This morning, I met up with Dalenda Sabri who took me around the neighborhood. We were determined to do a 'familiarization tour' so that I would know which areas/neighborhoods in the city that I'm interested in for housing.
We started up the hill in Sidi Bou Said. Sidi means 'saint'. There's a holy man buried in this quaint town that overlooks the harbor. We went to a very famous cafe to drink Tunis Tea and enjoy the prospect.
My native guide, Dalenda Sabri, was very gracious and welcoming. She quizzed me on how Americans view Muslims, Arabs and Tunisians. In that order. She had a daughter who came to California for a one month foreign exchange years ago. Apparently, the CA teens didn't know where Tunisia was and her daughter told her that Americans were lacking in geography skills.
This marina is called the Port de Plaisance Sidi Bou Said. The pleasant port of Saint Bou Said. And it is pleasant. Gorgeous really. I was surprised that more of the boats weren't out on the harbor.
The little village (or borough) of Sidi Bou Said sits on a hill above this marina. There are 360 stone steps that lead up to the town from the beach. Dalenda said when they were kids, they would walk up the stairs to the village. There's one tread for each day of the year (yes, that's right, the Muslim calendar has fewer days than the Gregorian calendar that we use). We opted to drive up the hill.
Every single house in this village is painted white with blue shutters/doors and fretwork. It makes for a charming little tourist place and the prospect overlooking all of Tunis was stunning. On the way back out to the car, I saw one door painted yellow and I thought, "Rebels live here!"
--Sandee Wagner
3 comments:
This is great Sandee! I am really enjoying reading your blog.
You don't feel so far away this way.
I am not surprised the daughter commented on the lack of choreographic abilities of the Average American Teen.
It is a little pet peeve of mine that a lot foreigners comment on this.
Of course if you would ask someone in the foreign country you are visiting in what their surrounding countries are they'll know those. And they tend to know where the US, Canada, China and Russia is too, but then again, so do 99% of the American, substituting the US for the EU.
What they tend to forget is how big the USA is. If you would ask that same person where a State in the US is, say Wyoming or a country like Kyrgyzstan, they will not know. Even though both of these places are bigger then a lot of EU countries (incl Tunisia).
I have found that most Americans might not know the EU (or in this case Northern African) geography very well but that is not any different from the Average European not knowing the USA very well. I have also found that most Americans are open to learn about foreign countries and their cultures.
Also, every country has morons. I have lived in 4 different countries so I have met my share of not-so-brilliant locals. What happens next is that they morons the foreigner meets becomes a reflection of what The American is.
So Dingbat-Teen is now representing the US as a whole.
It goes both ways around though. If I where to get a penny for every time a foreigner has stated that they know what Americans are like because they "have seen it on Jerry Springer" (Thanks NBC for syndicating this tabloid talk show...NOT) I'd be pretty rich right now.
My standard answer to fellow import-Americans that makes those comments is "If an American doesn't know where your country is your country might be not very important in the world. Get over it."
ps 99% of the Americans know my hometown harhar ;-)
Emmanuelle,
I agree that geography is not everyone's strong suit. My experience is that most people know the big stuff... fewer know the little ones.
I met a Gambian man on the street today. He heard us speaking English and he wanted to chat. He asked us where we were from, then I asked him. When he said Gambia, he immediately said, "do you know where that is?" So I told him no. Then he busted out a map to show me. Surrounded by Senegal he is... it's a tiny little slice of a country in Western Africa.
I think you have to own the fact that people outside your country won't know and won't care. I don't think it will surprise me at all.
spw
My friend, Dalenda, sent me some links to the sights we saw on our 'drive by' tour. I opened the first one about Sidi Bou Said. There's quite a bit of background, but this is written by a traveler, not a local. At one point in this travelogue, the writer refers to 'snotty waiters' LOL!! http://looklex.com/tunisia/sidi_bou_said.htm spw
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