Halloween in Tunis

Hope everyone had a nice Halloween!

On Friday, Jessica and I had a small party with lots of candy (reese's cups, M&Ms, candy corn, snickers) that I had brought back from the US. The other Fulbrighters came over, as did some people that we did not know who are also studying Arabic in Tunis.

Here are some of the costumes:

Jessica (Austrian Alpine Maiden), Me (Eve), and Ruth (Furbie)

[We found all of these costumes in Tunis! I did sew the leaves on my "gown," which I think is actually pajamas. Jess and Ruth found their costumes in this side shop outside of a flea market in downtown Tunis.]

Since my costume is Eve, here are a few interesting facts about Eve. In the Judeo-Christian story, Eve is tempted by the serpent, eats of the fruit, and gives it to her husband. Eve thus bears the blame for their banishment from paradise, and popular culture has transformed this blame into nefarious ideas about women in various areas of life. Still some theologians have argued for Eve, saying that she first sinned due to deception, and that she then admitted her sin to God and repented. Adam did not, and so these theologians argue that his sin was more serious.

The Qur'an tells the same story of Adam & Eve, though with some important differences. Namely, Eve is *not* held responsible for the downfall of man; instead, both Adam & Eve are jointly held responsible. Also, the concept of "original sin" does not exist since God forgives Adam & Eve, repentant after they are banished.

A lot of people make a big deal about original sin - the notion that we are born sinful and need divine redemption - calling it backwards, stifling, dipping with guilt and self-disdain. All of this could very well be true; but as one of my very smart friends, Katie, a Catholic, says, Christianity in this sense recognizes how difficult our struggle between good and evil is, and how God offers us the redemption that we, struggling, cannot quite reach ourselves.

Here are Jess & Ruth & I with some other friends.

And a few others:

[In this picture, a panda, a "cougar," and a British guy who didn't have a costume :P]

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On Saturday, I taught a small group of women English. They are all very well traveled and well-educated, so they are quite interesting to teach. Our meetings are mostly just conversation-based, so we talk about a wide range of topics; this time, we talked about holidays! Surprisingly, many of them grew up celebrating Christmas, though they are Muslim (Jesus is a prophet, like Moses or Abraham, in Islam, but is not the Messiah). Quite a few of them have lovely memories of leaving their shoes out on Christmas Eve, to find them the next morning filled with chocolates. They have a great appreciation for many of our traditions, and we would probably have a great appreciation for theirs if we understood them better (I, for one, really enjoy the prayers, sometimes chants, held at the mosque during Ramadan, which you can hear over the loud speakers).

On Saturday night, Jess & I went with three other friends to the American Embassy, where the Marines were holding a Halloween party. The Marines (the soldiers who defend American Embassies worldwide) have happy hours every weekend and make a decent amount of money from this, which I think sponsors their yearly balls & some trips that they make from time to time. The party was fun, filled with Tunisians, though the music could have been better (too much 1980s French music when all we wanted to hear was "Twist & Shout" & Pokerface :P).

I dressed as a tiger/leopard (same costume for the last 5 years!), Jess as an Alpine Maiden, and Ruth as a stereotype of a Native American Indian.

Here are some pictures:

[Ruth, Melissa, & Audrey at the Marine's House]

[Probably my favorite picture of the evening. Jesus, an ESL teacher, was a figment of your imagination. Zac, a former Fulbrighter now working at a bank in Tunis, is a Mormon on mission.]

I had pretty great shoes, too:

Our Tunisian friend, Jeber, is actually a veterinarian. And there was no cat in his carrier, though he pretended like there was....

I still have some candy corn & a few reese's cups left, thank God, but if anyone wants to save any candy for me (Michael!!!!!!) I would happily accept it :P