Even if it’s been 4 months since I’m in Tunisia, I’m still surprised how different this country can be from one place to another, from a part of the city to another one. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it…it is really impossible to be calm not even one day per week. Where is the calm me? I don’t know…where are you Lavinia? I even started to use bad words. Finally I learnt them in French after 13 years of studying it. Thank you Omar for being such a good teacher! Now I can practice them when someone makes me angry especially when I cross the street or I walk alone on the street.
Tunisian Environmental Symbol
There are many beautiful things that I love about Tunisia and many things that I can’t understand. Tunisia is such a beautiful country… There are places here that make you feel that you are in a dream land. You saw them only in pictures or in the movies and now you are here in the middle of it, a European in an Arab country. You can really challenge yourself… what makes me really sad is the fact that almost everyone here don’t care about the environment, about the city, the planet… Many people don’t know anything about what sustainability means . This is something that I can’t understand. Even if you don’t realize how important it is to protect the nature and to try to reduce the pollution, I’m sure that nobody likes to live in a dirty city and in a dirty world. It’s really impossible to like the smell and all the garbage that flies sometimes in the windy Tunis. At the beginning I couldn’t believe there are no trash cans in the city. There are only a few…FEW in some places. The majority of the time when you want to throw away something, you can’t find one. So you can just put it in your purse and throw it away at home or at the office. But…of course that majority of the people prefer to throw it away on the street. So it is normal to walk on the street, to eat something and then to throw away the package after you finished your sandwich. This is available for everything that it’s garbage, everything that you don’t need anymore. I don’t like to see such a beautiful country full of garbage!
The problem is that this is something you learn from your family and your friends. If everyone does the same, of course you’ll not question yourself to do differently.
I thought that if you are from a wealthy family, this means that you are educated and more aware of how important is to live in a clean place. But…NO, it has nothing to do with it! To have higher education it has nothing to do with ecological education, awareness and acting sustainable. I can even say that I was so surprised to see even people that say they care about the environment opening their car window and throwing away their trash. It’s easier than to wait and to throw it away at home.
But the same time, I’m very happy that I met some Tunisian people that are aware about these things and they act sustainable, being an example for the others and try to make a change in their society. Thameur I’m very proud of you! 
View of Mediterranean Sea from Korbous
What is even more surprising for me is the fact that Tunisian people love beautiful things and beautiful places. So I can’t understand why don’t they respect their country? Why do they have to transform it in a place full of garbage? Why majority of the people are not aware of the consequences of their actions?
When I was in Kerkennah, a Tunisian island , there were so many beer cans and cigarettes in the sea, on the beach…even in that place they call the Paradise.
It is so incredible that one can find so many beautiful places also, traditional architecture, wonderful sea and sky. It is really nice to have the sea so close to the city, to see it almost everywhere. I love the color of the sky and the Mediterranean sea in Tunisia. This is absolutely wonderful, so calm, so amazing… just Tunisia.
Until now I have visited Kerkennah Island; Korbous a small city known for the thermal water springs; Bizerte a city from North-Western part of Tunisia from where the French people didn’t want to leave after they lost the colony; Sidi Bou Said, the white and blue city; Hammamett, the first touristic place in Tunisia; Carthage, the place where the Romans fought against Hannibal and in the end they conquered the citadel and transformed it in a Roman province.
Korbous
The good part is that being a tourist in Tunisia, you don’t need so much money and there are many nice things to visit close to Tunis. So it’s quite easy to visit them. Only the South and the desert it will take more time and money.
Another important aspect is the difference between poor people and rich people. There is such a big difference between a region of Le Grand Tunis and another one. Now you are in a very clean and rich place and in 5 minutes by car you arrive in a very poor and dirty place. I could say that Tunisia is a country of contrasts, so many contrasts.
The hierarchy is so big, one can see this at the work place between the general manager and the employees but also in every day life. The rich people have the habit to treat those who are poorer as if they are inferior. In my opinion if one has a better financial situation, one has more responsibilities in this world. It should not be taken for granted.
“My Tunisian mother” told me that she has a friend that is secretary and her boss told her to clean his shoes. What ?! I can’t believe this is still possible in 2010. Do people really feel good about themselves humiliating their employees? Do they really feel good having this fake power?
One thing that it is really driving me crazy is the transportation. Oh my God!!! Taking the yellow bus is an extreme adventure for me in Tunis. Which is the maximum number of people that fit in a bus? Come to Tunis, take the yellow bus and you’ll see! After a few months of living here it became funny. I cannot feel angry anymore, I just learn to accept some things that are impossible to change and the most important thing do not criticize, to have an objective argument and to try to be an example and to improve myself every day. This is how we can make a change!
Thank you Tunisia for challenging myself!
A traveller's story 