On the Road Again

Today marks the return of the Littlest Barista to the Arab World! Okay, not quite today. Tomorrow technically. But in about five hours, I’ll hop on a plane to France, followed by a plane to Tunis and then it’s “Marhaba Maghreb!”

 This time I’m packing a little lighter, because I won’t be there quite so long. Just eight days or so, sponsored by the United States government. Thank you, Uncle Sam!

While in Tunisia, I’ll officially be participating in a debate exchange program with three different schools and living with a host family.

Unofficially I’ll be soaking up some sun, attempting to learn a little more of the language and speaking to people about how social media played a role in their revolution. I’m also determined to investigate the mystery of the Bouazizi myth. Multiple people have told me the story of the fruit seller setting himself alight after having his cart revoked is not quite on the mark with what really happened.

The journey began yesterday at Georgetown University’s campus, where our delegation of 15 (or so?) American (and one French) students met for the first time. Already we’ve experienced our first language confusion. As you can see below, the sign in the bathroom at the hotel was a little confusing. Why exactly should I “be cautious” of the soap dish? Is it okay to jump out and bite me? I might have been a bit more wary had I been fully awake when taking my shower this morning. Thanks to a post-orientation stop at The Tombs, however, I was pretty bleary-eyed this morning.

Post-shower, I was perky enough to enjoy our breakfast with Mohamed Salah Tekaya, the Tunisian Ambassador to the United States, and Andrew Rabens, a representative from the state department’s youth engagement department.

The ambassador spoke at length about the opportunities the U.S. and Tunisia now have to improve their relationship, in light of the revolution. He said one of the basic problems he finds with this relationship is that many Americans can’t even locate Tunisia on a map. I may have blushed a little when he said this; up until last year, I’m pretty certain I couldn’t.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photo, but here is the ambassador, holding up the sign that represents our delegation: the USA-Tunisia Youth Debates.

As a side note, if anyone has any questions they would like me to try to answer while I’m in Tunisia, please let me know. Also, if anyone has any recommendations for good camera purchases, I’d love to hear those as well. I’m hoping to replace this guy soon. As you can see, he’s on his last legs.