Tales from Tunisia

Love

2009-05-25T05:03:00.000-07:00

When I went off to teach in Tunisia, someone said to me, "I just know you're going to meet someone and fall in love!" In my mind, there wasn't much chance of moving to a country that was 99% Muslim and meeting a man who was:

1. A dedicated Christian

2. Single

3. Intelligent

4. Musical

5. Not in the military

6. Funny

7. Handsome

Well, I didn't meet that guy, but I met Arthur and he was close enough. Just kidding. I found all of that and more when we met at the American School just a few weeks after I arrived in the country. After seeing Arthur in the international choir and quickly finding that he met qualities number 7 and 4, my research began! I was delighted to find everything I was looking for and even some things I wasn't looking for (how did I get so lucky to find a guy who can COOK?) We began dating last year, he proposed in August, I said yes about one millisecond later and we'll be married in the states this July. It's all SO exciting. We plan to return to Tunisia after the wedding to continue our work at the school. Just thought I should let you know ;)

Six Months Later....Shame on Me!

2008-07-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

Since I just finished a week-long course entitled, "Technology in Education," I'm inspired to update my dormant blog. I'm sure my three readers will be thrilled. :) I'll give a quick summary of my last six months. Thank goodness for iCalendar on my computer or I would have no idea what I've been up to.

In February, I took over the direction of both the middle school and high school choirs at school. Though I'd been assisting with the choir since the fall, the changes in the director's schedule required that I either take over the rehearsals and trips, or we'd have to cancel choir. So I took on the challenge and fumbled my way through conducting to lead a group of wonderful students. We met before school, at lunch, and sometimes after school to prepare for some challenging performances in March, April, and May. In March, I took four high school boys to Muscat, Oman to participate in a choral invitation with seven other international schools from the Middle East. Oman was fabulous. I loved the school, the people, the climate....and the mall. It was odd to see women completely veiled sitting in Starbucks or shopping at Gap. After rehearsing for two days under the direction of Christoper Aspaas from the reputable St. Olaf College in Minnesota, we put on a concert at the American International School of Muscat. I hurried back to Tunis for the two days of rehearsals before leaving again for April's choir trip: twelve middle school singers performing with European international schools in Lisbon, Portugal. We performed two concerts and did quite a bit of sight-seeing in the charming city of Lisbon. May brought our ACST spring music concert as well as a performance at graduation. Also this spring, I was involved in the music team at the Anglican church in Tunis, which I really enjoyed. I would describe this spring as musically "stretching," as I had the chance to lead congregational singing as well as conduct choral groups for the first time.

Summer brought a delightful three-week visit with Sarah and Jennifer, two of my best buds from college. They flew to Tunis for a week and then we traveled (by ferry!) to Palermo, Sicily. After a few days in Sicily, we "trained it" north through Italy, stopping for a few days each in Rome, Florence, and Cinque Terre. It was a two-week adventure filled with museums, good hotels (researched and well-chosen by Sarah and Jennifer), delicious food, gallons of sunscreen, and gallons of gelato. At the end of June, the girls flew home to the states, and I continued on to Switzerland to begin my master's degree studies in Leysin, Switzerland. The program is accredited through Boston's Endicott College, but my cohort meets in Leysin for two consecutive summers, and online during the year. I just finished the first four weeks of study toward a degree in International Education, and four weekends of studying Switzerland's Alps! Adventures included wine-tasting and farmer's markets in the valley, the famous Montreux Jazz festival three weekends in a row, hiking, and paragliding through the mountains. The coursework has been interesting, and the people in my cohort are lots of fun. This is definitely the way to do grad school!

After a busy busy year, I'll be heading back to the states on Sunday for three weeks. I am looking forward to reconnecting with my family, friends, and the best city ever.

Enjoy the pictures!

