Back in Tunis

When we got back from the honeymoon, it was windy and definitely cooler... nice relief. Now, it's pretty much back to normal.

Nidhal and I went to a soccer game in Tunis a couple days ago: Paris St. Germain vs. Olympique de Marseille. It was a final game for something French, I guess, and it was called the Champions Trophy. There were a lot of Algerians there because a ton of Algerians live in Marseille... Algerian flags everywhere. Marseille won. Nidhal and I had decided to root for Paris, but we were sitting in the middle of the Marseille section and so we didn't really cheer for anyone. On the way to the game, the amount of cars combined with Arab drivers equaled five lanes of traffic on a three lane bridge.

So far during my stay in Tunisia, people have thought I was German and French, and last night, two people thought I was Italian. It seems like the only thing I haven't been was an English speaker.

Last night, we went to a wedding party in a different part of town. It was definitely interesting. There was food and then music and dancing on the rooftop. Apparently, these people are related to Nidhal's dad somehow. And then on the way back to the house, Nidhal got pulled over for the fifth time in two weeks. Luckily, it was only a random check. Only two of the five times was it because he was doing something wrong (speeding caught by radar whoops and driving too fast while passing a line of camels on the road).

The Amazing Journey

I've decided that I'm going to make posts from my trip and post them under the date that it actually happened. So for the next few days, new posts will be showing up under the dates 7/14 to 7/25.

Our trip to the south went well. We had out wedding party on the 14th and left for Djerba (an island) on the 15th. From Djerba, we went to Tozeur and then to Douz and then to Matmata and then back to Tunis. During this trip, we also visited Tamerza, Chebika, Mides, Metlaoui, Nefta, and Gabes. Most of the trip was in the desert, but the first portion (Djerba) was a desert island on the Mediterranean Sea.

Today, we left Matmata, where parts of Star Wars was filmed, and drove back to Tunis. It took us about 6 hours, which was nothing compared to the 10 it took to go from Tunis to our hotel in Djerba. For the record, Libyan drivers are reckless and crazy. They are literally the worst drivers I have seen in my life. This is a quote from expatarrivals.com: Libya has one of the highest road death mortality rates in the world. Driving is extremely dangerous and should be done with the utmost caution. Libyan traffic officers poorly enforce laws and Libyan drivers are erratic and unpredictable. Always exercise extreme caution and defensive driving techniques. Furthermore, it’s best to avoid driving at night when police are known to set up road blocks to trap drunk drivers. There were multiple times when I was sure an accident was about to happen. They drive fast and pass so that the car coming in the other direction has to break and the car they are passing has to move to the shoulder just so there won't be a collision. However, the Tunisian drivers were generally fine.

Speaking of driving, the roads in Tunisia are excellent. Seriously, there are roads in the middle of the desert that are better than all roads in the US excluding the brand new roads. There was only one spot in the entire country where I thought that the road was similar to the ones found in the US (more specifically, Ann Arbor). Bravo, Tunisia.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. I'm too tired now to write more, but there will be more details coming soon.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...

When we were in Douz, it got up to 120 degrees with above 110 degrees being typical. When we left Douz on the 24th, we saw that the forecast for the next few days was around 36 degrees Celsius (about 97 degrees). Our reaction was, "Wow, it's going to be really cool". I guess after a week of 110 and up, 97 feels like spring.

Originally, we weren't going to go to Matmata for the night of the 24th, but Nidhal's parents said that they were having company over and Nidhal took that to mean that we should find another place to stay for the night. So Matmata! We left Douz in the early afternoon and drove through the mountains to get to Matmata. When we arrived, we stopped at a museum that showed the typical houses of Matmata (built into the side of a mountain). We then ate some lunch where we met some Mexicans, and then we went to the hotel... and were pleasantly surprised. It was quite nice and our room. . . . . was a cave! It was a traditional Matmata dwelling and was kept naturally cool without the need for air conditioning. Almost the whole hotel was carved out of the mountain.

We spent the evening watching the sunset over the desert mountains and relaxing. It was our only night in Matmata.

