Some random thoughts

To answer David's question: I'm pretty sure it's calibrated to Mohammed. Tradition holds that his barber is buried in Kairouan. No, I'm not kidding.

To answer Krissy's question: Camels are mean animals. Since this particular camel walks in circles around a well all day, it is a good idea to blindfold him so he doesn't know where he's going, try to attack the people watching.

Also, I'm whooshing at Carthage in the first picture. I am underneath the coliseum in El Jem in the second (I thought it looked kinda artsy).

On a side note:
I am starting to dislike American media, and it's global influence. The US is a superpower, no doubt about it. One might think that our foreign policy is our greatest export. The Arabs don't like us because we invade and destroy their countries (and they certainly have a valid argument). However, this is hardly our greatest influence in the world. Even more than our foreign policy, we export our media (everyone here knows Paris Hilton, Grey's Anatomy, Sex and the City, 24)...and American television and film does not portray the most flattering view of the western world.

First, the American portrayal of women and sexual behavior is often far from reality. "Good girls" in Tunisia often wear the hijab, and parents keep a tight watch on their daughters. They don't go out much at night. Although more common today, the mixing of the sexes is still very supervised. Women dress conservatively-shoulders and knees usually covered. (According to my host sister, Tunisian women are considered the skanks of the Arab world. As my tutor told me, the people from the Middle East believe that if you are Muslim and want to wear tight jeans, you should go to Tunisia). Alcohol is permissible here, but those Tunisians who drink are seen as having lower morals and alcohol related car accidents are a major problem. America is seen as a much freer country. As an American female, I grew up wearing shorts and sleeveless shirts. I'm allowed to go out with friends (and even, o my, associate with the male sex) (even at night). As a Catholic, I have been tasting wine from a young age, and I have grown up in a culture that embraces social drinking. And despite all this, I come from a fairly conservative family.

American media certainly portrays this, but it also portrays a lot more. The Arab world sees this, but it also sees the large amounts of free sex and alcohol in the media and associates them in the same way with the western world. As an American, I am expected to act the same way as the people in the movies. Upon entering a touristy restaurant, I am immediately offered beer, since that is apparently the standard western drink, no matter what meal of the day. When walking down the street, I am constantly stared at and occasionally followed (no matter what I am wearing). Since I am a Western girl, I must be the opposite of traditional Tunisian girls. Solicitations for sex are quite common.

Simply because I come from a culture in which women have more freedom, doesn't mean that I am quite as "free" as the media shows. My high school experience certainly was not the equivalent of American Pie or even Mean Girls. The greater freedom comes with greater responsibility, something that Hollywood certainly hasn't picked up. Tunisians don't understand that I am free to wear less clothing partly because young men are taught not to stare and to treat women with more respect. I can go out at night, but I don't wander around alone, because it can be dangerous. I do not live with my parents, but I am also in charge of much of my own money and managing my own time. Alcohol is permissible, but it is part of our culture. As a result, I don't drink a lot and I certainly don't drink and drive. My 17 year old host sister was amazed to find out that I had a curfew in high school, that I didn't alcohol in high school, that I wasn't allowed to watch movies with lots of sex and violence, and that (unlike her) I'd never snuck out of my parents' house to go see a boy.

Think about it: if Arabs only see the Western world portrayed as such, they will think that is how we really are. It is in such stark contrast with their own that they believe everything they see. No wonder they look at Western girls as wild and immoral. When American media portrays western women this way, how can I expect to be treated with respect?

My other problem with American media is its portrayal of Arabs. We actually watched a short documentary on the American media treatment of Arabs. They are portrayed as dirty and as terrorists. In fact, in the cinema release of Disney's Aladdin, the opening song, "Arabian Nights" said "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face/It's barbaric, but, hey, it's home," (later changed to "Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense/It's barbaric, but, hey, it's home" in the video version). When we portray their culture this way, no wonder they dislike us too. In the video game Call of Duty, gamers play an American military official shooting dirty-looking Arabs. Imagine how awkward it was for some of the students in my program to find themselves playing this game with their host brothers during their homestay!

With our foreign policy combined with the portrayal of media, the Arab world thinks we are out to get them. They are astonished to find out that I know people in the US who are Muslim, even young women who wear hijabs! They didn't believe that (for the most part), Muslims are treated with respect.

It is our media, more than anything else, that determines how the rest of the world sees us. How can we possibly challenge typical American stereotypes when we only reinforce these images?