Learn & Serve in Tunisia Location: Tunisia – the cities of Tunis, Nabeul, and Mahdia. Credits: 6 Hosted by: AMIDEAST/Tunisia and the Tunisian ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research &Technology, with the support of the American Embassy in Tunis. Instruction: AMIDEAST / English-speaking Tunisian professors Participants in the six and a half-week Learn & Serve program learn about the Arab & Islamic cultures of Tunisia and serve as Language & Cultural Fellows at the Language Village. This project is a cooperative effort of AMIDEAST/Tunisia and the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research & Technology, with the support of the American Embassy in Tunis. Learn: The first two weeks in Tunisia consist of classes, seminars, and travel focused on Tunisia’s ancient and modern history and its cultures, societies, and pathways to economic development. During the Learn segment, participants stay in a hotel near AMIDEAST in the city of Tunis and have classes at AMIDEAST/Tunis. During the classes English-speaking Tunisian specialists give lectures on their areas of expertise. A four-day travel-study tour to the Tunisian Sahara and other points south of Tunis is a high point of Learn. Participants enroll in a three-credit course, Introduction to Tunisian Culture and Society, and are required to write regular reports during both the Learn and Serve portions of the program. Arabic language lessons also are a focal point of study. Approximately 15 hours of Tunisian Arabic classes take place during Learn. Serve: Early in the third week, participants move to the English Language Village located near the Mediterranean seaside town of Nabeul to serve as Language & Cultural Fellows. Participants serve as Fellows for two fourteen-day sessions at the Language Village. A three-day Enrichment Seminar between the two sessions provides a break to assess the experience of LVN I and explore ways to develop participants’ teaching and mentoring strategies in anticipation of LVN II. The Enrichment Seminar is held in the town of Mahdia, an historic small city down the Tunisian coast. In this innovative project,nearly 400 Tunisian second-year English majors practice intensive spoken English and experience English through classes and in cultural events with the assistance of the Language & Cultural Fellows plus American and Tunisian English language and cultural specialists. Every day is a working day during Serve. Participants become employees of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and receive a small stipend for their work in Serve. Academic Information Students enrolled in Learn & Serve take two academic courses: Tunisian Cultural Anthropology in Context and either Tunisian Arabic I or Tunisian Arabic II (depending on previous background in Arabic) Tunisian Cultural Anthropology in Context (Anthropology 320; 3 credits) This course focuses on the social history and contemporary culture, in particular the expressive culture, of Tunisia as representative of both a unique Tunisian identity and of Tunisia’s various cultural connections past and present: Muslim, African, Middle Eastern, Arab and Mediterranean. Tunisian I (Arabic 161; 3 credits) Students are introduced to words, expressions, and structures used frequently in everyday life. Students practice them in class before they are given assignments to carry out with native speakers in real situations. Evaluation combines performance in class and successful interaction with Tunisians. By the end of the course, students are able to ask essential questions and understand the responses, express basic facts and opinions in simple sentences, and engage in basic conversations in Tunisian Arabic with native speakers. Tunisian Arabic II (Arabic 261; 3 credits) Students who have already studied Modern Standard Arabic are introduced to words, expressions, and structures used frequently in everyday life in Tunisia. Students practice them in class before they are given assignments to carry out with native speakers in real situations. Evaluation combines performance in class and successful interaction with Tunisians. By the end of the course, students are able to ask essential questions and understand the responses, express facts and opinions in simple as well as complex sentences, and engage in conversations in Tunisian Arabic with native speakers about non-academic topics. Eligible applicants: • Have completed one year of post-secondary study • Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale); however, applications will be considered holistically • Are physically and emotionally prepared to spend six weeks in Tunisia • Are willing to adapt to a new, potentially challenging environment Other Program Information Orientation Upon arrival in Tunis, Learn & Serve program students participate in a one-and- a half day orientation designed as an introduction to Tunisian culture and daily life and the logistics of the program. The orientation combines structured informational sessions with organized activities. Topics such as safety and health, family life in Tunisia, cultural adjustment, program regulations, participant responsibilities and other essential information are all discussed during orientation. An essential part of the orientation is the beginning of Tunisian Arabic classes. Accommodation and Meals Learn: Students stay in Tunis at a hotel with all modern conveniences, including internet access for a small fee. Breakfast at the hotel is included. A modest per diem is provided to participants to cover lunch, dinner, and laundry. While on the road during the four-day trip to the Tunisian South, participants are lodged in hotels and spend one night in a desert camp in the Saharan sands. All meals are covered during travel days. Serve: Students live and eat with Tunisian students in a dormitory setting at the Tunisian Preparatory Institute for Engineering Studies at Nabeul, 90 km south of Tunis. The Institute is completely re-fashioned as the Language Village during the program. Students take their meals at the Institute’s student restaurant, where three meals a day are served cafeteria-style. A nurse and stock of basic drugs is available on site and the regional hospital is located directly adjacent to the Institute. Personal laundry is done free of charge twice a week for participants; sheets and pillows are provided. Excursions Learn: Students visit major points of interest in day trips from their hotel in the Lafayette district of Tunis. These include the site of ancient Carthage; the village of Sidi Bou Said overlooking the Gulf of Tunis; the old city of Tunis, known simply as the Medina; the Bardo Museum, famous for its Punic objects and Roman mosaics; and the American World War II War Cemetery. Evenings are mostly free and students can spend time on their own exploring downtown Tunis, the medina, and the seaside suburbs. A major event during Learn is a four-day road trip to the Sahara Desert, reaching as far as the oasis of Ksar el Ghilaine, where students spend the night in tents and ride camels to a small Roman fort. The trip includes stops at Kairouan, the capital of early Islam in North Africa; Sbeitla, a large Roman site at the edge of the Empire and location of important battles between Byzantine and Arab forces in the 600s; the big oasis at Tozeur, known for its dates; Douz, a small town where the Sahara begins; the hilltop and troglodyte villages in the southern Berber-speaking region which inspired the Star Wars films; and Djerba, where an age-old Jewish community lives side by side with Tunisia’s outpost of the Islamic Ibadi sect. Serve: Nightly excursions to the adjacent towns of Nabeul and Hammamet are an integral part of the Serve experience. Participants accompany Tunisian students as they explore the resort villages of Yasmine Hammamet and Hammamet itself. On Saturdays and Sundays, day trips to the Cap Bon Peninsula are featured as Village participants visit the site of Punic Kerkouane at the tip of the Cape and return to Kelibia for swimming. Excursions to events at the summer music festival inside the Roman coliseum at El Djem, two hours’ bus trip from LVN, are also planned. At LVN, the beach is a quick 10-minute walk away and many participants take advantage of the Mediterranean Sea for a swim or game of beach volleyball after lunch. .