Looking back over the hotels, I can definitely say that the El Mouradi in Tozeur was the best. It was the cleanest with the most luxury and the best food. Even though we were given a suite at the El Mouradi in Douz, the hotel in Tozeur was newer and just better. One thing that annoyed me, though, was the closing times of the pools, especially in Djerba. When I'm in a hotel on the sea, I want to swim in the sea during the daylight hours and then swim in the pool after dinner. But no, not an option. The pool closed at 7:30pm, about the time that the sun went down. Seriously. Ridiculous. The other hotels' pools closed a little later, but it was usually not late enough to be able to swim after dinner (dinner at the hotels ran from around 7pm to around 9pm). So that annoyed me. Both the hotels in Djerba and Matmata could have been cleaned better, but both were certainly nice and I wouldn't hesitate to go back to either one.

In conclusion, it was a great trip, a great vacation. Luckily, Tunisia's coast runs from north to south so I can go swimming in the Mediterranean back in Tunis.

The Desert of Your Dreams

Day three in Tozeur was a busy one. First, we went on a train ride from Metlaoui into the mountain. The train is an old one from back in the day called "The Red Lizard". The ride took about two hours including three stops along the way. It was a beautiful and relaxing trip. Then in the afternoon, we went to one of the zoos in Tozeur. There was a friendly baby donkey and some peacocks roaming around, and lions, camels, gazelles, guinea pigs, ostriches, and other animals in cages. Nidhal didn't notice the lions at first and about jumped out of his skin when they growled as we were walking by. Also at the zoo was a famous Coke drinking camel called Ali Baba. Nidhal got to hold a snake, which is really amazing for him considering that the last time he was at the zoo there were pictures taken of him running from the guy showing the snakes to two girls.

After the zoo, we went to the grave of a Tunisian poet named Aboul-Qacem Echebbi. Nidhal says he was a genius. Like many geniuses, though, he died young at the age of 25. From his grave, we drove to Nefta to see its basket oasis and the sunset over the Sahara. We had difficulties finding the entrance to the basket, and with time running out, we had to settle for seeing it from above. Oh well, we have to leave something to do for the next time we come.

We then ventured out into the desert to see the sunset. We had to ask some police for directions and about whether the car would make it down a particular road. They said that if the car didn't make it, they would help get us out. When we left an hour later, they pulled us over to ask us if the view was nice. But anyway, we ended up driving to a spot where we could get a camel ride onto the dunes. When my camel sat down, he liked to go head first, so every time he sat I felt like I was going to flip over the front onto the ground. The sunset was beautiful (most sunsets are, aren't they?), the camel ride was nice, and we got a free desert rose out of it.

The next day was our last morning in Tozeur. We checked out the city center and took a look at Tunisia's version of Mount Rushmore. It's a small mountain with the same face (Aboul-Qacem Echebbi) on each side of it. And then we left for Douz.

To get to Douz, we had to cross the Chott El Jerid. We noticed that there was some activity at one point and so we stopped to see what was going on. As it turns out, a French movie is going to be filmed there. The guy told us to look around at the sets, but we were satisfied with pictures and the two free waters he gave us. Once in Douz, finding lunch was not an easy task since everything closes down for the hot mid-day hours. But we actually stumbled upon something quite good. The rest of the day was relaxation with some naps, some eating, and some swimming in the pool.

We were in Douz for three nights, but we didn't do much while we were there. Our first seven days were so full that we needed a break. All we did in Douz was relax, go to the Thursday market, drive around, and check out a museum. All in all a great time.

Waterfalls and Canyons

Day four in Djerba was the day we left for Tozeur. Nidhal and I got in some swimming in the morning before we had to check out and then we were on our way. The drive was mostly uneventful except for the beautiful scenery and camel signs. I had seen a camel crossing sign on a postcard in Djerba and I had sincerely hoped to see one in real life. Well, I certainly wasn't disappointed. There were many many camel crossing signs on the way to Tozeur and everywhere else in the desert. Also, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The first time I stepped out of the car to take a picture, the air felt hot but not as hot as I had expected. Everyone had said we were crazy for going to the desert in the summer, but it wasn't as bad as they made it sound.

