Welcome to my blog!

Asallamaleikum, hello, and welcome to my online journal outlet. For the next few months, this will be the forum for everyone to keep up with my activities and travels in Tunisia.

A little about myself and my upcoming trip; I am pursuing my B.A. in International Studies through the University of Oregon with concentrations in French, African Studies, and Arts Management. My position at AMIDEAST is part of an IE3 Global internship program through the Oregon University System. At this particular site, there are between three and four interns per year, so I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity.

My goals for this blog include:
1.) maintaining communication with family and friends who desire to share my experience
2.) offer perspectives of North African culture through journal entries composed of my interactions and observation of the people and the culture
3.) gain and share insight on how a developing Muslim nation operates and interacts with other countries politically, economically, and financially to remain economically competative and culturally diverse
4.) represent an American woman's perspective in a Muslim nation including learning to effectively function in a tri-lingual society and work environment consisting of French, English, and Arabic

The AMIDEAST internship (www.amideast.org for more information) originally caught my attention in the winter of 2009 as I searched through my university's database for study abroad programs that would fulfill the requirements for the completion of my major in addition to my personal and career goals. I was immediately intrigued by the language combination of French and Arabic needed for the position and the opportunity for direct work between interns and Tunisian high school and college students preparing to study abroad in the US. As a former Rotary Exchange Student (France, 2004-2005 sponsored by Salem Sunrise Rotary), I am very passionate about exchage programs and am very interested in working on the "other" end of the process as a support of students embarking on similar journies of self-discovery and cross-cultural learning.

My journey to Tunisia begins next Tuesday as I fly from Portland to Frankfurt, Germany, then take a train south through Switzerland in order to catch a ferry from Genoa, Italy to Tunis. This will allow me to break up the trip and do a bit of sightseeing on the way to my new home for six months. My intership begins on October 1 and lasts until March 31, after which I will travel up to northwest France in the Loire Valley to work on an organic farm as part of a program call WWOOF, or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (www.wwoof.org for more information). Why northwest France? I wanted to be able to visit the same host families that i stayed with during my Rotary exchange program, and this opportuntiy seems like a great way to gain experience working with organic products in addition to spending time with the families and friends that were part of many fond memories during my year abroad.

For now, I am packing and saying goodbye to friends and family as I prepare for this incredible journey. I have a feeling that the experiences, interactions, and networking that will take place in the next few months as part of the internship and volunteer work will define several paths for future career and education opportunities. I am nothing less than extatic to begin this next chapter in my life, and appreciate all the support and encouragement from my friends, family, and colleagues. Thank you for believing in me and sharing the journey with me!