12.07.19  

Our motivation to visit Tunisia was driven by two things. One was the desire to actually set foot into Africa and the other was because the city of Tunis was just a 12-hour ferry ride from Sicily, which we were leaving after five weeks.

We had some concerns, along with misconceptions and even a bit of fear. We had never been to Africa nor to an Arab country. The Truth is, in America, most of what we know about other countries is driven by media and that is not always accurate or positive. The fear of terrorism is an ongoing concern in America and unfortunately we sometimes tend to group Muslims into that same ugly category. The reality is that we have home-grown radicals in the US and there is no safe place in the world no matter where you go. Crazy individuals are not limited to just one country, one faith or one race.

Also, the people here have a different view of “personal space” so tend to crowd in much closer than these Americans felt comfortable with! We were wary about less than honest intentions and kept everything close, but aside from that Kathleen, needed a few days to adjust to the glares and stares of the men. They were not rude, but she and I stood out, and they don’t see many Americans here. After a few days we both adjusted and smiled, and they smiled in return.

Dealing with the garbed women and men in Tunisia took a bit of getting used to, but we did within just one day. We were seduced by their friendly nature, their willingness to help and also to satiate their curiosity about us, which was no different than what we felt for them. Walking through the Medina marketplace, we stood outside a food stand trying to ask what was in a particular pastry. A lovely young couple came up, asked if we needed help, and we spoke for several minutes as she helped us understand what was offered. Another wonderful surprise at the marketplace was the chill attitude of the shopkeepers and merchants.

They usually engage us with “Bonjour,” and when we respond in kind they know we’re not French, so they try English! They invited us in cordially and let us look, but they didn’t get in our way or try to push us into a sale. When we left it was not awkward and later we had a conversation with a young man who filled in the back story. They are taught that God will bring a buyer when the time is right, so they leave it in God’s hands and stay out of His way. Smart! We should all do the same thing.

Back to food…

We were concerned that the food would be “weird” or not to our liking, but that was 100% wrong! What we have eaten has been flavorful and delicious! We enjoyed their native foods, including couscous, but we were challenged by coffee- they like it strong, really strong!. We adjusted to that, and usually our cappuccinos had to go back for more milk. Coffee here IS an acquired taste and we’re not sure if we’d ever adapt to it.

English speakers are not that common and more common amongst the younger generation, though we were surprised a few times at some people our age who spoke well enough to communicate. We were not aware that French was almost a second language to their native Arabic, so make a note if you plan to visit. With a decent French vocabulary you’d get by just fine.

This Tunisia experience has been eye-opening. It introduced us to an Arab country, a totally different language and writing, and left us positive and feeling that most people worldwide are basically “good” and try to be friendly and help whenever they can.

We can only hope that Americans do the same…

SUPPLEMENTAL about our amazing ferry ride!:

A 10-hour ferry ride leaving at 2:00 a.m. brought us to Africa for the first time, and the third continent we visited. We were due to arrive late afternoon but were delayed getting out of the Palermo, Sicily, so we got to Tunisia just before dusk. We knew we’d be in for a shock since this was the first Arab country we visited and there are many things different than the Western World we were accustomed to.

Our brief taxi ride from the ferry (which was incredibly inexpensive) took us through the city of Tunis and as we got to our AirBNB location we knew we were not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. Streets of dirt, women and men cloaked in long tunics, and livestock (mostly chickens and roosters) wandering the street, caused a bit of concern with Kathleen, since this would be our home for the next 11 days. We found our room in a typical but primitive neighborhood, but were pleasantly surprised at the unit itself.

Mehdi, our host, was an artist, and lived in the house with his parents and we had our guest quarters (and his studio) in a somewhat sub-basement. Not underground, but a few feet below ground level, which was interesting since we were able to view the lovely yard at a different elevation. Just outside our door was a tangerine and orange tree which we were invited to use as much as we wanted (we did) and there was a grocery store right up the street. When we arrived Mehdi was kind enough to drive us over for supplies. We had little Tunisian money and since it was late and we were hungry he offered to drive us through the neighborhood and took us to his favorite eatery, where we had a delicious meal for about $4.00 each. He insisted on paying for our dinner and our initial concern about Tunisia was quickly dashed by the kindness and friendliness of the people.

And that continued the entire time we were there.

We spent many hours strolling through the Medina, their open outdoors market, and our fears of pushy salespeople and obnoxious behavior was quickly dispelled as the merchants were just as kind. We bought some items, including oils and clothing that was unique to Tunisia, and during our time there we left with amazing and pleasant memories. The English language was fairly common, especially with the under 30 crowd, and many engaged us with a “HELLO!” in the streets to show their friendliness and wanted to talk. They were as intrigued by US as much as we were of them and we learned a valuable lesson.

Stereotypes are bullshit.

We read and hear about Muslims and Arabs and we have been conditioned to be fearful by media and yes, some history, too. There are bad apples out there, but there are bad apples in every country, including the US. In America we have more to fear from domestic terrorism than from afar. Ironically many we met from different countries consider AMERICA dangerous because of gun violence. In Tunisia and many countries, gun ownership is illegal or tightly controlled, so what they hear puts fear into them.

Tunisia was a trip. Our ferry ride was super crowded with people and entire families sleeping on the floor- and outside our cabin! Most of them smiled at us and some offered their food to us. That is how big their hearts were; offering to share what little they had.

We did not travel too far outside the city since their train system sucks, the roads are horrible, and we enjoyed the area we were in. Even hearing the Muslim chanting from the mosque five times a day (including before dawn!) became normal, along with the rosters crowing all day. It’s hard to believe that we became accustomed to dirt roads, battered old taxis and domestic fowl in the street, but we did. But the best memory of Tunisia was the Tunisians themselves, some of the loveliest people we have met yet.