May 11, 1999 - Personal Web Site: Tunisia RPCV Rob Peterson

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Tunisia: Peace Corps Tunisia : The Peace Corps in Tunisia: May 11, 1999 - Personal Web Site: Tunisia RPCV Rob Peterson

By Admin1 (admin) on Tuesday, January 28, 2003 - 1:29 pm: Edit Post

Tunisia RPCV Rob Peterson



Tunisia RPCV Rob Peterson

RPCV Tunisia
Old, Pre-Millennium, News
Return to Current RPCV TUNISIA News

rob peterson rob.peterson@gartner.com 5/11/99 6:36:53 PM

Well, I suppose I should submit the 'news' that not only am I headed to practice my aribiyya whilst traveling Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Jerulsalem this July, but I'm also planning to marry my fiancee, Jessie somewhere along the route. Petra? Jerusalem? Beirut? We don't know where we'll get hitched yet, although we are open to suggestions. Jessie was a PCV in Morocco while we were in Tunis. This summer she will be working as a journalist in Beirut.

cheers,

rob

Evelyn Slowik 5/17/99 5:29:43 PM

To all folks coming to Ann Arbor on Aug. 14: I've made a list of some hotel options for you. When you make your reservations, ask to book under the blocks held by Evelyn Slowik and Brad Enyeart.

Mid Range: about 2 blocks from reception -The Inn at the Michigan League (734) 764-3177 ~ $90 + $10 for each additional person in room. This is the best bang for your buck. It's close to everything and you will be able to walk to the reception.

Mid Range: 1-1/2 miles from reception The Artful Lodger B&B http://www.artlodger.com/

Pricey: about 2 blocks from reception -Bell Tower 800-562-3559 http://www.belltowerhotel.com/ Single/$120 Dbl/$135 -Campus Inn 800-666-8693 http://www.campusinn.com/ Single/$111 Dbl/$126

Economical: Stone's throw from reception -Cambridge House (734) 764-0185. Four dorm rooms with air cond. available. $59 -Guest rooms at the law quad. Two rooms are available: $50.00 for one twin, $60 for two twins. These rooms are quaint, but hot--no A/C in Aug. If you want one of these, contact me.

More hotel and B&B options and Ann Arbor info: http://annarbor.org/

Sebastian Mahfood 6/13/99 1:04:44 PM

I just finished teaching 22 classes at three different community colleges over the 98-99 academic year. This summer I'm taking it easy--only three classes at two colleges. I haven't had this much free time since the summer of '95. Come to think of it, since between the years 94-96. I start at Washington University in two weeks in a socio-linguistics class.

Chris Young 6/22/99 1:51:47 PM

FRIENDS!

First, I apologize for making you scroll through so many names above this message. My motivation is to send your addresses to my secret new email account, in hopes that I will be able to access it where I'm going. I'm keeping it secret for now, because if I can't get web access in Tunisia it would be unbearable to think that mail from you was accumulating without having the ability to read it. Anyhow, you're all fine people, so you ought not object to seeing listed the names of other fine people. On Thursday I am leaving for an Arabic program at the Bourgiba School in Tunis, where I will study and hang out through early August, at which moment I will suddenly brave horrible waves of culture shock by plopping myself into the middle of Minnesota for a fishing vacation with extended family. Some people think Arabs are strange.

School has gone well; I am learning volumes and meeting hordes of interesting characters. All the same I have been gladly relieved to be in Summer Vacation Mode for the past few weeks, hiking, mountain biking, seeing free movies in Boston Common, and slowly doing laundry and packing my things, both for Tunis and to move closer to school. My address and phone number will change in August: 83 Electric Avenue, Somerville MA 02144. (I already know the Eddie Grant song about my street name. Thank you for reminding me. Your singing it was very original.) I'll know a phone number around the time I move in, at the end of August.

Peace Corps people--any word on Andy Manhart?

Briefly, I am the same. Unmarried; no house but a mortgage worth of school loans, bicycling, occasional swimmer, planning to cease my procrastination habits tomorrow. Early. I picked up a used copy of "The Federalist Papers" the other day, and although it's interesting to see what Madison and Hamilton thought (or didn't think, rather) about balance of power, I don't recommend it as page-turning fiction. I enjoyed in a crude sort of way "The Breast" by Philip Roth, and have been sucked into some fascinating articles about humanitarian assistance in Africa that I picked up while working for a part of the School of Nutrition called "The Famine Center." And I recently caught up on the pile of Harpers I swore I'd read for recreation during the semester.