My hotel in Madrid....just kidding, this is St. Andrew's Church where I heard a beautiful mass complete with a full choir. (picture by my friend Sandy Elder)

Amazing Flamenco dancer at Tablao Flamenco Restaurant Corral de la Moreria, reported to be the best place to see Flamenco in Spain. (picture by Sandy Elder)

Street performer, Madrid (picture by Sandy Elder)

Skype web conference call with my sixth graders and my brother Evan's sixth graders in Oregon. Cool, huh?

HOT day in Muscat, Oman (March 2008)

Choir students on beach in Muscat, Oman

Rooftops in Lisbon, Portugal

Fairy-tale castle where we played make-believe for hours, Lisbon, Portugal

Final concert, middle school choir, Lisbon, Portugal

My curtains are done and I have pictures on the walls at my house in Tunisia, just in time for Sarah and Jennifer to arrive!

Jennifer and I trying out our belly-dancing skills, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia

Ice cream break with Sarah and Jennifer, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia

Spring flowers, Tunis, Tunisia

Roman ruins, Dougga, Tunisia

Sunset as viewed from the balcony of my hotel, Leysin, Switzerland

Lake Geneva, Vevey, Switzerland

This castle just sold for 1 Swiss Franc; you missed it.

Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland

Street musicians, Vevey, Switzerland

Another day at Lake Geneva, Vevey, Switzerland

Mountain view from my favorite hiking trail, Leysin, Switzerland

View from the top of the chairlift, just before I JUMPED off the mountain with a parachute strapped to me (oh yeah, and a licensed guide strapped to me)

Taken from the air - 3,000 meters altitude. This was such a rush!

Landing on solid ground!

Istanbul!

2008-01-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

Below are just a few pictures of Istanbul: the Sultans' palace where we admired an 86 carat diamond and more gold and jewels than I thought possible, the famous Blue Mosque with its 6 minarets, the Grand Bazaar with all the goods including sahlep (yummy warm tapioca-like drink), the Egyptian spice market, and one of the bridges over the river. All of this was on the European side of the city, which Angie showed us in a delightful, whirlwind tour.

New Year's Eve

2008-01-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

At Amanda's fabulous suggestion, we ventured over "the Med" to Istanbul for New Year's and spent a week exploring the city. We quickly realized that it would take a lot more than a week of exploring to do the city justice. Anyway, we flew in on New Year's Eve and enjoyed a breathtaking ferryboat ride across the Bosphorous River to the Asian side of the city. Here I am in Asia for the first time! We met up with my mom's childhood friend, Angie, who hosted us during our time there. It was the perfect arrival, complete with gorgeous views, great conversation, and Amanda's anxiously awaited doner kebab. We heard that most New Year's celebrations were cancelled due to political unrest, so we just walked down to the water to bring in 2008 with a handful of people who were out. Can you see the glorious fireworks display behind us in the photo by the river that night? Yeah, neither could we.

Sunrise, Sunset

2008-01-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

Amanda adored my favorite neighborhood around here, Sidi Bou Said. We managed to take in a sunset and a sunrise up on the hill overlooking the sea (not simultaneously, though). The cafe shown is a great spot for mint tea served with pine nuts. Yum!

Carthage

2008-01-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas brought me a wonderful present - AMANDA! She flew in on the 23rd and we spent two weeks catching up and seeing the sights around where I live. My friend showed us around Carthage and it was great to have a tour with someone so knowledgable (as in, she's lived here her whole life and written a book about the different empires that have occupied Carthage). Here are pictures of the Roman amphitheater and baths.

Fontana de Trevi (Trevi Fountain)

2007-11-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

This beautiful fountain is the very end of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC. It provides water to all the fountains in the center of Rome.

The legend about Trevi Fountain is that if you stand with your back to it and throw a coin over your shoulder, you will return to Rome. You can see that I am really hoping for that! (I was also hoping not to hit a tourist with my coin, because it was so crowded that I couldn't get close to the fountain).