We made it to Tozeur in the late afternoon. The hotel was a four star hotel this time and we were not disappointed. I would definitely recommend the El Mouradi hotel in Tozeur to everyone. There are two pools, good food, and very nice people working there. After resting for a bit, Nidhal and I went out to a night museum called Dar Cherait. There were three exhibits: a history of Tunisia, a museum with life size exhibits showing life in Tunisia, and another part that referred to Scheherazade's tales. I didn't really get the point of the last one, but the first two were good, especially the history of Tunisia. It began with a walk through a time machine with flashing lights and weird music, and then suddenly you step out into a sandy canyon with dinosaurs around you. Pretty cool. It continues with a recorded voice tour through the years. For each section, there are pictures and life size recreations of people, places, and events. Very interesting and worth the money.

Day two in Tozeur began with breakfast and then the little tiny car was tested to see if it dared go where only SUVs ventured. We drove through the desert to a little town called Chebika where there is an oasis and waterfall. It was beautiful, and now when I look at the pictures, it looks so cool that it looks fake... but it's definitely real. We then went to Tamerza, where we saw a few more waterfalls. The first two were together and really cool because it was possible to stand underneath them. The last one was harder to get to but still cool. Unfortunately, it was so hot and stuffy by the time we got to the last one that I had to suggest that we cut short our exploration of the canyon and go back up to the car. I barely made it back to the car. We then went to Mides, which is right next to the Algerian border. We could see a border crossing post and one of the residents of the town pointed out a white post in the distance and informed us that it was indeed Algeria. In Mides, there was an amazing canyon and a really nice guy who gave us free rocks (not just any rocks but cool rocks... one is transparent like glass).

After that hot and exhausting adventure, we had to go back to the hotel to cool off and rehydrate. I really don't remember what we did that evening... maybe nothing. I remember being so exhausted from the trip and I definitely can imagine that I didn't want to do anything but relax. Yeah, I think we just relaxed until dinner and then Nidhal had a chicha/shisha/hookah in the evening.

The Sea, How I Love Thee

Day two in Djerba was a great one. We woke up early because Nidhal had a surprise for me (although I had kind of already guessed it). We drove from the hotel to the marina where multiple pirate ships were waiting for us. Nidhal struck a deal with a guy who turned out to be a high-ranking policeman, and we got a good price for the ship Le Pirate. After waiting for a large group of French tourists, the voyage was underway. It began with piratey music and with the "deck hands" climbing up the netting above the ship and doing acrobatics. The voyage continued with music (traditional and otherwise), dancing, and general relaxation. After maybe 30 minutes, the ship docked on an uninhabited desert island. There were multiple huts erected for the pirate ships where the passengers would eat. Our hut was definitely the best.

After landing on the island, we were instructed to go swim on the opposite side for an hour. Nidhal and I did this gladly. The water was excellent. Wonderful. It was as warm as bath water. Lunch was included in our ticket, and we were served delicious Tunisian food (salads, brik, couscous, fish, and watermelon). After lunch, there was a comedic play, in which the boat staff made fun of people of different nationalities. The targets of this trip were the Italians and the French. They choose their targets based on who is on board, and because this trip was almost all French, they chose these two groups of people. After lunch there was more swimming, tea, and the trip back. I absolutely loved this excursion. I think it was one of my favorite events of the entire honeymoon.

After arriving back on Djerba, we relaxed in the Mediterranean for a while and then went to dinner. In contrast to the first dinner, this one was quite good consisted of mostly Tunisian food. Apparently, it was "Tunisia night" at the hotel, and so they also had a snake charmer for entertainment after dinner. He first showed around some lizards and then brought out three cobras. I stayed as far away as I could.

Day three on Djerba was mostly swimming. In the morning, though, we did go to a three-part museum. Part one was a crocodile zoo, part two was a demonstration of life on Djerba, and part three was an actual museum containing art and stuff. I liked the last part because of its air conditioning. And then swim swim swim in the sea sea sea.

