borogove

After 3 days in Tunis, we are feeling right at home. On our first night here, a friend of a friend invited us to dinner at his family's house. The old sayings about Tunisian hospitality are right on the money: we were treated to an overabundance of tasty delights. The one thing that was kept from us was some kind of Tunisian pickle dish, which we were told would ruin our taste for Tunisian fare. Dinner was a combination of new tastes, sign language and English/French/Arabic lessons, followed by a late-night trip to the local coffee shop, which was packed at midnight. Sabrina and one of our hosts were 2 of 3 women in the place. We're told that there isn't a lot to do, so most folks just hang out in cafes to watch the people go by. We've enjoyed it so far--the main thing that we've noticed is how well everyone dresses.

On Saturday we woke up late and went to a neighborhood by the sea, where we sat on the beach and ate fish (not at the same time). We managed to navigate the various public transportation systems to get there without serious trouble, so we now feel ready for a trip into rural Tunisia on the bewildering array of long-distance travel options. Aside from sitting in cafes, we haven't been too active-still tired from the trip and the weeks leading up to it. We've spent some time in Tunis' famous Medina, where they sell everything in the world on narrow ancient streets. And a good percentage of the shopkeepers say konichi-wa to Sabrina, which is kind of fun. Serge also got the world's longest haircut there, from a nearsighted barber who keeps his shampoo in miniature gin bottles.

We've been eating lots of tuna, olives, eggs, and harissa (a red pepper paste), often all together. We love the street vendors here and wish we could hire them for our wedding. Anyway, the big football game is about to start, so we need to run. Vive Esperance!