up since I slept from 2-10 pm in the hotel but I adjust pretty well so it was all good. The highlight of the trip to Tunis was at the London hotel.
Picture 1
Pretty Nice eh? It was my first time seeing one in person.
Ok, upon arriving at the Tunis airport, I was greeted by Lotfi; he’s the Tunisian program coordinator of the exchange program I’m in. For those of you who don’t know, it’s called the Salaam program and its through AIESEC. Google it if you want more information, but basically they help set up the living arrangements and get you accustomed to the city. So Lotfi was my tour guide for the first weekend I was here. Got a sim card for my phone (cell phone service is really cheap). And actually, if yall have an international card laying around with extra minutes on it, then holla at me. I’ll give you my number.
So what were my first impressions of Tunisia? To be honest, it was similar to what I expected. I talked to some people about it and got a lot information before I left. It’s a city of extremes. You have the old city, called the “Medina.” Then right adjacent to it is the main street of the city- which immediately reminded me of the Champs- Elysees in Paris. Then you have the place where I work next to the lake, which is really new and nice and where all the big business is.
Pictures 2-4
The Medina- filled with small shops who try to rip tourists off.
Picture 5
Separation between the new and old
Pictures 6-8
Municipalities and the main street fountain/ clock.
Picture 9
The Lac Palace- a “mall” near where I work.
Tunisian People
They are very hospitable and social people. It’s not unusual for people to strike conversations with you in the Taxi, bus, or just on the street. For those of you don’t know, Tunisia is in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. The culture is a combination between Middle East and Europe; they speak mostly French and Arabic, some Italian- rarely English. And I do get mistaken a lot for a native Tunisian. Unfortunately, I don’t know any French and although I have taken two years of Arabic, the dialect here is very different. But I get by with hand signals and my limited Arabic. People seem to like the fact that I’m American when I tell them, and then get even more excited when I tell them I’m Pakistani. The country is very liberal- especially considering it’s considered to be an Islamic Middle East nation. But it seems a lot more European to me. And everyone, I mean Everyone, smokes here constantly. I’ve become a second hand chain smoker. The culture fits my personality pretty well because everyone is real chill and laid-back all the time.
Where I Live?
My first week in Tunisia I lived in an international hostel in the Medina. It was definitely an interesting experience. I met people from Algeria, Australia, Boston, France, Taiwan, Egypt, and other places I don’t even remember. It was a good temporary place- hot water and free breakfast.
Pictures 10-11
Then I moved into my current place which is just off the main avenue in downtown. It’s really old and pretty ghetto but it’s all good. I share a room with Ben, who’s from Indiana. My other current roommates are Tejal from India and Luciano and Annie from Canada. All are very cool people, and we all get along real well. We keep the place pretty clean and we have hot water- can’t ask for more than that. It has a little mosquito and roach problem also, but nothing too bad. “We” also do some cooking. Case in point:
Pictures 12-14
I do most of the supervising. It’s best for me to stay out of the kitchen- at least for now.
Pictures 15-18
The current home
Food
The food in Tunisia is pretty unique, and I like it a lot. I’ve had one stomach ache while getting used to the new cuisine, but nothing too bad. Since there is no American chains here (I think it’s the one country that McDonald’s hasn’t taken over), we eat native food for every meal. Some of the common things you’ll find: Chwarma- if you don’t know what it is, it’s kind of like a Gyro, and if you don’t know what that is, then picture a sandwich with meat (usually lamb). There’s a lot of Tuna everywhere- in sandwiches, as an appetizer, on a pizza. Pizza is very common too- Italy is so close you can take a ferry there. Fresh fruit is expensive but exceptional. An all the food has hareesa- a really spicy sauce that adds flavor to everything. You can get a filling meal for about 2, sometimes even 1, dinar. A dinar is about 90 cents. Not dirt cheap, but not too expensive.
