Université de Tunis- le 17 avril

Today, we went to the university of Tunis at Carthage. I really appreciated the students a lot because they were super nice! I had started to believe that the Tunisians weren't very welcoming, but they totally blew that theory out of the water. I've concluded that it's a person by person case, and not a generalization that can be made about the entire country- haha!

At the university,the students study languages applied to business. Therefore, they learn French, English, German, and Chinese. Along with these languages, they learn economic theory, and business organization. They master languages and they go to business school as well. I find that to be an awesome idea, and I wish I could find a major like that at Vandy... c'est dommage. I mean, these students are learning all the languages that are important for international business affairs, and they also speak Arabic because they're from Tunisia (or other parts of Africa); thus, they will be able to close business deals with other Arabic countries- Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc.

Unfortunately, I also found the students to be a little rowdy and unfocused in their classes. The professor had to stop several times to call the class back to order. For me, it was like being back in sixth grade and not so much like being in a university. I also remarked that some of the students didn't speak French very well. It was then that I learned that French is not an official language of Tunisia; it's Arabic. Even in the hotel, there are servers who don't speak French very well. This makes it a little difficult to communicate with the people there, especially if they're not educated. In the hotel, I've noticed several times when a manager has had to translate from French to Arabic for me...

Next, we had a round table discussion with the fac and students of the university. It was really nice thought, but I didn't like the themes too much. We talked about the financial crisis which is important, but I would have liked to talk about the culture or even about how the students will react to the crisis. First off, there was an official government representative there- overkill much? Yep. He talked the entire time and he only gave the "official" answers to our questions. Also, we couldn't talk about politics. This is completely different from what happens in America and definitely different from what happens in France! When one of our group members asked about the president, the entire room went silent. I have never witnessed something like that. And Tunisia's supposed to be a democratic country! Even the professors- who are usually the source of critique in a society couldn't answer our question. It was stupifying.

Later that night, we went bowling with some the students from the university. We played several games together and it was a really great chance to talk to them about their lives and their studies in Tunisia.

In all, though, I really enjoyed the day. I liked meeting the students and the entire situation made me feel better about the people here.