To meet and to ask

Today we walked around the Medina with our surveys and were positively surprised about how many people were willing to give time for discussion. Thank you for all those who participated! Also the trust we had in those conversations was something which made us feel good. In the beginning when we started with the surveys it was hard to know how taboos may affect to the answers we got. Now we are starting to have something on which to base our overview, without local knowledge it would still be hard. 

The opinions of the society live deep in the Tunisian culture. While doing the surveys face-to-face, yes/no questions are not the ones which matter at that moment. The most interesting answers come after those ones; the glimpses to their opinions after sharing the general situation, they made me listen carefully even when the talk is happening in Arabic. In those moments you just want to follow all the face expressions, and little signs which could give some information. The translation rarely reaches those but it’s about the power of meeting.

For me a stopping moment was when the discussion led us to a point when the other party was surprised that having children outside of marriage is legal somewhere. Also meeting people who personally know a victim of violence and hearing about the challenges women can face when remarrying because they will be the ones judged for the divorce, negative colored feelings about the future after the revolution, they make you think. And they make you want to continue every day. For sure we are here for a reason.

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Tozeur - weekend in the south

Those tourist shops in the middle of nowhere selling 'sea flowers'.

The road crossing the salt sea.

Waves of a different kind of ocean.

Paradise called Résidence Loued Hotel in the middle of my personal heat record, +42°C.

I have never seen this many palm trees at the same time. Welcome to the jungle for real.

Every tourist who appreciates herself goes to see the Star Wars scene when visiting Tozeur.

Sahara is only one type of a desert, but really a breathtaking one.

The mirage exists (even though you wouldn't believe it by looking this picture).

Appreciation towards water just got new definition during this trip. Even the wind coming from the window while driving a car was just burning hot, like being in a dry sauna, continuously. Many of the locals still had jeans or black dresses on. No idea how they survive. My feet were burning in sandals. The clothes which were wet of sweating could have been considered for a while as refreshing, but for that you need some good imagination. Challenging environment, new experiences, this was definetely one example of it.

P.S. Palm trees produce dates instead of coconuts here. Water bottle of half litre is useless. But cold water, it's heavenly.

Kerkenah islands

These beautiful landscapes taught me that there are still places where women's and men's jobs exist in career planning as well as the mindset of children. However, in those places as well there are strong women who believe in their abilities of being the role model for the next generations and taking the needed initiatives for change.

The power of smile

Getting to know the reality of Tunisian women started with going to a cooking class of a local NGO called Free women. The day was a big day for the women there as they were having their final exam before getting the certificate. Happily we figured out that our expectations towards what was waiting for us were lower than the reality.

As true as it is than Africa also has internet connection we also were able to find people with ready degrees and language skills. For most of them coming there wasn't anyhow the only option they were capable of doing. The challenge isn't about succeeding in studies, it is the unemployment, which still follows even after graduating for example from business school. Getting the certificate from the baking course might not ensure getting a job but helps with creating the job on your own.

Some of the younger women also spoke English, which made the communication easier for me as well in this Arabic and French filled country. Most importantly, I was able to find the most powerful common language of all the languages; smile. With one of the women I met there and felt the most connected with we didn't have a common spoken language but we were still able to share feelings. And feelings create stories.
 

Maybe the best known non-spoken language is the survival hand language. However, in addition to trying to show the directions, it's possible also to connect with people only using impressions and gestures. We were able to sigh for the heat and detailed work, appreciate the effort of giving one's best, engourage, be friendly and interested in each others. And in the end, that's all what matters.

The women of the Free women have the attitude. The next day we went to their graduation party where their paistries were served, people were sitting in fancy tables wearing their best costumes, dancing, sharing the proud moment together and smiling the smile of succeeded woman. I had a feeling I could sense the attitude also from the participating children, which isn't really surprising as they have been raised surrounded by those role models. Already taking the opportunity to take part in the course asks for courage in the society where it's assumed that all the women just know all tricks of baking and cooking. After seeing those strong smiles, ruling my own life as courageously as them seems the only pursued way to live. I believe, it's also the way to achieve those strong smiles and the determined attitude.