Travel Games

One of my favorite things about traveling is finding new things during all the time I spent running around the tiny North African country of Tunisia I found two new ways to keep myself amused while traveling. I recommend these travel games for anyone who is about to embark on a journey by louage (long distance taxi) around Tunisia.
Where's the President
Unlike Waldo you can't miss this guy even if you are trying. I don't know the name of the President but I could pick him out of a line up. There are posters and pictures of him everywhere, from the small signs and pennants outside of shops to the overly large ostentatious ones hanging off of buildings in Tunis. They are ubiquitous. And for some reason that I just can't quite name he is always showing off the sleeve of his suit. I don't know whether it's a subtle statement saying either "look no tricks up here" or "wait till you see what I have up my sleeve next" or he just thought it was a cool pose. Either way it's a fun game to play on a road trip through Tunisia or even on a stroll through town. See how many you can get. My highest, 63 on the trip between Le Kef and Mahdia.

The License Plate Game
Alright I know everyone plays some version of this game in America but this is a new twist. See Tunisian license plates go something like this: two numbers signifying how old it is (note this doesn't represent the year made) with 140 being new and 30 being old, then there is the name of the town to which it is registered and then another set of numbers. It's the first two numbers you want to pay attention to. The game is how low can you go. We had hours of entertainment trying to find really old cars- the oldest looking bunch being the old tan Peugeot work trucks that are ubiquitous in small towns. Some looked way older than their number would indicate so I'm guessing someone is swapping plates somewhere but who knows why. The lowest I got was a 31 and Jess won with an 11 that she spotted after I left. Still waiting on that picture because it seems too incredible to believe.

*Since the recent political changes it looks like the "Spot the President" game won't be as easy to play.

Jingle Bells

For being a "Muslim" country and vehemently denying the Christmas holiday there sure was a lot of decking the halls going on in Tunisia. I saw Santa with a saxophone and I can't tell you how many little fake plastic evergreen trees around Tunis, not to mention the lights. Even the commercials were busting out the Christmas carols, even though there was no Christmas to be had there. Still we made the most of Christmas. Thanks to the lovely Monoprix and my desire for cheap chocolate goodies I was able to whip up chocolate mousse and little cakes filled with chocolate pudding and topped with pineapple and whipped cream. Thanks to the internet we were able to stream A Christmas Story even though all three of us fell asleep- I made it to the tongue on the flag pole. And Thanks to some man's obsession with the Plaza in NYC we went to the Plaza Tunis and I had the best steak I've ever had on Christmas Eve.


Santa rocking out on sax in downtown Tunis.

Jess and I acting goofy amongst the Christmas decorations (and plastic flamingos) at the Plaza.

Down South

Walking around the Southern town of Matmata you need to make sure you keep your eyes on the ground otherwise you run the risk of falling into a hole, a really, really big hole. While the mountains and scenery may be gorgeous the earliest inhabitants of the region didn't mar the natural beauty of the landscape by building their homes where they could admire the scenery, instead they lived underground in Troglodyte pit homes. Eight or nine families would work together digging out these giant pits and would live in their semi-subterranean homes together where it was cooler. A lot of them are now abandoned or used to store animals and farm equipment but some of them are wired for electric with satellite TV. Arriving at night I didn't see any of this til the next day. Of course I still got the experience,

I stayed in one while I was there. A very pleasant place called Hotel Marhala. It was listed in Lonely Planet's budget options and recommended over the Star Wars' Hotel- Sidi Driss. While it's a nice place- clean room, super clean bathroom, good food, nice owner- Lonely Planet totally had a bias against Star Wars telling people it was a superior choice over Sidi Driss citing camera toting Star Wars fans as a detractor. However, I got several noisy tourists who felt they could just walk into my room as they toured the hotel. While the owner apologized it was still annoying. So while I'd recommend Hotel Marhala, if you want to stay at Luke Skywalker's house don't let the guide book throw you off.

No matter what anyone says Matmata is wired for the tourist trade. Hell the whole country is with something like over 60% of its GDP coming from tourism. The town is full of tour guides, only three of them are licensed with the local tourism board. One big way locals bring in cash is by toting out their camels, no such thing as a free ride here, if they even catch you taking pictures it's going to cost you. One enterprising man was bottle feeding his baby camel outside one of the main hotels hoping to catch shutter happy tourists.



























 

An abandoned troglodyte pit home.

 

In one of the more modern homes open to tourists- a small fee is greatly appreciated- we saw an old fashioned mill. Can you imagine grinding grain by turning a rock round and round.

I find it infinitely amusing that STOP works in every country unless you are talking to children, then it's about as meaningful as the word NO.

 

Thank you fellow tourists: now kids come out everywhere demanding money, caramels, and pens (I hear the Japanese are particularly bad for this).