The Wedding and Journey to Djerba

On July 14th, we had our Tunisian wedding party. We had the choice between modern wedding clothes (white dress and a suite) or traditional Tunisian clothes. Since we already had a modern wedding, we went for the traditional clothes. Nidhal rented the traditional men's clothing and his mom and aunt found a traditional dress from Hammamet for me. I was prepared at Nidhal's aunt's house and Nidhal got ready at his house. When the time came, Nidhal picked me up and we were driven in his uncle's car to the party. All the way, his uncle was honking, beep beep beep-beep-beep, and at one point, a train honked back. Both Nidhal and his dad were excited about that because they are both really into trains. The party consisted of loud, live music, dancing, and appetizers. Nidhal and I were seated on a couch in the front of the room and everyone else was seated so they could see us. And then it was just music and dancing and food until the end. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was very different from what I'm used to.

On the 15th, we began our long-awaited honeymoon trip. We had to drive from Tunis to Djerba, an island in the south. It took us almost 10 hours because of traffic, having to wait for a ferry, and not being able to find out hotel. The drive itself was not uneventful, as numerous Libyan and Algerian drivers put our lives at risk. The stretch of road from Sfax to somewhere south of Gabes was the worst. But when we turned onto a less-used road, the drive was nice and relaxing, with desert and olive trees in all directions. When we got to the port, though, we were faced with more annoyance because there was a large line of cars waiting for the ferry to Djerba. (As we would find out a few days later, though, we got lucky... when we left Djerba on the 18th, the line of cars waiting for the ferry to Djerba was so long that we couldn't even see the end of it). As it turned out, though, we didn't have to wait for an eternity, and soon we were on the ferry and headed to Djerba.

Once on Djerba, however, we were faced with the problem of finding the hotel. Who needs directions, right? It's an island after all. Well, after very much driving, very many u-turns, and quite a few stops to ask people for directions, we finally found the hotel. The hotel was a 3-star hotel with two pools and with access to the Mediterranean Sea. It was really a typical hotel, nothing overly special. The walk to the beach was only a few minutes long and the beach and the sea were excellent. The hotel was overrun by Germans and so basically everything was catered to them. There was polka music in the evenings, bland food for dinner, and everything was written in German. Since very few English speakers come through Tunisia, much of the hotel staff thought I was German. I can accept that. At least I can speak German. After such a long journey, Nidhal and I took a quick look at the sea and collapsed into a deep sleep.

Exhausted

So the sheep escaped its bindings last night and managed to eat an entire baby apple tree.

Nidhal, his sister, and I spent the entire day shopping for stuff in the city. I was taken to two different souks: the one I had been to a few days ago and another new one. The new one seemed to have more household goods like kitchen accessories. It reminded me of a dollar store. It was so hot and the bottoms of my feet were quite painful by the end of it all. I was exhausted. Then as soon as we got back, we had to leave again with his mom to get a dress for her. This time it wasn't as hot and there wasn't as much walking. We went to a mall in a rich section/suburb of the city to get the dress and some light bulbs. On the way back, there was a beautiful sunset. And now Nidhal is napping.

I've noticed that it's very hard to get Nidhal's attention here. I usually have to ask a question five times before I get an answer, and then he usually answers it wrong... so I have to ask him another three times before I get the information I'm looking for.

Going in Circles

I'm once again updating during the nap time. Almost everyone is sleeping. I've finished listening to the book Black by Ted Dekker. I've read it once before, but it was so long ago that I had forgotten almost everything about it. I just remembered that I liked it a lot. Now I'm looking for a text of Red on the internet. Google Books has most of it, I think, but parts are missing. I've yet to read Green for the first time. When I get back, I'll have to finish Red, reread White, and buy Green.

It always happens that what you bring, you don't need... and what you don't bring, you need. What I need that I didn't bring: the anti-itch cream, lotion, more bug spray, more band-aids, more money, etc.

Last night, Nidhal, his brother Ridha, and I went to the city center to look at a dress that was picked out for me. Well, by the time we found the shop, it was closed. And then we walked through a different souk (marketplace) looking for shoes to go with the dress. This souk was completely empty of tourists and tourist-oriented goods. The stores basically repeated themselves... shoes, clothes, cloth, food, jewelry carts, and on and on.

