flashback friday

We had to say goodbye to Frenchie again this this week.  We were really happy he made it back to London before we left Europe, but it still stunk saying goodbye again without knowing exactly when we’ll see each other next. 

As an adult I find it really difficult to make friends.  I don’t mean I find it hard  to be friendly with people or that I don’t thoroughly enjoy meeting new people and socializing.  I’m talking about good friends, as in people you really, seriously care about.  I just find it’s much harder as a grown-up to really connect with people in a truly meaningful way. Back home I have very few friends that I haven’t known for 10+ years and I bet if you think about it your nearest and dearest have also been the ones who’ve been around the longest.

That said, we’ve made some incredible friends on this journey, people who we have no doubt will be in our lives forever and Frenchie is definitely one of them.  No matter how far away we live from one another the experiences that we’ve shared have allowed us to forge fast, but also everlasting, friendships.  That’s something I totally wasn’t expecting when we set off for this wild ride, but it is something I’m insanely grateful for.

Today’s post is actually a recap post of our last round with Frenchie before he rolled out of the department.  It was just us three last summer and even aside from the fact that without him we wouldn’t have even been able to order dinner, we really couldn’t have picked a better person to spend those 2 months in Tunisia with…

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

time to reflect...

The differences between our first and second stints in Africa are as vastly different as the continent itself. From the bush to the desert southern and northern Africa are like night and day.

Tunisia has been a country of surprises for me. Maybe if I hadn’t tried so hard to decide what it was all about before I actually got here it wouldn’t have been. I like to be prepared and sometimes that leads me to prejudge more than anything else.

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t a little concerned about coming to an Arab country bordered by Libya and Algeria. Our only other experience with Northern Africa was Egypt and although many of the people we met were absolutely wonderful and warm and welcoming (I’ve run out of w’s) there were also people that made me feel incredibly uncomfortable and a little too welcome if you get my drift. It was and still is the most difficult country I’ve ever visited. But, Tunisia has been easy. It's been comfortable and with the help of our translator and pal, Frenchie, it has turned out to be a lot of fun.

Tunisia has been round of pleasant surprises like our favorite town, Pheobe Buffay (aka Sidi Bou Said)…

the amazing ruins at Dougga…

and the vastness of the Sahara…

Our location in northern Africa allowed us some pretty amazing weekend travel outside of Tunisia, like our trip home with Frenchie…

our trip to Luxor…

Istanbul…

and the jaw-dropping Petra…

It’s been a round full of laughs…

Ali Baba’s hat…

and jumping in each other’s photos…

We’ve really had a great time this round, but like all good things it must come to an end.

We’re moving in just a couple of days. I’m ready, the Wife is ready. We’ll think we’re not ready when saying goodbye to Frenchie, but it’s time to go...and that's what we do best these days- go.