Tunisia - Spring Break

So, just a warning, this is going to be a long post. Tunisia was ten days long, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The trip had many ups and downs (including a trip to the hospital, which I will describe in detail soon), but it was awesome and life-changing. So, I shall start at the beginning. Friday, March 2,  we departed from the Rome Center by bus at 7:15 AM. All went smoothly with the flight and we arrived in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, at noon, where we quickly made our way to the American Embassy to meet the ambassador. I had heard about the revolution in Tunisia on the news and such, but I didn't really know any details until I arrived to the embassy. The ambassador, two of his colleagues, and a Tunisian student told us about how before the revolution a year ago, they lived in fear of the government and couldn't speak about anything political. They explained that the government is still in a rebuilding process, but the people all want a democracy where they are free to do as they please. We saw this firsthand soon, because a demonstration started outside the embassy while we were inside, and it was one of the groups who opposed a democracy. We stayed inside the embassy until the demonstration ended, but I learned a lot in the few hours there, and it was cool to see how something like that worked. We then went to the hotel and checked in, had dinner, and took a trip to Sidi Bou Said overlooking the Gulf of Tunis and had some chicha (hookah) with the whole group. We woke up the next morning and had a presentation from the professor on the trip about the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, and then made our way to a palace-turned-restaurant for lunch with 40 Tunisian students. I sat with some other Rome students and two Tunisian graduate students, Ines and Eya. We talked about lots of random things like music, and I sang for them, then Eya sang traditional Tunisian music for the group. They talked about how they want the new government to be a democracy with freedom of religion and women's rights. It was interesting hearing their perspectives on everything from alcohol, since they are forbidden to drink it by their religion, to Americans in general, to Grey's Anatomy. It was a great lunch, and I learned a ton, and then they took us to the local market to do some bargaining. That was great, and then we departed for the hotel for the night.

It felt like a paragraph break was necessary there. On Sunday we went on a tour of Carthage, beginning with a visit to the US Military Cemetery for Americans killed in the North African campaign of WWII. It was kind of a heavy start to the day, but Jim, a former West Point instructor and WWII historian who accompanied us to Tunisia told us a lot of really interesting information, and we all really enjoyed the experience. Then we went to the Bardo Museum, a museum with lots of Roman mosaics and artifacts from when the ancient Romans occupied Carthage. Close to there was the Sanctuary of the Tophet, where we learned about the ancient city of Carthage from Professor Alexander Evers, the Dutch wonder, a history professor from here in Rome who led our trip. Then we drove to the southeastern coast of Tunisia and made our way to the hotel where we had lunch and dinner and just hung out around the town. Monday, March 5, we went to a huge Roman amphitheater at El Jem, which is the 6th largest of ancient Rome. It was fun to climb all around the ruins in a way that we can't at the Colosseum! We then went to Gabes for lunch and to a hotel for lunch and a visit to their local market. Then, we went to Matmata and took a visit to the bar where the famous bar scene in Star Wars was filmed. Fun times. Then we drove to our hotel, which was a cave hotel called a "tryglodyte-style" hotel, and got dinner. We smoked some chicha, and by 10 o'clock, I wasn't feeling very great, so I went to bed. This is where the trip takes a little bit of a southbound turn.

Starting at midnight, I woke up and threw up. I won't go into gory details, but let's just say that me and the bathroom became good friends between midnight and 9AM. I had pretty much emptied everything by 9, but I had a fever and every muscle in my body ached. I learned when I went downstairs that some 25 other students had the same issues, and our head of residence life Mike Beasley had it really bad. We had to rearrange our plans for the day, and we spent the morning in a Tunisian hospital, where I got an IV and soon at least a little bit better. When I was in the hospital, I felt both guilty and incredibly humbled. Guilty, because the hospital made many other Tunisians wait in order to get us in, and many were not happy, but humbled because we were treated like family by the Tunisian staff. I saw a French doctor, and had several other nurses, and they were very caring and accomodating. I couldn't help thinking that if a Muslim student walked into a hospital in the US, there is no way that they would receive the care that I did. It was a strange feeling that made me feel a little bit guilty to be an American, and it made me think a lot. I wasn't happy at all to be sick, but I was happy I got to go to the hospital. From there, I decided to tough it out. We went to the next hotel for lunch, where I slept instead of eating, and then rejoined the group for the camel trek. I was nowhere near 100%, but I rode the camel without any digestive drama. It was a blast. Then we went back to the hotel where we got into 4x4s to embark on our journey to the middle of the Sahara to spend the night in tents. I did my best to have fun and be awake, and we had a blast dancing with some local musicians around a fire, then telling scary and supernatural stories around the fire later. It poured down rain, and I didn't sleep much, but so glad I was well enough to make it.

We woke up the next day and went back to the hotel where I snuck in a shower. I still hadn't eaten since dinner two nights before, but I was perfectly okay with it. Stomach was not ready for Tunisian food. We got into the 4x4s and drove across the Chott el-Jerid salt lake which took most of the day and it was absolutely beautiful. Views like I had never seen before, lake with mountains on the background, and the road went right through the middle. We made our way to our hotel which was in the middle of the Sahara, and I managed to get a little bit of bread and water down for lunch. We made a trip that afternoon to the site of Luke's house on Tatooine in Star Wars, which was fun, then made our way back to the hotel to spend the night. Good day overall, and I was starting to get back up to speed health-wise. The next day we woke up early to catch the Red Lizard Train, a slow-moving train through the Sahara rock formations that stopped at particularly beautiful sites so we could get off and take pictures. I had purchased a camera in the airport in Rome, but it broke before I got this far (not really sure how, said I have a lens error) so I'll have to steal other people's pictures I guess. I digress. The views from the train were awesome, and that was a great day. We then went to the Roman ruins at Sbeitla, which were incredible, and then headed to the hotel for the night in Kairouan. We woke up the next morning to go to the 6th most important mosque in Islam, and the most important mosque in North Africa. It was huge and beautiful, and all of the girls on our trip covered their heads out of respect for the holy place, which was very cool to see. We then went to a famous mausoleum and the market there, then left on the bus for Hammamet, the last city on our trip. We got to Hammamet and checked in to a very awesome resort hotel, and at 9:30 there was a magic show for entertainment and then we all went to the chicha bar and hung out for the night. The next day was a free day in Hammamet, and I slept until 12:30, got a massage, a peel, and an algae wrap, then sat outside under an awning watching the rain with my iPod. Just the relaxing day I needed to get back to 100% health. Then at night, Mike Beasley and Sander Evers, the two chaperones of the trip, took us to Club Havana, a small Latin club where all 70 of us took over. They bought us all a round of drinks, and we danced the night away. It was a perfect end to the trip. We woke up the next morning, drove to the airport in Tunis, and sat in the airport all day because our flight was delayed, and we got back to Rome around 10PM. It was an incredible trip, and I can't really describe it, but it changed my life. Dr. Evers said to us, "Africa runs in your blood once you've been there." Besides the obvious Africa in my blood from the IV, in a more figurative sense, I think he was right. Tunisia was the most beautiful country I've ever been to with some of the nicest people I've ever met. It was one of the best weeks of my life, and it made me want to explore the world further. Anyway, this post has been long enough. Chill week this week, then next weekend is two day trips to some World War II sites around Italy. Should be a chill weekend. If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later. Arrivederci.