High School Choir in Rome

2007-11-03T13:55:00.001-07:00

Oh yes, and the kids did sing while we were there! In fact, they rehearsed for most of the day on Wednesday and Thursday in order to perform on Friday. The choir was composed of our kids from Tunis as well as an international school choir from Lisbon (Portugal) and Rome. The director from Lisbon worked with the kids all week and the result was fabulous. Stay tuned to hear a clip from YouTube in a few days when I figure out how to do it.

Colosseum

2007-11-03T13:34:00.001-07:00

Can you believe that construction started on this building in AD 72? (For all you Blazer fans - the whole "Colosseum" idea didn't start in Portland).

GLADIATORS....although I don't think that the real Gladiators were quite so affectionate.

Look closely at this photo and you can see the hundreds of tourists on the second level of the building. Pretty amazing!

Pantheon

2007-11-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

The Pantheon was built over 1800 years ago, but it still stands in the center of Rome. I loved the juxtapositioning of the Pantheon with modern day Rome surrounding it. We were walking down a busy street when the building seemed to appear out of nowhere!

Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica

2007-11-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've been helping with the choir at ACST, and this week, the students performed at an invitational choir festival in Rome. We toured Vatican City and saw St. Peters, the largest church in the world. Did you know that Vatican City isthe smallest "city-state" in the world? Enclosed by Rome, this state has an area of less than one mile, and a population of 800 (made up of guards, nuns, priests, and the pope). Inside the city, there is the famous St. Peter's square, the church, the tombs of the popes including John Paul II, the art museum, Michelangelo's dome, and dozens of post office boxes! Rain or shine, this sight alone was worth the trip to Rome.

St. Peter's Basilica

We were prepared for all weather!

More views of the sea

2007-10-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I took a two hour drive south to the beautiful beach town of Sousse, where you can ride a camel on the beach!

Our first stop on our sixth grade field trip was the natural hot springs in Kelibia. The boiling water goes straight into the ocean, making it a great spot for swimmers all year round.

The hotel room was not very nice, but you can't complain about the sunset view off the balcony!

Ancient Ruins of Kerkouane

2007-10-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

Our class field trip this week took us to the ancient Punic city of Kerkouane, located at the tip of the Cap Bon peninsula in Tunisia. This amazing settlement was abandoned in the 3rd century BC and never reoccupied by Roman or Byzantine settlers. The site was discovered in 1952 and is remarkably well-preserved. We were able to see remains of mosiac tiles, jewelry, pottery, art, a figure-head of the god Baal, and many pottery kilns. In the photos, the red color in the baths is from a famous Tyrian dye, extracted from the shellfish along the coast, and unique to this region. There is evidence that this was a thriving artisan community that traded extensively with Greece. Note the coins in the photos!

Post up-do hair

2007-10-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Would you still be my friend if I wore my hair like this?

Johnny's seasoning

2007-10-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Many of you will be familiar with Johnny's seasoning, a garlic salt used for breads and meat. It's easy to find in the USA, but impossible to find here in Tunisia. I don't even really care that much about Johnny's aside from the fact that you always want what you can't have when living abroad. While shopping in the states this past week, I purchased an 18oz. bottle of this special seasoning to bring back in order to make garlic bread to my heart's content. Imagine my surprise when I SMELLED my bag coming off the baggage claim at the airport in Tunis on Monday night. Yes, something crushed my suitcase on the way over, breaking the wheels, destroying the fabric of the suitcase, and, yes, distributing 18 ounces of garlic throughout my luggage. Nothing in my biggest suitcase was spared: I now own garlic clothes, garlic sheets (and most of you know how I am about my sheets), and garlic books. (If you don't use Johnny's, then imagine dumping 262 Top Ramen packets into your luggage and you will know what I mean). I am currently washing a load of laundry for the 4th time, hoping for improvement. They say garlic is good for you, so I should be a pretty healthy girl this winter!

Aside from the smell that permeates my apartment, it's been a pretty good transition back. I haven't had too much trouble with jet-lag, and nothing in my classroom went awry in my absence. This weekend, I am off to the coast for a few days, as we have a day off on Friday for the conclusion of Ramadan.

