Some preliminary thoughts and observations, fifteen days in:
1. Bob Marley lives. In Tunisia. His anthems of human dignity are well-known and popular in this newly post-revolutionary society.
2. Speaking of music, last summer’s infectious Daft Punk hit, “Get Lucky,” is played in cabs and cafes. I wonder how many Tunisians grok the lyrics?
3. There is litter everywhere. I get that this is a country without the resources to spend on mere beauty. But to my mind, this doesn’t excuse ordinary people from picking up after themselves.
4. Well-heeled Libyans are crossing into Tunisia in their German luxury cars, looking to escape the violence and instability in their own country. This pushed up rents here right when I was apartment-hunting. Bummer.
5. There are lots of foreigners in this tourist town, but very few Americans. A cab driver today told me I was the first American ever to ride in his taxi. He’d been a cabbie for fifteen years.
6. I’m not a tourist; I live here. Or so I insist.
7. Malek, my Tunisian fixer and friend, was shocked that I wanted to ask my new landlord if I could paint the all-white walls of my new digs some other color. “No one in Tunisia does such a thing,” he insisted. Perhaps he was even more shocked when my landlord agreed without much fuss.
8. I lost 18 pounds during the year I lived in Asia. I fear I may gain it all back after a year in North Africa. Lots of starch, grains, bread, cheese.
9. I get a pleasure jolt rounding a corner and suddenly spying the Mediterranean glittering just a hundred yards away. I’ve never lived by the sea before. I think I like it.
10. The Sousse medina would make a great location for a movie. Its narrow labyrinthine streets defy mapping. When I’m there, the only way I can find my way out is by aiming at the sun.
I’m happy to live vicariously through you for the time being, Jim, but reading this makes me think that I better get started on more of my own adventures soon!