First of all, Happy Birthday to my mom (Saturday, September 25). Im halfway across the world, but Im sending light and love your way. If you have seen Eat, Pray, Love, then you know my reference. If you have not . . . you should go see it and read this blog later. Sweet movie.
After staying the night in an Italian hostel, I packed up my affairs and headed to the port on foot. Some people that I meet in the hostle laughed at the sheer number of bags that I had (2 duffle bags and a rolling suitcase, mind you, is not THAT much) because they thought that I was taking a "petite vacance" or "little vacation". When I said that I was actually working for six months as part of my college degree, they laughed and then congratulated me for being brave. ok, that works. I found that it was actually rather amusing to allow people to guess where I was from and what I was going to do in Tunisia. I have tried for years to take on a French accent, and I have finally been able to mimic it close enough to where the Italians/French Rivierians/North Africans actually ask me what part of France I am from. Ok yes, its a silly victory for some, but a big one for me!
One of the best annecdotes from my entire trip so far comes from my time spent in the terminal at the port in Genoa. I arrived at 11:00 am and checked in for my ferry that would be boarding at 3:00 pm. I noticed that lots of people were going into the local supermarket in the terminal, which got me thinking about what kind of food, if any, would be available on the next leg of my journey. As I looked around the terminal for a place to stash my bags, I noticed two muslim women sitting on two benches with about five younger children under the age of seven, and one older girl of about nine. Now, while most of you are cooing as you think about their big smiles and innocent laughs, I am thinking about their tendency to shriek and crash into each other, increasing the tone and frequency of their shrieks. Ugh, young kids just make me nervous in large groups. I know, I know . . . I will get around to liking kids some day. anyways . . .
I thanked the women for watchingmy bags in Arabic, and their daughter offered a seat to me among the family. This girl was so impressive; at nine years old she spoke Tunisian Arabic, French, Italian, and bits of English. Ha, I pale in comparison and prefered to bask in her aura in the hopes of absorbing some language learning abilities.
As a result of sitting with this family, i have decided that all little boys around the world are the same. The mother was trying to feed the kids before getting on the ferry, and was having a hard time making the two youngest ones (I would guess about five years old) sit still while they ate their baguette and cheese. While one boy was sitting and eating, the other was running around the bench and laughing to himself about the joyous experience he was having, cheese and bread consequently smeered across his face in an adorable fashion. I could tell that he was one of those charming young fellows who could get away with causing trouble due to his charming big brown eyes. The mother looked concerned as she sat both of them down and place a hand on each one's shoulder in an effort to keep them seated while eating. Familiar?
Once the boys finished eating and were squirming as their faces were cleaned off, I suddenly had an idea of how to possibly keep them occupied. I reached into my bag and pulled out a pad of paper and a box of crayons that I had packed for "emergencies" such as this. I made eye contact with one of the little boys and flashed the box of crayons his way and a friendly smile. His eyes lit up and he pulled on his brother's sleeve all while pointing towards me. As his mother turned around, she nodded in approval . . . no words were need for this universal understanding. I motioned the boys over to where I was sitting and emptied the crayons out onto the marble floor of the terminal next to the pad of paper. The best comparison I have for this scene is "seagulls and a pile of stale breadcrumbs" as the kids swarmed over the crayons and paper. I smiled and looked over to the mothers, who were finally seated and laughing to themselves as they watched this whole scene. The children were finally quiet, all spread out on the floor creating scenes from their imagination and telling each other about the stories that resulted from the images. I sat with the mothers who offered me part of their lunch, insisting through broken french and sign language that I take the rest of the bread and cheese for my trip. Hard to refuse such hospitality.
Just as little boys are predicatable, so are little girls. When the announcement came over the intercom to board our ferry, the mothers helped me pack up the leftover paper and crayons. One of the younger girls walked up to me shyly and in Arabic offered me her drawing. I smiled and opened herfolded piece of paper as she scampered off to get her bag. She had drawn a rainbow and included her name "Ines" in English letters underneath the arc. I had the biggest smile on my face for the rest of the afternoon. Even though it is something small, I kept the drawing and plan to put it up in my new apartment in Tunis. So cute! Who doesn't love a rainbow?
This was my first experience with a ferry, and I was very impressed with the sheer scale of the boat. In the northwest, I am accustomed to ferries that take twenty minutes to cross the river, and hold a maximum of 100 people. Perhaps a few cars, but not too many. "Le Splendid", at 700 ft long and almost 90 ft high holds over 2000 passengers and 1000 cars. The voyage takes about 23 hours from Genoa, Italy to Tunis, Tunisia and passengers can enjoy four stories of sightseeing rooms, decks, cafes, bars, and even a swimming pool. yes, a swimming pool . . . on a boat. I was sure to take my motion-sickness patches, and even then I was a little quesy. The view was beautiful however, and despite my mild nausea I did spend a lot of time out on the deck after the sun went down and the rocking of the boat subsided a bit. It was fun meeting people from all over southern Europe and Nothern Africa who were traveling to Tunisia for various reasons. Plus, it helps being a cute American girl who enjoys tea, coffee, and light conversation from fellow travelers. I don't think I paid for a single drink or snack during the whole trip. No worries though, as I was smart and knew when to bid my fellow travelers "goodbye" before they asked for my email or phone number. Im interested in work experience, not dating experience!
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