First Weekend Excursion!

This past weekend was our first official excursion with the CLS program. Everyone from CEMAT went - the director and the staff, two of our teachers, and both of our tutors. We left the hotel at 8 am, and took a bus to El Jem (about 2.5 hours south of Tunis). Our first stop was at a museum, where we saw excavated mosaics. From there, we went to the huge Roman coliseum. We hung about the ruins for a while, walking through the underground pits and climbing the stands. We grabbed lunch, where I shared a stuffed pepper with a friend.


After lunch, we piled back on the bus to Mehdia. By then, the whole group was feeling rather tired, so we wandered through the medina and sat on the rocks by the sea. Then, we piled back on the bus (again) for Monastir to reach our hotel. I figured that it would be the normal hotel, but no! It was a 4 star beach resort (thank you, American taxpayer). I had a view of the Mediterranean from my balcony.

I went for a quick swim in the pool, then got dressed for dinner. I ate so much, since my lunch had been small. Although the dinner was only mediocre, it seemed great because there were actual vegetables. (and watermelon!) I've been eating in cafes for two weeks, so a buffet seemed simply amazing.

The evening just got "better" from there. There was a disco in the basement of the hotel. Tunisian staff members had formed a group called Celtic Tiger, and attempted to perform traditional Irish dance to techno music. Then, they made the audience get out and dance too. Of course, there was a strobe light. And no dance party would be complete without Michael Jackson and Shakira. Once we became to hot, we ran outside the hotel and took a swim in the sea. Overall, the entire evening was a bit surreal. How did I end up at a beach resort in Tunisia, watching Tunisians Irish dance to techno music?

The next morning, I got up and sat on the beach for several hours. And I thought I was spending the summer in an Islamic country, in which I would not be tanning! The water was perfectly clear and shallow. Unlike Nice, there were no jelly fish. Absolutely beautiful. I grabbed the free lunch buffet at the hotel (yum watermelon), before we left at 2.

Monastir was the hometown of Tunisia's first president - Bourgiba. We visited his mausoleum. It was a huge marble building in the middle a cemetery. (see pic)

On our way back, we stopped in Hammemet. By this time, the whole group was tired of seeing random Tunisian tourist beaches and was ready to head back to Tunis. I ended up having the most amazing fruit salad in the restaurant while we waited to leave.

When I got back on the bus I was greeted with a surprise. I had been sitting with one my teacher's nieces (age 11). She just started taking English in school, so we talked in French. Honestly, it was a bit awkward because she kept asking me about American popular culture (do you like Rihanna? I love One Tree Hill). Typical eleven year old stuff, but I'm sure I sounded like an incredibly uncool American. However, it was a great way to practice my French. She presented me with a bracelet with my name in Arabic that she had gotten in the medina. (By the way, my name in Arabic is spelled the same way as the African country Mali).

On the way back, Dr. Michalek, the head of the program, quizzed us on Tunisian tourism. Apparently, that was the goal of the excursion - to experience Tunisian tourism. I am certainly ok with that goal - the US government paid me to lie on the beach! Really, though, I think it was just a free vacation for everyone.