On our first trip to Tunisia to work as animators, we had no idea what to expect. The desire for courage, outdoor activities and language practice was irresistible, so there was no doubt about the correctness of the decision. My friend Sasha and I flew into the hotel at the very beginning of the season, where we were waiting for endless rehearsals of the show, of which there were so many that the head along with the body ached from how much needed to be remembered.
Animation team
Upon arrival at the hotel, we met with the future animation team. It consisted of 8 Tunisian guys, including an animation chief and a DJ, as well as a local girl.
Basically, all ages are 20-30 years old, cheerful and active people.
During the season, some were fired, some could not stand it and left on their own, others could not establish contact with tourists or simply did not speak enough foreign languages.
I want to note that in addition to good physical and dance data, to work as an animator it is necessary knowledge of at least English, and ideally French, Russian and Arabic. Entertainment Worker also must be a good psychologist, since the flow of tourists from different countries is very large and everyone needs to find their own approach.
Schedule
Every day for 6 months, the daily routine was approximately the same, with the exception of weekends. So, the schedule of the working day:
- 7:00 - 9:00 Breakfast in the hotel restaurant;
- 9:00 Meeting of the animation team led by the chef, discussion of work issues and responsibilities for the coming day;
- 9:30 Beginning of work. Traditionally, the whole team gathers in the area around the pool, welcomes tourists and arranges morning group dances;
- 10:00-12:00 Each one does his own thing: one plays darts with tourists, the other plays volleyball on the beach, the rest hold various games and make contact with tourists;
- 12:00 The whole team gathers again at the pool, holds a midday game and arranges group dances with tourists.
- 12:30-14:30 Lunch and rest time for everyone except the animation team. At this time, we discussed the evening show, planned the rooms, rehearsed them, or prepared a new show.
- 14:30-17:00 Beginning of active events: aqua gymnastics, water polo, exercises, communication with tourists, etc.
- 17:00-19:00 Free time that we girls spent on showers, makeup and other gatherings;
- 19:00 Animation meeting in the main restaurant of the hotel to welcome guests and wish them a pleasant appetite in all languages of the world;
- 19:30 Dinner time for us;
- 20:00 Guests begin to move to evening animation, our task is to create a friendly atmosphere through communication with tourists;
- 20:30 The animation team conducts a disco for children;
- 21:00 Group dances with all guests;
- 21:30 The beginning of the show, and every day is different, the program is repeated every two weeks. At the end, the animators invite guests to join the joint dances;
- 23:00 Invitation and escort of tourists to the disco, which is located inside the hotel, further stay there at will.
Underwater rocks
To begin with, all animators at first glance are very positive, energetic and active young people. But it is impossible to always be in a good mood, to dance endlessly and smile at everyone, while communicating with hundreds of people every day.
Therefore, I want to assure you that benevolence is basically a simulated picture, which hides psychological, physical fatigue and chronic lack of sleep.
All hotel employees, including animation, are likely to forget you as soon as the transfer to the airport leaves the hotel porch. In order to avoid confusion, the names of tourists are completely replaced with different nicknames that are easier to remember.
Thus, for the entire season there can be 100 “crazigerl” and “moms”, the first being used for young girls, and the second for ladies of Balzac age.
There is another case. There are many exceptions when workers really want to find a wife, preferably from Europe, and move to her there.
If you are an enviable bride, you can rest assured that you will remain unforgettable. The enterprising and cunning young Tunisians for some reason believe that Europe is a paradise on earth and everything is fine there, life is settled, a salary that they never dreamed of.
For the sake of their dubious dream, they are ready to appease and courting women of any age and external data, not sparing compliments and big words of love. Women, in turn, under the influence of the sun, music and endless alcohol, are not averse to such increased attention. These resort novels spin suddenly and often end just as quickly. Particularly annoying ladies return to their oriental macho dozens of times, spending money earned on tours and gifts to their lover, as well as regrettably, abandoning their families.
We have constantly witnessed how women brought a huge number of presents to animators, bartenders, waiters, etc., ranging from alcohol and clothing, ending with expensive phones and money for starting a business, and that’s all for him, beloved.
In parallel with this, we observed thousands of broken hearts and tears from women and girls. Any help or attempt to open their eyes provoked claims from our colleagues, who actively defended the ignorance of their next passion.
To this day, I have been haunted by the question of how these young guys managed to professionally powder their brains to women of all categories and nationalities.
Apparently, many years of experience in tourism and a great desire for a good life played a role.
The female part of the animation team was also not deprived of attention from the strong half of humanity. True, this was only discomfort — it was necessary to fight back, to get out of unpleasant situations, to “ignore” hints from representatives of the administration and the chiefs of all hotel structures.
Of course, we are not robots, we got used to some people very much, a circle of "favorites" among tourists was determined. Basically, they became children and those adults who returned more than once to the hotel. They also brought gifts to us, but, basically, it was Russian food, which we really missed. After two years, we keep in touch with many, sometimes even meet in different cities.
While working in animation, I gained invaluable experience and excellent practice in foreign languages, improved my physical training, and most importantly, I began to better understand people.
I would like to advise all future tourists to be more vigilant and not lose their head, despite the fact that you are on vacation. A beautiful candy wrapper may turn out to be a bittersweet candy, and behind a carefree smile of an entertainment worker, not only fatigue, but also self-serving calculation may be hidden.