Foot twins

2007-10-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Below is a creepy picture of two different people's feet. Yes, that's right. This is not a pair of feet. Can you tell which one is mine and which one is Emily's?
This is a special talent of ours that we love to share.

Em's a MARRIED WOMAN

2007-10-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

In response to overwhelming requests from those who read this (okay, in response to Rebecca), I am posting a few pictures of Emily and John's wedding. The happy couple became man and wife on Friday night, October 5th. Below are a few photos of the occasion. 1) the bride and groom 2) action shot - the ceremony 3) the chandler kids 4) first dance 5) amanda

On the road again...

2007-09-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

Though I have just been here long enough to get adjusted to the time zone, I am heading back to the states this Thursday to celebrate the marriage of my sister Emily and her husband-to-be John. Photos of the happy occasion will be coming soon.

Shopping in the Medina

2007-09-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

This fountain marks the entrance to the medina. The medina hosts several dozen colorful shops and colorful characters selling their goods. Their favorite game to play with the foreigners is to guess our nationality. As I walk by each shop, the workers call out, "Francaise? Italienne? Anglaise? Suisse?" So far, only one person has guessed correctly! The Berber pottery is brought up from the southern parts of Tunisia, where Berber populations live in the Sahara Desert.

The Classroom

2007-09-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are starting to wonder whether I do any teaching at all, here is a photo of my classroom. It looks bare, but the kids have filled it up since this photo was taken. (The first photo is the courtyard outside my classroom door).

I am currently teaching two sections of 6th grade Language Arts, and preparing to add two Drama classes next quarter. The teaching has been quite enjoyable. I have two groups with 22 students in each, and that enables me to see every student for 70 minutes, every day. It's been fun to hear about the diverse experiences of this bunch. They have kept me on my toes, and I truly love it.

Pretty in Pink

2007-09-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of living alone is that you truly can paint your living room hot pink! This wasn't supposed to be quite so shocking, but I have come to love the splash of color on these two walls.

Rooftop-warming

2007-09-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a downtown view of Tunis, taken from the roof of a new friend's home this past Friday night.

La Mer (The Sea)

2007-09-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

About a mile from my house is the neighborhood of Sidi Bou Said, famous for its great views of the sea and the classic "white-house, blue door" look of every home. Shops all along this hill lure tourists off the cruise ships, which port right here in the Bay of Tunis.

Parasailing on the Med

2007-09-23T11:27:00.001-07:00

Picture number one: Pre-parasailing: Relaxing on the beach with Sandy, my friend and fellow ACST teacher

Picture number two: This is me pretending to understand all the directions being given in rapid French. How's my acting?

Picture number three: Liftoff!
Picture number four: "Is it too late to ask them to repeat the directions?" (That little dot near the center of the photo is my parachute).

Honestly, this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. From the air I could see miles of the white sand beach and the blue-green sea. The palm trees were waving in the breeze, and it was as breathtaking as you would imagine it to be.

Finally, I got my stage!

2007-09-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

My mom always said I needed a stage...or did she say that I thought the world was my stage? Either way, check out this one! This is the amphitheater of my school. I will use this stage for drama productions (and for dreaming about my future career). The only problem is the direct sunlight and the temperatures of 104 degrees. Good thing I don't teach drama until winter!

Chez moi (My house)

2007-09-23T10:59:00.001-07:00

Here is my new home, located on the edge of the La Marsa neighborhood in Tunis, Tunisia. My apartment is the second story. I'd like to say the balcony overlooks the Mediterranean, but the truth is that it overlooks the identical apartments across the street.

My new blog!

2007-09-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

Though I never thought it would come to this, I'm going to try out this new-fangled blogging and see how it works. I'd love to be able to keep you updated through personal mail, but I think this may be a more feasible option. Bookmark this site and check in with me to say hi every once in a while!