My New Wheels

Did I mention that I finally got a bike? After a year of wanting one I got a friend to drive me to a nearby city that has lots of used bike stores and didn’t leave until I’d picked one. Though I’m a bit afraid of the way people drive here, I’m getting a lot more comfortable riding on the roads and going around roundabouts with the cars. 

The greatest thing about having a bike is that I’ve met lots of people who are passionate about riding bikes. Unlike Portland, riding bikes as a means of transportation is still very uncommon. However, that’s starting to change thanks to Critical Mass Sousse! This CMS group gets 100 to 300 people together on the last Friday of the month to go for a bike ride around the city as a way to promote cycling. One of their main goals is to get enough people to ride their bikes so that the government will change the infrastructure of the city and make it more bike friendly.

During Ramadan there were two CMS events at 10pm (after everyone had broken the fast). The first one had nearly two hundred participants and the second had just over a hundred. I’ve also had the opportunity to go on a few late-night bike rides with the core group of CMS leaders. It’s been so much fun riding through the city at night!

Fasting and Feasting

On the first day of Ramadan, June 29th, I broke the fast with my new landlords. We started with soup, then Tunisian Brik, grilled fish, some salad, a meat stew that you eat with bread, and then fresh fruit for dessert. I stayed home with my landlord’s wife watching Tunisian Soap operas specially made for Ramadan while her husband went to the mosque for Ramadan services.

I had a the privilege of going to my friend Lobna’s house numerous times to break the fast with her family. One of the unique days of the fast was on July 12th, the halfway mark of Ramadan. Lobna’s mom prepared the traditional couscous Tunisians have on that night-- couscous with lamb meat, a boiled egg, raisins, and peppers.

There are only a few nights of Ramadan left, after that we’ll have three days of celebration. Hopefully I’ll have a few more great meals with my friends these next few nights, and then lots of fun catching up with friends during the holiday.