Assuming my scheme works and I retrieve all these addresses from my Hotmail account, and I can actually get Hotmail or Telnet in Tunis, I'll let you know how things fare back in the Old Country.

Again I'll give you my new mailing address (August) as long as you promise not to make any jokes, feeble or otherwise, about the name of the street:

CSY 83 Electric Avenue Somerville MA 02144

Have a great summer.

-Chris

Sebastian Mahfood
sebastian@mahfood.com
8/15/99
6:03:54

Well, we're back. Steph and I went to a wedding of a Peace Corps friend in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this week, who is now going on her honeymoon to Hawaii--WAY COOL!!!! As we had a few days off we decided to take the scenic route and went through Detroit to Toronto, Ontario, in Canada. Seeing Detroit was nice, especially since it is the land of my father's family. Sort of like going home again---only, I'd never been there. And I can't REALLY claim my roots are there, as that side of the family is Lebanese--hence, from Jamaica. We passed through London, Ontario, which is a nice little town, in spite of the fact that Ontarians have an attitude about people asking for directions--if you don't know where you're going, you probably don't belong where you are--that sort of thing. We made Toronto in the early evening and checked into the Day's Inn on College and Church Streets, leaving our car in a rather shady looking parking lot for two days. The city really is fabulous--in fact, we gave such a good report of it when we arrived at the wedding that three of the guests took off for Toronto this morning. After we'd seen the city and the neighboring islands, we drove to Niagara Falls to see it from the Canadian side. We had a full view of the American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Talk about SPRAY! Steph and I hesitated to take the Maid of the Mist ride which goes right up to the edge of the Horseshoe Falls. Basically, it's Lake Ontario dumping into Lake Erie, but it's been dumping for centuries and doesn't show any signs of letting up. Seen from the American side, it's mostly cliffs. I recommend anyone going to cross over to Canada. We stayed at Niagara only a few hours. Other than the Falls, there's really nothing there--save for the cheesy tourist attractions consisting of haunted houses, a Frankenstein Burger King, and a roller coaster. It's like someone took a natural wonder and put WallyWorld on top of it. Too bad the Falls can't be rediverted to wipe out the surrounding city. After we left, we returned to London through Toronto and spent the night at yet another Day's Inn. Food is cheap in Canada, and lodging is comparable to the States. It seems more expensive than it is because Canadian money is worth less than American money. The exchange rate is currently 1.5 Canadian to American. So, if you buy a dinner for two for ten dollars at a Tim Horton's (NICE PLACE), you're getting a good meal for only six bucks. Taco Bell there has french fries, and in London there's a restaurant called LUIGI AND WONG'S ITALIAN/CHINESE FOOD! Imagine that--two wongs make a wop! Ooh, that's bad. Okay, nuff of that. Then I went to the wedding of Evelyn Slowik and Bradley E-something. He seems like a nice guy--I hope Evelyn is as happy in her marriage as I am in mine. After seeing a slew of old Peace Corps friends--most of whom are already past thirty (Mike just emailed me that he objected to that remark 8/23/99)--we headed home. Nine hours with lunch. Goodness, but Dorothy was right--there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

Sebastian Mahfood
sebastian@mahfood.com
8/16/99
8:19:06

Okay, I'm going to start my book about Peace Corps with a description of Evelyn's wedding. I'm going to focus on life in Kairouan with Dave, Kelli, and Evelyn and web out from there. If anyone's got anything they'd like to be put in it, feel free to write me. Everything I put in it that is part of my own personal experience or observation is also part of imminent domain, so no one can sue me for libel. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Sebastian Mahfood
sebastian@mahfood.com
8/22/99
8:30:34

I made it back from Texas in one piece. There was a brush fire just outside of Hope, Arkansas. Some idiot had thrown out a cigarette. I pulled over and started stomping it out and some guy on a motorbike stopped and helped me. He had the sense to grab a branch off a pine tree, which really worked better than me stomping the edges in my sandals. Just after we finished, the fire truck arrived. I guess you could say I saved that little city, which means, you know, that we can all still believe in a place called Hope.

