My first year of studies in France had come to an end and summer was here. I did not want to stay in Chambéry because it would have been too boring since all of my friends would have been gone. Besides, I did not have enough money to travel around as I used to do it when I lived in Beauvais. What is more, I was looking for some professional experience in the Humanitarian field because I am aware of the importance of having some sort of experience when you are finally in the real world looking for a job.. So I started looking for a place to do some volunteer work. I talked to the director of my program and he suggested that I write some emails to different associations in Togo and Ghana, and so I did. Luckily, I got a positive response from one of the associations in Togo. I started looking for flights and I realized they were too expensive, so I let the chance go. However, this did not keep me from searching.

After a few weeks looking for an association that would accept me, I was finally given the green light in an association called Mediterravenir, in Tunis, Tunisia. And so, my journey began.

I still remember the first day that I arrived in Tunis. It was a Friday evening on the 5th of June, 2015 and I recall how warm the air was. I had friends waiting for me at the airport. I remember when we left the arrival area and went to the parking lot, the air touching my skin was really hot. It actually made me feel as if I were approaching Puerto Vallarta, in Mexico. I had exactly the same feeling that I used to have when I went there with my family when I was younger.  Immediately after leaving my luggage in the car, we headed to a pizzeria to try the Tunisian pizza, which is somehow different from all the other pizzas that I had ever tried. This one was some sort of big calzone but rounded. It was the best pizza ever.

My host Dahbhi was really kind and welcomed me to his place. He gave me my own room and then we talked a little bit before I fell asleep. The following day, Zied, a friend of Dahbhi, came over and he was in charge of making me a tour of the city. He took me out for lunch and then we met some of his friends. He showed me how to use the public transport and we finished our day enjoying a Tunisian tea and a Banana Split, which later would earn me the nickname of "Grand Singe" (Big Monkey) because I could not help eating bananas! Zied automatically became the "Petit Singe" (Little Monkey) since we both shared the same love for bananas. I will not describe every day because that would make this post endless and that is not the point.

Living in Tunisia allowed me to discover this extremely welcoming culture, it showed me how similar the Mexican and the Tunisian people are despite the distance between both countries. I must say that as soon as I set a foot in Tunisia, I felt at home. It was this sensation that words cannot describe because you just feel it. It feels right to be there. It is a sense of belonging to a place that I had never had in any other places, except for my own country, obviously.

Culturally and religiously speaking, I had the opportunity to experience the Ramadan. I do not mean to offend any Muslim person. I confess I did not follow it, even if I did want to. The idea of not eating anything was fine, but not drinking water was just impossible. (I learned I was not the only one who did not do it...those Muslims who do not do it feel ashamed and have to hide during lunch time, most places are closed) The heat was just too strong and I needed to hydrate myself, otherwise I think I would have died (I know this is a bit exaggerated). Besides, I was living in El Kram, and the Mediterravenir office was in Charguia II...if you google-map that, you will see that they are quite apart and that implied taking a train from El Kram to the TGM Station(Tunis-Goulette-Marsa) in Tunis downtown and then a bus from there to Charguia II. It took me around one hour and a half to get there. Commuting under the sun and not being able to drink anything was just not happening for me. It would just never work. I did succeed in not eating anything whatsoever like...once or twice, I remember that we had to wait until 19:50 to be able to eat something.

The first day of breakfast was magical. Dahbhi explained me the meaning of the moon for Muslims and how it represented the beginning of Ramadan. I looked at the moon through the window and it was awesome. I guess I had never looked at it with such interest and I had never given this mystical sense to it.

Dahbhi and Zied explained to me that the tradition was to break the fast with a glass of water and two dates (the fruit) because that was the way the prophet Mohammed did. After that, tradition dictates that you have to eat a particular kind of traditional soup. Then, you can have salad (most Tunisian salads include tuna fish, so although I do like tuna fish, I sort of ended up hating it), bricks (a sort of empanada with a special type of crepe...) and then the main dish, which was always different.

After lunch, life begins. People go out to the different cafés located everywhere on the street. Motorbikes grunting here and there. Beaches crowded with people enjoying the mouth-watering Tunisian tea with mint and almonds. Music coming from every house. I was shocked because I would have never expected that. I remember how peaceful and tranquil everything was during the day. People usually spend their days at work and then go to bed, only to wake up at around 5pm to start cooking dinner. So the city was normally very quiet...but when night came, it all changed.

Tunisians...

I guess I should write a whole different post about them. They are just the kindest people I have ever met. I always felt welcome whenever I went to their house, or even when I met someone on the street. It was wonderful to have this feeling of closeness.

I recall the first time I went to Tunis in March 2015, to participate in the Forum Social Mondial. Taxi drivers would take advantage of tourists. One of them tried to charge us over 20 dinars instead of seven as the other taxi drivers had charged my classmates. But the second time, during summer, it was all different. I guess the fact that I look like a Tunisian kind of helped in a sense, and I say I guess because I am not sure. I assume that they looked at me and they thought I was Tunisian so they did not even try to get any more money from me. Or, they were simply honest people. I prefer to believe it was the second option.