What I’ve Done
I got here on a Friday so I visited some nearby sights my first weekend here with Ben and Lotfi. We visited a couple of the resort towns around here- Sidi Bou Said and La Marsa. These places are crawling with tourists; pictures describe these places best:
Pictures 19-25
My second weekend here I took a day trip to two places south of Tunis- Al Jem and Mahdia. I went with my roommates (mentioned above), Jeff (a coworker of mine and a fellow trainee from Chicago who’s been immensely helpful getting me accustomed to life here in Tunis), and his friend Simi visiting from Germany. We woke up at 5 in the morning on a Saturday and didn’t get back for about 20 hours. It was definitely worth it even though that weekend I was kind of sick. Al Jem is an old town with an amphitheater (that some people say is better than the Roman Colisseum) and nice mosaic museum. We spent half the day there and then we relaxed on the beaches of Mahdia afterwards. Mahdia’s claim to fame- they shot the English Patient there. Again, pictures describe the place better than I can:
Pictures 26-30
The amphitheater
Pictures 31-36
The mosaic museum which also includes other old Roman artifacts
Pictures 37-42
Mahdia
Work
The main reason I haven’t updated my blog is because I’m so busy at work. But I’m really satisfied with work. I work with a Swiss Investment Bank that specializes in the Middle East- North Africa region. The Tunis branch has about 10 people in it, and my coworkers are all very cool. They aren’t like other Tunisians; they work long hours and get their stuff done. So of course I have to also. During the summer here, there’s something called “séance unique” where everyone leaves work around 1 pm. But not us- I’m really happy when I get to leave by 6pm. But fortunately work is rewarding and satisfying. I do both investment bank and private equity stuff and get to work with the executives. I actually went on my first business trip this past week- got a tour of a production plant of a company we’re evaluating and got treated to a nice lunch, had the best fish ever there. The office is really nice also- I have my own little office, computer, nice chair, and view of the lake out the window. Pictures:
Pictures 43
Picture of my desk that I found on the company server- now I have a brand new computer and flat panel monitor
Pictures 44-46
So that’s just a bit of what I’ve been up to so far in Tunis. I’ll be here for another 5 and a half months so I’ll definitely have more to say. I’ve barely explored the country. I haven’t even gone to some of the more famous places here. I miss the States a little bit so go ahead and holla at me when ya get the chance. Till next time (don’t know when I’ll update again)... out.
I’ve been in Tunisia for approximately three weeks now. It’s felt like a lot longer because I already feel pretty comfortable here. No doubt I miss home, but overall it’s been a great experience so far. Many of you (yall know who you are) have been asking me why I haven’t updated my blog as of yet. Well, internet here isn’t that great and it takes a while for pictures to be uploaded. It was easier to upload the pictures on a separate website. So when it says picture, go to that picture in the album. Or you can just look at the pictures and not read anything if you want.
Album link: http://ansar.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php
I’ve already taken over 300 pictures but it takes too long to upload with the slow connection.
I’ll start at the beginning. The trip here was nice- one night stopover in London in a small suburb of London. It really messed my sleep schedule up since I slept from 2-10 pm in the hotel but I adjust pretty well so it was all good. The highlight of the trip to Tunis was at the London hotel.
Picture 1
Pretty Nice eh? It was my first time seeing one in person.
Ok, upon arriving at the Tunis airport, I was greeted by Lotfi; he’s the Tunisian program coordinator of the exchange program I’m in. For those of you who don’t know, it’s called the Salaam program and its through AIESEC. Google it if you want more information, but basically they help set up the living arrangements and get you accustomed to the city. So Lotfi was my tour guide for the first weekend I was here. Got a sim card for my phone (cell phone service is really cheap). And actually, if yall have an international card laying around with extra minutes on it, then holla at me. I’ll give you my number.
So what were my first impressions of Tunisia? To be honest, it was similar to what I expected. I talked to some people about it and got a lot information before I left. It’s a city of extremes. You have the old city, called the “Medina.” Then right adjacent to it is the main street of the city- which immediately reminded me of the Champs- Elysees in Paris. Then you have the place where I work next to the lake, which is really new and nice and where all the big business is.
Pictures 2-4
The Medina- filled with small shops who try to rip tourists off.
Picture 5
Separation between the new and old
Pictures 6-8
Municipalities and the main street fountain/ clock.
Picture 9
The Lac Palace- a “mall” near where I work.
Tunisian People
They are very hospitable and social people. It’s not unusual for people to strike conversations with you in the Taxi, bus, or just on the street. For those of you don’t know, Tunisia is in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. The culture is a combination between Middle East and Europe; they speak mostly French and Arabic, some Italian- rarely English. And I do get mistaken a lot for a native Tunisian. Unfortunately, I don’t know any French and although I have taken two years of Arabic, the dialect here is very different. But I get by with hand signals and my limited Arabic. People seem to like the fact that I’m American when I tell them, and then get even more excited when I tell them I’m Pakistani. The country is very liberal- especially considering it’s considered to be an Islamic Middle East nation. But it seems a lot more European to me. And everyone, I mean Everyone, smokes here constantly. I’ve become a second hand chain smoker. The culture fits my personality pretty well because everyone is real chill and laid-back all the time.