I was listening to some of my old favorites last night, including "Pitiful" by Blindside, "Be My Escape" by Relient K, "My Heartstrings Come Undone" by Demon Hunter, and "Stay" by 12 Stones. It was great to hear them again. And the resonating words from these nostalgia-songs were "the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair".

Nap Time

Every afternoon around 3 or 4, the whole family takes a nap. The days feel really hot to me, but I don't know if they are actually any hotter than at home. This apparent heat makes me want to sleep all the time and causes me to have no appetite.

Yesterday, Nidhal took me to a part of the city called Sidi Bou Said. It's a rich, touristy place with white and blue buildings on a hill next to the sea. By the time we made it out there, it was dark, so I didn't get many pictures, but it still looked really nice. Of course, we're going to go back.

The bottom half of my legs have been devoured by mosquitoes. I have big red bumps everywhere... 17 on one leg and 11 on the other.

Tunis Medina and Souk

Come on fly with me, let's take off in the blue!

Well, then. Where to begin?

We're in Tunisia! The trip started in the North Terminal of DTW. It's new, but it's ugly. There are almost no windows and few shops. It's basically just a long, drab hallway. McNamera Terminal is much better... plenty of windows, shops, and a fountain. So anyway, we went through security with no problem and then set out to find somewhere showing the soccer game (Uruguay vs. Ghana). There were two sports bars/restaurants with the game and so we chose one that we could watch without going in and buying food. After watching the first half of the game, one of the bartenders felt sorry for us and gave us waters and a place to stand that was not in the hallway. During overtime, a crowd gathered around us, and Nidhal made the acquaintance of a German who ended up being near us on the flight to Frankfurt.

The flight was uneventful. Two Tunisian guys from Dearborn were seated near us on the plane. Nidhal had met one of them before. I watched Invictus and Valentine's Day. Neither was as good as I'd hoped. Nidhal watched a German movie called Friendship. It looked pretty good...

In Frankfurt, we had to go through security again before we could go to our next flight. Stupid. And then they told us that the flight was overbooked. Nice. But we got on the plane with no problems. This flight was more annoying than the transatlantic one because I was exhausted, there was a screaming child, and there was no TV telling us where we were. But they gave us really good food: pasta, bread and butter, bottled water, and a Toblerone chocolate bar. I was surprised we got so much for a two hour flight. My first glimpse of Tunisia was from the air. Tunis is huge. On the ground, Nidhal and I got through customs just fine, and after picking up our luggage, we met his dad and one of his brothers (Ridha) in the waiting area. I had seen so many pictures of them, but they looked different in person.

And then there was the drive to the house. Tunisia was what I expected but not what I expected. A lot of the roads didn't have lines on them, and so traffic was every man for himself. Nidhal was surprised by this too. Apparently Tunisia is doing well right now and so there is a lot of construction which somehow caused the lines on the road to be gone...? Also because of this construction, there are piles of what appears to be rubble (actually building materials) everywhere. But it's not a sign of decay, it's a sign of prosperity, which I find interesting. Tunisia is definitely an Arab/Mediterranean country. No question. But there's a bit of Europe in it, too.

Severely jet lagged, we arrived at the house and were greeted by most of his immediate family. I couldn't understand a word, unfortunately. The communication has since gotten better though. I'm slowing picking up on more Arabic words, and his father and siblings make an effort to speak to me in English. Sometimes French is used to get the message across, sometimes hand motions, and once, Google Translator. Nidhal's family is extremely nice to me. His dad and sister took me to a Meijer-like store the second night I was here and told me to put whatever I wanted in the cart. The two oldest brothers have been very friendly and have offered to get me pop or ice cream multiple times. His mom has also been very very nice. He has a great family.

Yesterday, Nidhal took me to the Medina (old city) and the Souk (marketplace). I thoroughly enjoyed it all, especially the Souk. We didn't buy anything this time, but Nidhal assures me that we will go back multiple times.

And it's hot. Mid-day is rough and everyone ends up taking naps. But as soon as evening comes, the change in temperature is incredible. It's so cool and fresh in the evenings.

So that's all for now. Bislema!