Keep learning

"Last night in Sfax. It feels good. To go home. To feel the proudness. We survived and we took the challenge until the very end. We learnt a lot, and most likely understand the biggest part of it only afterwards. New world views and incredible locations. More busy and tiring life that I had imagined. I wouldn't change my summer to be anyhting else. So happy that I decided to go."

These were my final notes from my experience, a tired but happy sigh after finishing the work, and on the moment of saying good byes to the city, soon to the country as well. Those good byes were different than for all the other countries before. Usually there is the sadness about the time coming to an end too quickly, and mixed feelings when going home feels wonderful but a part of you will stay in that country. At least unconsious idea of some day coming back. This was the first time I felt quite sure I'm not coming back. I have now seen Tunisia, next comes something else, was the only answer to the quesitons regarding the return. Not leaving part of myself to the country still doesn't mean that I wouldn't have found some parts of it, mostly it's the other way around: as the contrast was the biggest ever experienced and I got the culture shock I went searching for, the learnings were one of the biggest as well.

So, what did I learn then?

I learnt, that my dream place to live in preferably supports both biking and public transport possibilities. That cactus has a fruit and what it is to enjoy the rain. That my writing skills can be considered as a talent. That I can quite easily keep calm in arguing situations. And that quite a big part of my identity is actually part of being European.

I learnt, that despite of fact that Tunisia "is considered to be the most modern Arab country"
the equality laws don't yet apply to all the real life acts. We for example worked with a guy who, during our time in the country, attended a wedding of a girl and her rapist. As some of the locals we interviewed, said, before having the change in the reality, there needs to be a change in the mindset first. What is considered to be shameful so deep in the cultural norms, doesn't change only by changing the law.

Working in the project also taught me that the idea of fighting for something doesn't need to start with a super unfair and inhuman childhood, or some other heavy personal experiences. Those might help with choosing your battle in the world full of unfairness, and with the empathy towards the victims of the chosen battle, but whichever issue you are interested in to have an effect of, you start searching information of, and will make you care about it, is a battle worth fighting for. And you are capable of taking the initiatives needed on the journey towards a positive impact. By using your strengths you can make an impact. You just need to start from somewhere.

When it comes to searching information, I also realized while creating and having our presentations and aiming to inspire, that I couldn't help not being inspired myself as well. Inspiration and motivation being impossible to throw to someone's head, are still something everybody needs and therefore the world needs. That's why I came to a conclusion that using my time in the everyday life into something that inspires me, is completely acceptable, almost suggested way of consuming time. And if I can inspire someone by what I'm doing and who I am, that would be an achievement worth of pursuing.

Last but not least, it's only you who is going to take the opportunities that are given to you, who makes the decisions upon the reality which exists and who is there to set the tone of all the experiences you face. And in the end, even if you would not feel like having cool examples to tell, you are full of stories, which have a huge power when being shared.

Go for Global Volunteer

Hey you

The past six weeks volunteering in Tunisia were unforgettable and taught us a lot. In our workshops about the topic gender equality we have met a lot of people and heard a lot of personal stories about the importance of having dreams. That's also why we are writing for you now.

Some people said that they don't have time to dream. But what is life without ever stopping to reflect what you actually want to do? What is your biggest dream? What makes you happy? When was the last time you had time for only yourself and thought about questions like this?

Some people had little wishes instead of daring to really dream big. We asked them, what could be the worst thing that can happen and what could be the best thing. Why wouldn't you give a try to the biggest dream you can imagine?

If it scares you, it probably means stepping out of your comfort zone, but in the end, that is when you learn the most. And that is where the magic happens.

"Steven Spielberg was rejected from film school three times, but he kept going." A convincing example that giving up should not be an option. Because, "doubt has killed more dreams than failure ever will."

If you don't ever want to regret the things you didn't do, you need to start achieving them right now.
All the best for you on your journey of living the life if your dreams,
Team Wonder Women

P.S. Sending a message in a bottle can be ticked off from our bucket list. What are you going to take out from yours?

The ultimate clothing guide for Tunisia

Yes, I wish as well that it would exist, but you cannot have everything. In this post I'll tell you how well the guesses I was having when packing actually matched the reality.

The best advice which was given to  the struggling questions was "take a little bit of everything". Well, I wish I would have believed in it fully. Even after hearing it, my choices consentrated on long sleeves, in shirts as well as in pants (yupp the elephants, as you can see :D).

What worked:

• Basically, the most useful clothes I took, have been the thin but not slim long leg pants. Which, unfortunately, don't really match with anything so my outfits have been tourist fashion, but who cares.
• Some long sleeve shirts for a bit more formal occasions.
• The adventuring hat. You cannot survive without.

What could have stayed home:

• Many tank tops and shirts which need them. As wearing one shirt already makes you sweat, it really asks for a great will to be able to wear two. I managed to do it once, and that was when I knew that the day included air conditioner.
• Many pair of socks. Well, they don't take that much space from the suitcase but I have maybe used socks twice during the whole six weeks. I'm quite sure that's one new record.

I wished I would have taken:

• Summer dresses. I was too pessimistic about the possibilities to use anything which doesn't cover your knees, even though that would have been possible in more touristic cities than Sfax.
• Nice shorts. Same reason than above. I only had my sport shorts, which I used at home but didn't feel like going for a run with (in Sfax). 
• Long sleeve running pants. For a mysterious reason I took one long sleeve running shirt but no pants. The good idea to take sneakers became quite useless because of this fact. 
• More t-shirts. I think I even read about this but once again, didn't take fully into consideration.

For the future travellers I would give the same "little bit of everything" advice. Hopefully after reading this you are not so stubborn as I was. As already mentioned between the lines, the clothing ethicet for Tunisia varies a lot. In the capital, Tunis, it's completely okay to wear mini shorts and tank tops only. And on the beach bikinis are accepted everywhere I have been, which was the one thing I believed. Sfax doesn't have a beach and there pants and skirts always reach longer than the knees. Covering the shoulders, instead, isn't obligatory. Some local women use veil to cover their hair, but not all of them do it either, so it's expected from tourists only in mosques.

All in all, the fact is that with this skin and hear colour, I was looked at and sweating everywhere, no matter what I was wearing. Still of course, it's important to appreciate the local clothing (and covering) culture and it actually affects on what you do feel comfortable of wearing. Also in the way, that at some point I also felt it's possible to wear jeans (the majority of people in Sfax wear them every day, despite of the heat).

P.S. The relieving fact is that even if all the guesses would turn out to be wrong, you can go and buy a dress.