Sebastian Mahfood
sebastian@mahfood.com
9/18/99
9:34:59

VALERIE WON HER FIGHT IN PANAMA CITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can see it, now, the entire crowd cheering for the six foot blonde, Val hanging in there and taking a beating, middle of the fifth the crowd starts calling for her, little by little, "wolfe," "wolfe," only in Latin, "LUPUS," "LUPUS," (after all, it IS Latin America!) and Val doesn't know Latin (I'd have used the Spanish lobos, but it didn't fit into my theme here), by middle of the 7th, the hall is resounding with cheers for Val, but all she can think of is "Why the heck are they wishing that disease on me?" or, maybe her ears are bleeding from the fight and she thinks they're calling her "crazy," or that they're calling for her to hit below the waist, "Low Blows," (see, I did fit the Spanish in here), it infuriates her, beginning of the 10th, the blonde comes up and says, "I must break you," and Val takes her down in one punch.

Evelyn Slowik
2/15/00

Pictures of my puppies...


Sebastian Mahfood
sebastian@mahfood.com
4/24/00

I just got accepted to the doctoral program in the English Department at St. Louis University with a full TAship. That means that I get paid for studying. Pretty nifty!

Dave Bailey
dbailey2@pillsbury.com
4/26/00

Hello all --

In honor of Mohamed's achievement of his degree, I believe my parents are going to be hosting a small reception for him at their house after the graduation ceremony on the 12th of May. Most of you probably won't make it from out of town, but for those who can come you are more than welcome. For those who might want to send a congratulatory note or card to Mohammed the address is 324 N. 7th Street, Wahpeton, ND 58075. Phone is 701-642-4928.

Dave

Hi RPCVs.
I was wondering if anyone else was planning on going or even heard about this.

Regards,
David C. King - Boeing Airplane Services
Retrofit Engineer
(425) 865-7436, phone
(425) 865-1984, fax
MC: 7R-66

> From: John E. Roberts[SMTP:johneroberts@earthlink.net]
> Sent: Monday, May 01, 2000 4:17 P
> To: King, David C
> Subject: Re: J. Roberts
>
> Hi David...Sorry for the conspicuous silence. Sally gave me your e-mail just before I left on a 2.5 month around the world trip, I got back and my e-mail box was jammed (literally and figuratively), so now that it's unglued, I've got over 200 messages. Yes, there is a reunion in Winter Park Colorado from June 25-29. I don't think anyone from Tunisia/Malta even signed up. The deadline passed for reservations, which included a $25 payment fee (all being done by Snow Mountain Ranch) in Winter Park. Address: Conference Registrar, Snow Mountain Ranch/YMCA of the Rockies, PO Box 169, Winter Park Co., 80482. Tel: (970) 887-2152.
>
> I've talked to them and asked that the reservation roles be held open until May 15...even though they originally closed on April 25. Costs are inclusive for BOTH lodging and food, and per person, go down appreciatively depending on whether there is one person in a room or up to six. Costs:
> 1=$404 2=$264 each 3= $216 each 4=$192 each 5=$176 each 6=$168 each.
>
> Check in at Winter Park (about 80 miles NW of Denver on U.S. 40) is at 3pm on Sunday, June 25 and check out after lunch on Thursday, June 29. It is possible that booking may be made for less than the four nights. Also nearby are motels (availability?) and/or camping. When reserving (DO IT NOW, and SPREAD the WORD immediately), state that it's for the Peace Corps Corps Reunion: Tunisia and Solomon Islands.
>
> I mentioned this reunion to Parin, Dave, Dan Mosher, Chris Young, and Hezikiah White (the only RPCV's I've had contact with) about a year ago, but nobody ever got back for information or details....except Hezikiah. I let everyone know that I had no way of finding you guys, and that your information/contact grapevine would have to come into play. Hopefully, it's not too late, but you'll have to work fast....a la Peace Corps days, eh. Send me another e-mail, now that my system is up again, and/or call me....(970) 223-9317. I really do hope that some of guys can/will come.
>
> All the best. Ma'asalaama. JOHN

Becky (Shannon) Spicer
spicer@pire.org
6/6/00
11:48:22 PM

It seems like such a long time ago. My stay was short (the group politivacked before the gulf war) but very memorable. Since I went on to a different country (Gabon) I sometimes forget where my whole PC experience got started. Thanks!

