Here's what I watched in 2014. Those with an asterisk were reruns for me. 20 Feet from Stardom (2013) A Hard Day’s Night (1964)* Agora (2009) All Is Lost (2013) Banlieue 13 (2004) Buried (2010) Captain Phillips … [Continue reading]
Boston for the Holidays
December 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I flew back to the USA for Christmas and am now relaxing in the Boston area with my family. Much as I have enjoyed the last 18 months of travel and living abroad, it feels wonderful to be back in my own version of normal. … [Continue reading]
Books Read in 2014
December 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
For the last few years, I've kept a running list of every book I've read. I got a Kindle last summer, which has helped me get my book fix even when I'm far from an English-language bookstore. Here's my list of books read in 2014, presented in the … [Continue reading]
Terrorist Threats Against Foreign Teachers in the MENA Region
November 9, 2014 by 1 Comment
Yesterday I attended a meeting in Tunis about safety and personal security here in Tunisia. It was led by David Santiago, a former U.S. Marine who was stationed at the embassy here and who now is the Security Director for the American Cooperative … [Continue reading]
Halloween in Tunisia
November 6, 2014 by 2 Comments
We had a Halloween party for our students at Amideast last Friday. Despite the appearance of many ghouls, zombies, hippies, witches, Marilyn Manson, and even yours truly as Death himself, it was really refreshingly normal. I wish that at least … [Continue reading]
5000
November 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I logged onto Google Analytics this morning to discover that this blog now has just over 5000 unique "users," almost 20,000 "pageviews" and almost 10,000 "sessions." Very small potatoes compared to big commercial sites, but the numbers still make me … [Continue reading]
My Monday: Camels, Cows and Candidates
October 27, 2014 by 1 Comment
On Mondays I head south along the Mediterranean coast to Mahdia, where I teach English classes to two groups of executives at Vitalait, one of Tunisia’s largest dairy products companies. I practice my French during the 70 minute trip with my driver, … [Continue reading]
Tunisian Elections
October 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Except for the soldiers and armor-clad police standing around with Austrian Steyr Aug assault weapons slung over their shoulders, the Tunisian legislative elections here in Sousse resembled elections back in the States. I visited two … [Continue reading]
An American Looks at the Upcoming Tunisian Elections
October 22, 2014 by 1 Comment
Tunisia’s legislative elections take place this coming Sunday, the first under the new constitution that was adopted following the 2011 revolution. Most people I’ve talked to expect that what follows will be a coalition government of the largest … [Continue reading]
Dougga
October 20, 2014 by 1 Comment
Dougga is home to the largest Roman ruins in Africa. It's situated in The Tell, a large and thinly-populated inland region of northern Tunisia that extends to the Algerian border. It wasn't easy to get to. At 4:30 in the morning, I walked from my … [Continue reading]
