Get Outta Town!
By Abigail Pesta
Sala Elise Patterson at Cafe des Delice in the Tunisian village of Sidi Bou Said
Photo Credit: Mohamed Abdelmouleh
SALA ELISE PATTERSON
33, communications consultant, Tunis, Tunisia
HOMETOWN: Washington, DC
WHY I WANTED TO LIVE ABROAD:
I've lived all over the world, but this time I decided to move for a job with the African Development Bank, which works on social and economic advancement here. I provide communications support to the bank's Eastern African offices.
WHAT I MISS ABOUT HOME:
Family and friends. And also the relentless pursuit of innovation, the pushing of boundaries, the calling into question that I associate with Americans.
HOW THE EXPERIENCE HAS CHANGED ME:
Tunisia is a progressive Muslim society, but it still feels like the public domain is reserved first and foremost for men. I never realized how important it is to feel comfortable and welcome as a woman, wherever I go.
BIGGEST SURPRISE:
Not only in Tunisia, but everywhere I've been, I am always amazed by how much the rest of the world knows about the U.S. and how little, on average, we know about them.
CRAZY ADVENTURE:
Trying to get my personal effects out of customs. On one 95-degree day, after meeting with three different officials, my husband and I sat down with yet another one, who studied our four-page list of possessions and said, yawning, "Item one: plates. So, exactly what kind of plates?"
MAJOR MISHAP:
Going into a certain neighborhood café with my husband and discovering that the only women who do so are prostitutes.
GREATEST CHALLENGE:
If you'd ever heard Arabic spoken, you wouldn't have to ask.
HOW YOU CAN GET HERE:
Several international development organizations work in Tunisia, in addition to the African Development Bank (
afdb.org
). For listings on these types of jobs and others-from accounting to engineering-see
findajobinafrica.com. Or just visit: Americans can stay up to four months without a visa.
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