Arabic study in Tunisia

On July 4th, I flew off to Tunis, Tunisia, for my second experience in learning Arabic. This time I chose to study the Tunisian dialect instead of the more formal "standard" Arabic. I wanted to learn a form of Arabic which is actually used on the streets of Marseille.
I Studied at the Bouguiba Institute in Tunis. This is a very popular school in the summer, especially among Italian students.


There were only about 15 students studying the Tunisian dialect. The other 300 or so where studying "Standard." Here is my class with our two teachers standing in front of me, Farida and Emna. I was in the advanced class, but I was the least advanced of the group.

The school also arranged for me to live with a Tunisian family. They took very good care of me, and as you can see, we ate well. From their house I would take a bus into Tunis or get a ride in the morning with Saja, the wife, as she worked not far from the school at a large bank. Their two boys loved to talk politics and tell jokes about those from neighboring countries.

Every Sunday I would attend the two Protestant churches in town, first the French Reform church at 8h30 and then the Anglican church at 10h30. I met some interesting people at both services.

After the 4 weeks, I was exhausted but very glad that I made the effort to do this course and study hard. I learned more that just a bit of Arabic.