More Detailed Description of Last Weekend!

We left Tunis on the 9 pm bus to Tozeur, in southern Tunisia. It was a 7 hour bus ride. I was sitting in the back so my seat didn't decline. It also happened to be broken, so the seat kept falling off. I was also sitting near the window, or what used to be the window. It had broken at some point and been replaced with aluminum siding. The Tunisians in front of us were also playing music on their cell phones - different songs at the same time. Needless to say, it was an adventurous bus ride.

We arrived in Tozeur at about 4:15 am, just before the call to prayer. We spent the next couple of hours sleeping outside the bus station (see picture). Yes, we look like hobos.

We wandered around searching for a tour. We found one and the six of us headed out to the Sahara. We ended up off-roading in a 4x4. It was a lot of fun, once our guide fixed my seatbelt and I no longer feared for my life (jk). We went zooming over sand dunes and around rock formations. It felt like a rollercoaster.

As we rounded a sand dune, we suddenly saw a bunch of huts in the middle of the desert. What is that, we wondered? Our guide informed us (or rather me, since I was the only one who spoke French) that it was the Star Wars movie set. We got out of the car and took the obligatory Jedi pictures. (hehe I'm whoosing).

Afterwards, we drove around a bit more, stopping to see a herd of wild camels and a well that the desert people used. Then, our guide took us past border security, explaining that the only reason we were allowed past was because we were with a guide. He took us to some guides who were going to give us a tour on camels. It was very very very hot and the sun was incredibly intense, but it was amazing to ride camels. Also, we're pretty sure that we crossed the Algerian border, which is technically illegal without a visa. However, since we were in the desert, the border is rather negotiable. We had some trouble crossing the the border guard/Sahara police in the other direction, who didn't want to let us in without our actual passports (which were left for safekeeping at school in Tunis). It was the same officer who had let us through 2 hours before, so I'm pretty sure that be was just giving us a hard time because all he has to do all day is sit at this guardpost in the Sahara and wait for people to come by. Still, it was a bit frightening.

Upon returning to Tozeur, we had lunch and grabbed a louage to Gabes, on the other side of the country, where we were spending the night.

We left the hotel at 6 am Sunday morning to grab a louage to Tatouine. Yes, the planet on Star War was named after it. There is not much of touristy interest in Tatouine itself, however, the surrounding villages served as sites for the Star Wars films. Remember the troglodyte houses in the films and the Cantina? We visited Chenini and Douari. More historically, people lived in these villages until recently. A recent storm washed out one of the villages so all the people moved out, although there is reconstruction being done to preserve these beautiful dwellings. In Chennini, the homes were the dwellings of the ancient Coptic Christians, and their cross could be found over the doors.

After Tatouine, we grabbed lunch. Easier said than done. Our cab drivers took us back to the bus station, where we learned that there was a two km walk to the center of town to find the nearest restaurant. We went to the nearest salon de the and ordered drinks. They offered to make us sandwiches. They went and bought bread, chopped up vegetables, and mixed it with tuna (I swear its the national dish of Tunisia). They even gave us free water (and didn't overcharge us). They were sooo nice.

We then arranged a louage back to Tunis - 8 hours. And our trip was over!

This was definitely my favorite weekend in Tunisia. The people were so incredibly nice. We had no stalkers or vulgar comments. Everyone went out of our way to be friendly and help us get where we were going. I have found that everyone in Tunisia seems to genuinely like Americans. We may get comments about our government, but it seems that they have a good opinion about the people themselves and admire and envy the freedom and prosperity that we have.

The weekend was also a great opportunity for me to practice my French. I was the only person in the group who could speak a large amout of French. I was the go-to person for translations and negotiations and all that good stuff. I also learned that it's not just my French that's bad - it's often the Tunisians. Less educated Tunisians often don't speak French as well. French is also less common in the south, which is much more conservative and a lot less European. It made me feel better about my ability to understand French!

Unfortunately, the weekend passed so fast. There was so much more I wish I could have seen. I like the south a lot better than Tunis and wish I had a chance to go back.