Night in Tunisia

Winter Weather

It is raining today, not the subtle showers that I remember from a Vancouver winter, but the thunderous pounding of torrents falling on the old tiles and stones of the city. Loren, asleep in the chair next to me, and I are at ENDA headquarters this morning. It seems the office is always a flurry of activity and strands of arabic float from room to room as people pass documents and search for information. The morning we took a tour of the building, it is an enormous three story house, outfitted for work with computers, workstations, meeting rooms and document records. The rooms are open spaces and usually hold five or more people and their equipment and records. We have met all the staff, though I'm afraid, until I've had a look at how they spell their names, I won't be able to remember most of them. Strange how names don't stick when they are in a foriegn language.

Our life seems as transitory as ever, as we move from one location to another. We looked at an apartment yesterday that is owned by the Co-Director's Mother. It has two rooms, a salon, a balcony, the smallest bathroom I have ever seen and an adjoining miniscule kitchen. We are satisfied with it and will take it, though we cannot move in for at least a week. There is currently no stove, fridge, furniture, or other appliances. Also, the previous residents appropriated every fixture that could be unbolted, unscrewed or otherwise removed. This includes all the lightbulbs and light fixtures, closet knobs, sink plugs, light switches and even the door's deadbolt. I can't imagine what they might need them for, but was told that it's a very common practice, particularly if the residents have children.

Loren and I will be headed to Hammamet this weekend as our hosts (Wifak and her husband have offered to lodge us until our appartment is ready) will be traveling to their family's home south of Tunis. Apparently there is much to see there, and it is more tourist oriented so many of the city's amenities will still be open. Tunis shuts down completely over the Aïd holiday. Mr. Cracknell has found us an excellent deal on a room there at a well respected and fairly large hotel, so we shall enjoy our time there as a vacation, and try to forget for a while that we have to adapt. It will feel good, I think to see an Arab city without the pressure of needing to understand how it operates. If we do not have internet access there you may not hear from us until Monday, but then we will have much more to share. Hopefully we can keep you updated even from there.

posted by tiaraletourneau @ 1:07 p.m.