 

I might have snuck through here and into one of the abandoned homes.

 

View from the hillside. See what I mean if you aren't careful there are pits everywhere!

 

Do I really need to tell you whose house this is?

 

I'm in their dining room- the one that's used in the movie!!!!

 

Tamezret is a town about 12k West of Matmata. While it has some gorgeous scenery and a cool little hillside town that made me think of a medieval town it's not worth spending more than an hour and be prepared to be hassled by men in the village who want to take you to see the museum.

 Like I said kinda like a medieval town.



They love their elaborate doors in this country.

I really enjoyed my time down south, it was a nice break from the North and I feel like I learned a lot about the culture however I really hated feeling like such a tourist. Still if you do come to Tunisia I would totally recommend coming to Matmata and if you need to get around they have decent bus transport- albeit crowded- so don't get talked into a guide. And enjoy the scenery!!

Can you believe they let me in here

So ever since I saw this on someone else's blog I wanted to check it out.

El Jem
Its said to be the 3^rd largest Colosseum standing and you can run all over the place up to the very top.
And that's just what I did!

Homeward Bound

I listened to Simon and Garfunkel my first night over here. Homeward Bound. For the life of me I don't know why. I was anything but homeward bound. Words like home and family had become particularly painful for me.
Still I felt compelled to play it as I lay in bed freezing under the air conditioner reading a letter marked: Don't open till Africa. Now the countdown has begun and in 67 days I will be homeward bound. I've already decided I won't be taking the direct route. I have some idea of where I'd like to go for a bit. Some place by the sea. As usual I don't really have a clue- aimless. Of course the big question remains: when my aimless wandering is done where am I to go when I'm bound for home?

Book List

Book List


January 2009

How to Make an American Quilt par Whitney Otto- A collect ion of pieces about the loves of the Grasse County Quilting Circle- paints a socio-historic picture using analogies of quilting instructions to weave it all together. I like the movie better.

The Robber Bride par Margret Atwood- Discusses the lives of three women as they embody 60s, 70s, and 80s and the woman- Zenia who destroys their love lives and manipulates all around. Accept yourself when you stare down your enemy and realize you possess great strength. Recommend.

Dune by Frank Herbert- Just what I needed.



February 2009

Harry Potter 1 en francais- good way to study French get to follow a boy wizard as he discovers who he is and where he coms from.

Kouramangui Site Journal- my survival guide

Fool Moon- Jim Butcher I love Harry Dresden

The Summons by John Grisham- The father dies and the eldest brother finds him and three million dollars. Youngest brother sets him up. I realize I have read this before Protagonist is kinda an asshole a bit convoluted.

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier, First book read at site. Old man starts the retelling of his life which has become something of a tall tale. Great opening and his youth enthralls you but then it turns into a bland recounting with a few antedotes. Leaving you with the mundane behind the glamour of the outset.



March 2009

The Watchmen by Alan Moore- I loved it. I think the first half is my favorite. It has such rich and humanly flawed characters- Rorshach who holds his virtue like a shield and stands vigilante till the end. Vidt who is so self deluded in his self righteousness as the savior of the world till John leaves him with doubt because he had limited view. Amazing foreshadowing and concurrent plot lines.







April 2009

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett- an epic novel following the lifetime it took to build Kingsbridge Cathedral. The characters were well realized and the love story was beautiful, however some parts became flat as he made certain characters too one dimensional.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. A very haunting tale of how he lost everything as a child and the lengths he’d go to to survive. It focuses more on his horrors than the process of redemption but very compelling.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monnk Kidd. I loved this book it follows a young girl who lives inside her head because she doesn’t have much else to go and one day breaks fee while breaking her nany out of jail and chases her mothers ghost to the calendar sisters.

I Hope the Serve beer in Hell by Tucker Max. Vile.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I understand it better today than I did at 18.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich- light reading while waiting for a bush taxi.



May 2009

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Yet again it turns out I’ve read this one before. Two sisters- Elinor all good sense and Mariann in touch with her sensibility. It’s a bit contrived as we follow theirrelationships flounder and rebound, Austen’s wit and sarcasm (ironic style) is as always spot on.

The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan. As her mom’s mind comes unraveled by dementia so does Ruthe’s life. She is confused by pieces of the past her mother reveals until she finds the true history her mother’s life she left behind and finds redemption.

Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan. Based on a psycic account by a dead woman following her 11 friends abducted in Burma. It would be interesting to look up the real facts of the case.

Star Wars New Republic Anthology. I love Star Wars!



July 2009

Star Wars: Ambush at Corellia Han Solo returns to his homeworld to find it is plunged into turmoil divided on species lines. Lando hunts for a wife and all become trapped in the Corellian sector. Entertaining read!