Mohamed El-Hedi Oueslati was recently elected secretary of the North Dakota State College of Science Student Senate. I was able to find the page online where his picture will be posted soon, so you can click here to access it.

Mohamed El-Hedi Oueslati
mweslati@hotmail.com
7/3/00
10:10:02 AM

Both David and Kelli went all the way to North Africa in 1994 to find their soul-mate, and finally in 2000 they got married. It was a good reunion for ex-Peace Corps Volunteers. Twelve showed up, including Michael Finucane, Sebastian and Stephanie Mahfood, Meggin (Margaret F) Griffin, Evelyn and Brad Enyeart, Nancy Lubeski, Katherine Seay, Alan Forsyth (close enough), Mohamed El-Hedi Oueslati (even closer), and, of course, David and Kelli. William C. Day did not show up. But he would have given a good speech. The weather was nice. We ate a lot. We danced, too. I wore my $500 dollar suit and forgot my tie, so I bought a $9 tie to go with my suit. After the wedding, we were having a small party in the girls' room and they were making so much noise that the security officer had to come twice to tell them to shut up. Then, she said that if she has to come back a third time she would have to ask the girls to leave. So, we figured it was better to shut up rather than be kicked out and sleep on the street. Alan showed up with a very hot chick named Ashleigh. I don't know her last name, but it could probably be Oueslati. Michael was drooling over her. I tried to work her a little bit, but it looked like she was smarter than all of my old tricks, so it looks like I better find a new strategy. We were invited to Maureen's house the morning of the wedding and tried to make friends with her dog (and probably work her through her dog a little bit), and I gave him a few treats but that didn't work and the dog still hates me and was ready to bite me. And probably so was Maureen. The whole point of buying a new suit (an expensive new suit) was to look better than the best man, and I think that I did, but Colin got the biggest share of the cake since he got to be escorted out of the church by Maureen and Shannon (Kelli's sisters), so I guess he won. In general, I'm happy that finally David and Kelli did it so I don't have to think about it anymore. Hopefully, if I get invited to any other weddings, I won't have to wear a suit anymore.

If anyone has any story about the wedding, email Sebastian and he'll post it on the website.

Jessica Jordan
jessicajordan_2000@yahoo.com
7/03/00
12:55:01 PM

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I have just finished evaluating IRC's WID Program in the Sudan and assisting them with the formulation of their new WID Program. While in Sudan however, I accepted another evaluation job. This time it deals with Peace Building and it will be in Croatia. I am currently taking a short vacation in Jordan and Israel and plan to be traveling to Croatia in the next couple of weeks, for an initial short term visit. Hence, I should be back in the US in mid July.

Saludos,
Jessica


Dear Friends,

This semester, my business communications class has constructed as its semester project a virtual zoo. For the next three weeks, this zoo will undergo further construction and maintenance as the students learn how to communicate effectively with each other and with outside organizations in the development of a major project.

Please visit and send comments and suggestions for improvement. http://www.sebsteph.com/zoo.htm
Sebastian Mahfood

7/12/00

Jessica Jordan
jjordan@onebox.com - email
(212) 894-3701 x5611 - voicemail/fax

CONGRATULATIONS KELLY AND DAVE!!!!!!!!! I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST TODAY AND ALWAYS!!!!!!!

What great news!!!! Congratulations to Kelly and Dave! I am sure it must have been beautiful and such a happy occasion for a reunion!! I am so impressed with Mohammed and his English and his humor and everything! WOW!!!!Andrew and I are in Santorini the most beautiful island in the
Aegean Sea! we are here taking a few days off as we are both working in the region-it's heaven! Thanks to internet cafes I can stay in touch with work and friends! thanks for thinking of me....can you please forward this to kelly or dave?

KISSES,

Jessica

By Christine Grealish (66.189.253.117) on Thursday, April 09, 2009 - 2:40 am: Edit Post

I was a PCV on the island of Djerba 84-87(set up and started the UTAIM schools in Houmt Souk and El Mays), then went directly to Jerusalem 87-89(CRS'Village Inreach Program). Married an RPCV from Tunisia on the Mount of Olives. Feeling old though it seems like not that long ago, my oldest Essia, is 21! Just reading this forum has brought back lots of memories...Going to have to get out my photo albums and slide show--didn't have but snail mail and the telephone booth at the post office back then:-) Inshallah le bas to all out there.


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