Super Bowl!!

So i was brave and decided to call the Embassy to see if they would be showing the Super Bowl. I could probably watch it at some hotel, but this is the sort of thing that I would like to be around other Americans- you know that good old patriotic spirit. Well, I am in luck because a very nice and Southern sounding Marine named Ian told me that they were not really having a 'party', but were just inviting friends. But, he said that I could come if I would like and enjoy their big screen and fine collection of American beers. I will be informing my boss that I will be a little late on Monday morning. Sarra and I will be watching the Super Bowl with Marines. How American can you get!

Inside the colissé

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Originally uploaded by gilman.alison

The Colusseum

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Originally uploaded by gilman.alison

Outdoor mosaic garden of the museum at El Jem.. perfectly gorgeous day!

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Originally uploaded by gilman.alison

Bizerte fortress and guy rowing his boat

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Originally uploaded by gilman.alison

My bad

Last week was crazy and pretty bad to be honest. I had organized another regional conference which due to some very annoying guests, was extremely stressful. I did get one or two nice dinners out of it, but it was not very enjoyable. And with the new switch to our new internal system, things are super hectic at the office as well. In other words, sorry for the lack of posts. I would have gone crazy last week if it were not for my friend Dan to listen to my rants and my coworkers Oussema and Olfa. Hamdoulah for good friends (thank god).
A lot has happened too. 2 weeks ago, I went back to Bizerte (my favorite place here so far) with Isaac, Rm and our friend Mehdi whose family has a beautiful home there by the water. We spent the day eating great food and riding around in the back of his dad's pick up truck (amazing) and going off the beaten path to find beautiful beach and sunset views. Definitely good for the soul.
The following weekend, my Swedish friend Dan and I spent a Saturday taking the train to El Jem which is a beautiful little town about 3 hours from Tunis that has a gigantic, amazingly preserved colisseum that definitely rivals its counterpart in Rome. Walla. It was a lovely day walking around the ancient monstrosity, reading our books on the steps of a building that is thousands of years old and looking at the gorgeous mosaics of the nearby museum. We then spent 2 hours at a cafe and watched the sun set behind the colisseum as we smoked shisha, drank mint tea and ate some yummy grilled lamb. I know. Tough life.
Following this are a few pictures from both excursions. Moments like those make the crazy/stressful work weeks and moody bosses all worthwhile. Nothing excited planned for this coming weekend except laundry and maybe hanging out with the other trainees. Plus, I'll be thinking about my parents has they head out for their first few months in Arizona (they bought a house in Tucson and will be there until April). And I need to see if I can watch the Patriots win the Super Bowl at the embassy on Sunday night!!!

Cravings

One thing that is extremely difficult to find here in Tunisia, is a good (affordable) salad. Usually, if you can even find a 'green' salad, it consists of chopped cabbage with olive oil dressing and a dash of salt and maybe a sprinkling of tuna. And yet, sometimes i just want a big salad with green leafy lettuce, chopped veggies and a vinegar based (not oil) dressing. Well, hallelujiah, I have found something pretty darn close to that. Insomnia (in Nasr) has a Ceaser salad with chopped green lettuce (instead of white), some tomatoes and grilled chicken. And the dressing is not just pure oil and is actually yummy. My tummy is quite happy right now.

Exhaustion

Important meeting tomorrow with the new directors. Decided I needed a good nights sleep last night. Took a Tylenol PM. Lights out at 10:30. Lights back on at 1 am as i hear this horrific wailing noise outside my window. Empty house magnifies sound. I think it is a baby crying. Definitely not a human sound. I think someone is breaking into the house. I realize that is paranoid. I fully become aware that it is cat sex outside my window. If you have never heard cat sex, god has given you a precious gift and i am jealous. They did not stop until 6 am at which point i snuck in 2 hours of sleep before waking up and desperately trying to cover the bags under my eyes. I hate cats.

This month, my budget is super tight. I mean super. After rent, 'furniture' shopping, having to buy a new phone and paying my roommate back the 90 bucks i already owed him, i now, after college, am learning how to live like a 'poor college' student. Oh i know, woe is me. I only say it because the thought might be amusing to some (say williams or adam) that I am now that person that eats whatever might be in the kitchen- whether that be wasabi peas for dinner (2 nights ago) or beef jerky that i was saving for an aiesec conference (last night). Yum.
Fortunately, one of my coworkers (Lamia) has decided that a) she wants to feed me amazing couscous and maklaha (not right spelling) meals and that b) she wants me to tutor her son and his friend in English 2-3 times a week. Starting next week. An hour session will be equivalent to 2 full days of my salary. So i might be able to buy chicken again in a week or two! Plus Lamia is really cool/liberal and likes to teach me bad (and good) words in Arabic and share alcoholic beverages with me since most of her friends will not partake in such sacreligious activities. Just fine with me!
Other good news: i was TOTALLY wrong about the whole ' it doesnt matter if my hair is blond or dark thing, everyone will still think i'm a foreigner.' I am quite thrilled to report that after returning to Tunisia with somewhat darker 'winter' hair, i am no longer the object of neighborhood attention on my way to work in the morning. Less, 'cat calls' and more Tunsie being spoken at me which is nice, but also involves more confusion. I am thoroughly surprised at this result and perfectly happy with it!

New Start to a New Year

I promised I would blog while i was home and that clearly didnt happen. Sorry. Being home for 10 days was pure bliss. Almost all of my dear highschool friends were home (except we missed you Lili) so we had a wonderful and slightly crazy time enjoying boston, each other and the AMAZING Patriots. Damn straight. I also got some good quality time with my parents and I am so thankful we had Christmas together. The holidays were perfect and I am happy I got my share of Wendy cooking!
Although the two drawbacks were that I was stressed about work back here in Tunis (sick that i am already THAT person that worries about work on vacation) and i have been hard core stressing about 'the next steps'. I shouldnt be, but i just feel that there are some big questions in my head that need answering about what I want out of the next few years and answers have been difficult to come by. Fortunately, my new acquaintance from my plane rides (yes she and i sat with each other both ways from our Milan connections) was able to enlighten me a bit and help. Plus she offered to help me if I was interested in her company.. possibility. So lets hope the next few months answer those questions so i'm not unemployed on the couch for months when i get back!
Now I am back. Isaac and I are in our new place and a Tunisian coworker of mine is moving in too after an aiesecer here flaked out on us. The new place is decent although we've had to furnish it ourselves with things lent from coworkers and cheap things we've bought so the house is a bit bare. We'll be settled in soon i hope.
And work is effing crazy right now. Friday, I was at work until 8 pm. Lets just say that between our company switching our ENTIRE online system to a new one with the GoLive for Jan. 10th and considering ALL my work is on that system, its crazy. Oh not to mention that my coworker COMPLETELY effed something up and has been sick so i've been scrambling to fix the situation. I've definitely learned a lot about effective and ineffective communication from this experience. Next week will be just as crazy- i have to tell my boss how effed up that particular situation is and we change the big system. Oh and the 9th is a 'holiday', but we have to work on it. C'est la vie, je suppose.
Enough for now, I have a publinet closer to my house now so i hope to be better about this. No promises, but insh'allah.