Star Wars: Assault at Selonia. Our heros are all scattered each trying to get a handle on the situation. All come together at Selonia except for the children on Drawl in preparation for the big showdown. Come to realize speciest movements are just a front.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire en Francais

Star Wars: Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly- Luke finally gets the girl- the spirit of Callista a jedi who disabled the precursor to the Death Star as he battles to do the same and save her too. While Leia, Han, Chewie, and R2 find the perpetrators as they search for the records of the lost children of the Jedi.

The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. The prose was almost lyrical. It follows a family the narrator knows well, Oscar the overweight nerd and the dynamic between him and his sister hit close to home. I miss my brother.

Princeps fury by Jim Butcher. Tavi fights to bring the Canim to safety after finding their home overrun by Vord. Vord attack Alera- holding off for now but at what costs. What will happen when the new first Lord returns.



August 2009

The Reader Not one of my favorites. It was a man remembering the plot points and getting lost in the woid of emotions. You read his emotions but you can’t feel them. The book is like listening to a nostalgic drunks tale at a cocktail party. The plot was good but the execution left me wanting more.

One Flew over the Cucoos Nest by Ken Kesy. I really liked it. Don’t see how it could have ended any other way.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson Basically a catalog of drugs, kind of written from a self important standpoint. Look at me I’m tripping’ off this. Superior to other drug users. All antidotes nothing cohesive about it. Only sense of paranoid is fun- he doesn’t know about the bats yet.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck- read in four days. Replay the fall of Cain and Abel trying to make sense of how we came to be as we are where does all the good and evil come from and how do we over come the bad to be good. One of my favorites.



September 2009

Sept 15 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Arhtur Dent not only loses his home but his entire planet only to find out Earth is just a testing ground to learn the question to learn the meaning of everything.

September 17 Primitive People by Francine Prose. Explores the childish self absorbed one sidedness of upperclass as seen thru the eyes of a Haitian immigrant.

Sept 20 Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. Five years after Endor the Alliance has turned into a struggling government but an old vanguard of the Empire has found a way to take them down.

Sept 23 The Last Command by Timothy Zahn. Mara jade finally is freed from her past and Thrawn and Ch’orbath are defeated.

Sept 24 Caught in the storm by seydou Badian. Kany likes a boy. The story of a family divided as they try to follow tradition and break away I think the translation was bad.

Spet 25 Bridges to Islam by Dr. Phil Parshall. Basically a look at conversion practices from the Sufi Islam to Evangelical Christianity.

Sept 26 The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. Its about life and how we get by. Might as well enjoy it, some day we all die. After his wife’s death Qouyle’s Aunt talks him into going to the families ancesteral home from there he finally gets to live his life instead of watching it pass by.



October 2009

Ishmael by Dan Quinn. An ape who knows how to save the world. We are living in captivity because we erroneously think we rule the world instead of understanding we are apart of the world and must live as such instead of trying to live like we rule. October 3

The Crystal Star

Stephanie Plum 4, 6,9

Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich



November 2009

Marley and Me by John Grogan

Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding

Showdown at Center Point by Roger Macbride allen

Pradise Snare by AC Crispin

Hutt Gambit by AC Crispin

Harry Potter 1

Harry Potter 3

Jane Eyer by Charlotte Bronte

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Brave new World by Aldoux Huxley

Jeadi Search by Kevin J. Anderson

Dark Apprentice

Champions of the Force

Shanghai Baby

In her shoes



January 2010

Finger licking 15 by Janet Evanovic

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Blood Rites by Jim Butcher



February 2010

Poisonwood Bible



March 2010

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Peter Pan by JM Berry

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Count of Monte Cristo

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyers

Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Star Wars: Hero’s Trial by James Luceno

SW Planet of Twilight by Barbara Hambly



April 2010

SW XWING Rogue Squadron by Michael A. Stackpole

SW XWING Wedge’s Gamble “

SW XWING The Krytos Trap “

Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe, and Everything “

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

SW XWING The Bacta War by Michael A. Stackpole

SW XWING Wraith Squadron by Aaron Alliston

SW XWING Iron Fist “



May 2010

Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Interview with the Vampire by Ann Rice

Scandel in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Connon Doyal

A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Odessy by Homer



June 2010

The best of Roald Dahl

Solo Command by Aaron Allston

SW XWING Isard’s Revenge by Michael A. Stackpole

Hero at large by Janet Evanovich

Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire- Didn’t like as much as Wicked. About identify with who you are if you don’t know where you come from

Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran- insightful look at how America operated during occupation in Iraq during reconstruction period.

Generation Kill by Evan Wright

I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole- weird tense

Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess



August 2010

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher – Morgan is framed and Harry gets one step closer to finding the black council.