One day, the man at the ticket office in the train station asked me: "Pourquoi vous me parlez en français ?" (Why do you talk to me in French?). At first, I did not know how to answer but then I just said: "Because I cannot speak Arabic." So he continued: "Aren't you Tunisian?" and I replied that I was not. Surprised, he added: "You look Tunisian. Your face, your eyes...your hair, your skin!". I thanked him and said that I was from Mexico. He was very excited to learn that I was Mexican. He immediately started throwing names of different characters of old Mexican telenovelas that were aired even before I was born!! I did not know what to say...I told him: "Oh, it's nice that you know something about Mexico. Now it's my turn to learn a little bit about Tunisia. I'll see you here tomorrow. Salam Aleykoum" and I went on to take my train.

He was not the only one surprised to learn that I was not Tunisian. There were plenty of people who would always give me a look when I spoke French to them and they could not help asking me why. Some of them even asked me if I were French. I must say I felt flattered that they thought that I was Tunisian. For once, I was not a foreigner! and I also have to say that I felt flattered that they thought that I was French because of my French skills. This year in France seems to have born fruits.

Landscapes...

Tunisia is a beautiful country. Beautiful beaches, the desert, the archaeological sites, the forest...all of them combined to make of Tunisia a place worth visiting. Most people go to its beaches and I do not blame them for that. Kelibia and Bizerte were my favorite. When it comes to history, the ruins in Carthage and Douggha are magnificent. I did not have the opportunity to go down to the desert because it is too hot during the summer, so it is preferable to go there during the winter when the temperature is a bit lower.

Cultural differences...

I started this entry saying how much Mexicans are similar to Tunisians, however, there are many differences on the cultural level.

The dress code for men is exactly the same as in other countries (jeans, shirts, t-shirts, suits, etc), except for special occasions when even young men have to wear a special kind of clothing. For example, during the Aïd el-Fitr which marks the end of the Ramadan. Also during weddings, but I did not have the luck to participate in any. Nonetheless, this is not the case for women, as there still exists the idea that women should not show themselves in front of men. Sometimes, not even in front of the men of their family. Once, I went to the house of a friend. The parents had had a second floor built only for their daughters. In this floor, the girls could wear whatever they wanted and could do as they pleased. However, once they came downstairs they had to cover their bodies with a veil.

The burqa is worn mainly for three different reasons, according to what I learned: 1) Personal decision. Girls want to wear the burqa because they are convinced this is the way the should do. 2) Obligation. Their parents or husbands make them wear the burqa in order to avoid attracting other men's view and avoid lascivious thoughts; and 3) Tradition: They have seen their grandmothers and mothers do it, and they continue wearing it. Not all women wear the burqa. Most do not, and it is not rare to see youngsters making fun of these women. Tunisians say that covering a woman's body is not mandatory, not by religion standards as many of them make us believe. But it is also true that Tunisia is one of the laxest Muslim countries when it comes to religion, and allow me to say that this is NOT my opinion, but that of Tunisians themselves.

Following this, it is not strange to see girls and women dressed as any other woman in the world, with a skirt or shorts and a nice blouse, but then it is also common to see women wearing the veil to cover their heads. Some others wear gloves. I must add that I could not imagine how hot it must have been for them to wear all those clothes given the extremely high temperature (which sometimes reached 50º). Even on the beach, as you could see in the previous picture, some women would go into the water completely covered. Obviously there are special swimsuits for them, but it was impressive to see women wearing bikini next to other who were fully covered.

Gay life is out of the question. Gays and lesbians must do everything undercover. There is not a single gay bar/gay club in the whole of Tunis, and that is not surprising since it is illegal to have sexual intercourse with someone of your same sex. Rumor has it that nobody has been incarcerated because of that, but the law is the law. Most gay men have to live a double life and most of them even resort to marriage to stop people from talking. Applications such as Grindr are very successful because they allow men to meet other men without having to actually go out and display themselves in the outside world. Private meetings are arranged and that is it. This is not surprising since Grindr is a very successful application everywhere among gay men. I must say that this has driven many men to depression since they cannot find a way out. They struggle with their own selves because they would rather have a heterosexual life without having to hide themselves from the rest of the world.

Going out is so much different because even if there is alcohol available in a few places...very few places, people choose to drink strawberry juice, lait de poule (banana milkshake, literally "chicken milk"), Tunisian tea, sodas, citronnade (lemonade) etc. I realized that young people are rather calm, or at least the ones that I met.They still like to play soccer on the streets, it reminded me of when I was a kid in Mexico...But they are also victims of unemployment and the cigarette.

Some unemployed young men hang around in the streets aimlessly. They have nothing else to do. It is easy to find groups of kids and young men hanging out together, and it is not rare to see young children smoking with their comrades, which is rather sad.

Tunisia, as most countries of "the South", has a lot of problems to face. Especially after the terrorist attacks that took place in March in the Bardo museum and in June in Sousse. Tunisia depends highly on its tourism and since tourists are the main target of the terrorists, they have stopped coming. Thus, bringing Tunisia down. Investment has also suffered. Many companies have decided not to invest in this country after the change of political regime. They argue they will come back once the political situation becomes more steady.

I guess I will stop there for now. I have so many things to add, but this post would become endless...See you next time :)

Do not forget to take a look at the video I made just after coming back from my experience in Tunis.