Where I Live?
My first week in Tunisia I lived in an international hostel in the Medina. It was definitely an interesting experience. I met people from Algeria, Australia, Boston, France, Taiwan, Egypt, and other places I don’t even remember. It was a good temporary place- hot water and free breakfast.
Pictures 10-11
Then I moved into my current place which is just off the main avenue in downtown. It’s really old and pretty ghetto but it’s all good. I share a room with Ben, who’s from Indiana. My other current roommates are Tejal from India and Luciano and Annie from Canada. All are very cool people, and we all get along real well. We keep the place pretty clean and we have hot water- can’t ask for more than that. It has a little mosquito and roach problem also, but nothing too bad. “We” also do some cooking. Case in point:
Pictures 12-14
I do most of the supervising. It’s best for me to stay out of the kitchen- at least for now.
Pictures 15-18
The current home
Food
The food in Tunisia is pretty unique, and I like it a lot. I’ve had one stomach ache while getting used to the new cuisine, but nothing too bad. Since there is no American chains here (I think it’s the one country that McDonald’s hasn’t taken over), we eat native food for every meal. Some of the common things you’ll find: Chwarma- if you don’t know what it is, it’s kind of like a Gyro, and if you don’t know what that is, then picture a sandwich with meat (usually lamb). There’s a lot of Tuna everywhere- in sandwiches, as an appetizer, on a pizza. Pizza is very common too- Italy is so close you can take a ferry there. Fresh fruit is expensive but exceptional. An all the food has hareesa- a really spicy sauce that adds flavor to everything. You can get a filling meal for about 2, sometimes even 1, dinar. A dinar is about 90 cents. Not dirt cheap, but not too expensive.
What I’ve Done
I got here on a Friday so I visited some nearby sights my first weekend here with Ben and Lotfi. We visited a couple of the resort towns around here- Sidi Bou Said and La Marsa. These places are crawling with tourists; pictures describe these places best:
Pictures 19-25
My second weekend here I took a day trip to two places south of Tunis- Al Jem and Mahdia. I went with my roommates (mentioned above), Jeff (a coworker of mine and a fellow trainee from Chicago who’s been immensely helpful getting me accustomed to life here in Tunis), and his friend Simi visiting from Germany. We woke up at 5 in the morning on a Saturday and didn’t get back for about 20 hours. It was definitely worth it even though that weekend I was kind of sick. Al Jem is an old town with an amphitheater (that some people say is better than the Roman Colisseum) and nice mosaic museum. We spent half the day there and then we relaxed on the beaches of Mahdia afterwards. Mahdia’s claim to fame- they shot the English Patient there. Again, pictures describe the place better than I can:
Pictures 26-30
The amphitheater
Pictures 31-36
The mosaic museum which also includes other old Roman artifacts
Pictures 37-42
Mahdia
Work
The main reason I haven’t updated my blog is because I’m so busy at work. But I’m really satisfied with work. I work with a Swiss Investment Bank that specializes in the Middle East- North Africa region. The Tunis branch has about 10 people in it, and my coworkers are all very cool. They aren’t like other Tunisians; they work long hours and get their stuff done. So of course I have to also. During the summer here, there’s something called “séance unique” where everyone leaves work around 1 pm. But not us- I’m really happy when I get to leave by 6pm. But fortunately work is rewarding and satisfying. I do both investment bank and private equity stuff and get to work with the executives. I actually went on my first business trip this past week- got a tour of a production plant of a company we’re evaluating and got treated to a nice lunch, had the best fish ever there. The office is really nice also- I have my own little office, computer, nice chair, and view of the lake out the window. Pictures:
Pictures 43
Picture of my desk that I found on the company server- now I have a brand new computer and flat panel monitor
Pictures 44-46
So that’s just a bit of what I’ve been up to so far in Tunis. I’ll be here for another 5 and a half months so I’ll definitely have more to say. I’ve barely explored the country. I haven’t even gone to some of the more famous places here. I miss the States a little bit so go ahead and holla at me when ya get the chance. Till next time (don’t know when I’ll update again)... out.
