first of all--Tunisia sits right under Italy as the greatest travel experiences of my life. i spent 7 days and traveled the whole country, beginning in the capital city of Tunis, all the way south to Sousse, into the Sahara Dessert, and back around again to end up where i began. the customs, the culture, it's amazing! 5 hotels later and i have to say i'm a total pro with arabic music. everyday was so full of amazing things that we never went anywhere afterwards. we just chilled, talked, and sat around watching arabic music videos. amazing.
one thing that came to my attention that i must mention is the genius of the tunisian ppl. even the poor are wicked pro at languages. while the native language is arabic, the vast majority are bilingual with french and even MORE speak english, spanish, italian, portuguese, and are now learning japanese thanks to a lot of investment japan is now putting over there. because my italian was kinda weak and i kno no french, more often then not i had to revert to spanish. it sucks because thanks to learning italian i've lost a lot of spanish (because the languages are SO similar!) but luckily i understood it very well.
i could go on and on about how i was guided through the country by the amazing Maria Ponce de Leon (PONCE! for short) and Monir, how i went off roading in the sahara desert, climbed one of the three major mountains into an oasis, rode camels into the sunset, watched a young tunisian boy climb date palm trees inhumanely fast, and bartered with some of the toughest multilingual merchants in the whole world. but then u'd be dripping with envy and this post would be five years long. so in short--it was a great experience. AVOID TOURIST AREAS! they are the WORST in tunisia which has become the european version of florida.
that aside, i do have to tell one story:
while wandering the souks (markets) of tozeur me and michelle walked into one store where they were selling a wide assortment of handmade bowls, dishes, ect. the merchant was very nice and although he wasn't as obnoxiously pushy as his neighbors he was very unwilling to bargain for lower prices. but he was still nice and didn't harass us while we walked around. in the shop there was a young man watching us shrewdly, i guess to make sure we didn't steal or break anything. he was eating a tunisian dish and he invited us to have some but we politely refused. he the most incredible hazel eyes i've ever seen in my entire life! and coupled with his dark skin and black hair his eyes seriously looked like they were glowing. but the kid could barely speak any english and unlike the many other tunisians he only knew arabic. he was also annoying me because he wouldn't meet my eyes. he kept staring then looking away, lol, it kind of made me uncomfortable. so i asked the merchant about him.
me: who is he? he helps you out here?
merchant: yes, sometimes.
me: but shouldn't he be at school? how old is he?
merchant: ah...15.
me: WHAT?! he looks 12! his eyes are beautiful!
merchant: hahaha, yes, that's how i make the money. i bring him along to make deals and everyone agrees because he's so handsome. will you understand if i say things in spanish? my english...
me: of course!
merchant (in spanish): he comes from a poor family. things are rough now and they can't afford to send him to school. so he works with me and i teach him myself. if he went to school, he would already be bilingual, but i am teaching him french now. he's very clever so it's a shame he can't get a proper education, but he is well behaved and works very hard.
me: Que lastima! (what a shame!)
merchant: but he is ok.
he then says something to the boy in arabic. and the boy nodded his head. the merchant asks him something else and the boy starts to laugh and he looks really shy. the merchant laughs and goes, "oh, i was wondering why he was so quiet and acting so shy! he likes one of you!" he asked the boy which one of us he liked and he nods at ME! ahahahahahaha! then i think he asks the boy why because the merchant goes, "he thinks you're pretty." *faints* WHAT?! way to boost my self esteem! so he was looking away because he liked me and he was shy. ohhhh....one of a thousand great memories. i love that kid, i really do! in 10 years if he still wants me i'll be his "noona" and i'll take him to america and we can get married! ahahahaha!
the people there will move your soul in ways like you've never experienced before. GO! if you ever get the chance, GO!!!!!
i also went to pisa and saw the leaning tower of pisa and then to florence to visit the infamous leather market. but we're not gonna talk about it because it wasn't as cool
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