SW Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton- Did the guy ever watch SW? I don’t like how he portrayed the characters

What is the What by Dave Eggers

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Jinxed by Beth Ciotta

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

The Appointment by Herta Muller- Nobel Prize winner madness in Bulgeria

The Life of Pi hard to get into the writer’s style but really got into the story- beautiful how the human mind creates forgiveness or was it real.



September 2010

Sizzling 16 by Janet Evanovitch

The Man in the high castle by Phillip K. Dick – I don’t get it.

Fragment by Warren Fahy it’s a b-side Jurassic Park

The Rider by Tim Krabbe by Chronicles a ½ day road race in France.

Looking for Lovedu by Ann Joens- the travels of a woman from one end to the other Cape to Cairo sort of thing to find a rain Queen

The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant- about a luckless town and its inhabitants and how it dwindles till none are left.



October 2010

The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino Good Story – could have used more soul

Snow by Orhan Pamuk- had to get into it Good Ending

Therese Raquin by Emile Zola I get the whole roman noir sadley you can empathize with Therese more than Cathy

Americans at War by Stephan E. Ambrose- insightful makes me realize how much I’ve forgotten since college

The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden could not put it down

A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrost

Whisper of Roses

Eternity

Wolf’s Complete Book of Terror edited by Leonard Wolf


November 2010

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

Why buy the Cow when you can get the Milk

I blame the researcher; it was his idea after all. I'm not sure how it happened but during his time working out of my village he learned about this group of herders who wanted to expand their operation into pasteurizing milk. And his thought was: this is something the local Peace Corps Volunteer could really help with.

I'm assuming all of this of course, because he never said a thing to me about it. It was only when Ba, the guy he was staying with and a local NGO worker, stopped me after English class to mention it. Still this is how I'd like to think my foray into the wild world of dairy production.

So this is my version of the chain of cause and effect that led me one June morning to be sitting in the middle of a small village 30k away, surrounded by about 40 people to discuss what they wanted for the future. I know, I know I'm a health volunteer but promoting milk is part of good nutrition and I was under the impression they had already done a lot of ground work so I didn't think I'd exactly be doing a hardcore small business development.

 Oh false impressions.


So basically they knew of another village and had the idea to replicate their working model. If only it was so simple. Still they were really willing to make this work. They went through all the steps they needed to start a working model. We visited other facilities, organized work groups, and even started work.

 Some of my best days have been working with them, but we have had our share of problems too. Just by being here I've both helped and thrown a monkey wrench into parts of the project. The fun of being a foreigner working on development practices. For example, while Ba was helpful sometimes he seemed to just assume things about the project and the group and I felt like that stifled dialog. There were problems with people trying to take advantage of the group because they saw there was outside help. I was able to do damage control on most of it but it still is disheartening to see people so willing to take advantage.

 Then there was the time the Herders' Co-op President went to Bamako and found an organization who works with setting up milk pasteurization facilities. While the person he needed to talk to was out of town he made a great contact, which I then started calling to see how they could help us. In vain hopes of getting any information on how to successfully run this sort of business I set up a meeting. Apparently the answer is they couldn't really, as we were outside of their zone of intervention and they wanted a lot of money to help. Even without their direct help, seeing my utter cluelessness he decided to do us a favor and take us on a visit to a site near Segou. So while it was a positive result it was also a little depressing because he was willing to help me but I'd be willing to bet he wouldn't have gone so far if it was just the people from the co-op.



With all our successes and setbacks things have finally come together. The women are working together to pasteurize milk, reselling it into the Bamako market and proving to themselves that they can be successful. I always kinda wondered if they only really pulled it together to work when they knew I'd be there and watching, but the other day as I took transport past their village I did what I always do: I looked out to see what the women were up to. They were hard at work.

The Co-op members on our trip to the Laiterie

This place was so professional they even gave us special shoes to wear so we wouldn't bring in dirt!

The Kasila operation works with 1000s of liters of milk, this is a machine that pasteurizes something like 100 liters at a time.  Kinda a shock considering we are only doing that much in a day!

Selling milk to the passing buses.  Women literally sprint down the road with buckets of milk on their arms and heads to get their first and sell their product.

Walking back to their benches as the bus goes on

First day of work:  two women straining and pasteurizing milk at the site of their new Laterie.

Here's what they have to work with under their thatch hanger.

Again with the filtering and boiling!  They did over 60 liters that first day!!

This is the dishes station.  I was constantly suprised by how good they were about washing buckets and utensils.  If someone forgot the others would make sure she remembered to do it.

Filtering again post boil.  The baby on the back brings a new meaning to take your child to work.

These are my future hygiene trainers at a small training we organized to teach them all about good hygiene practices and how to teach others.

I've got to say while I'm proud of all the work I've done and I hope that somebody has learned something from me, this project, this project I hope to find in a few years has continued on.