Goods aren't the only thing being traded in the Medina...

Apparently women and camels are fair currency exchange too. Although I think I'm worth more than three...

So the ferry ride was beautiful, although I spent a good five hours of it asleep. Basically, one of my roommates in Palermo started to get friendly with Eric and then Eric was suddenly not just our roommate, which was, admittedly, my idea, since his AC was broken... but in fact, our bedmate. Which means no one was getting much sleep: me, because I was dreadfullly uncomfortable and confused; they, because they were having a good time being 29. Needless to say, sleepless in Palermo, I started off the Tunisia portion with a weakened immune system and have since caught the bug that was going around from everyone sharing everything. The highlight of the ferry was playing tag, pictures to follow when they become available.

Tunisian customs took a long ass time, and I started to doze off on the bus to our hostel. We got dropped off by a ministry building flanked by armed guards and stumbled sleepy eyed down dark alley ways on the outskirts of the Medina.

But the hostel is beautiful. It is a historic building once owned by a Turkish government official, with intricate tiles and antique frescoes. Excepting for the fact that all 12 girls are in the same stuffy room, it rules.

Yesterday, the whole class set off in an adventure into the heart of the Medina, a marketplace surrounding the Great Mosque, the second oldest in all of Tunisia. Five minutes in, I was grabbed and offered 2 camels. I couldn't believe what was going on. We tried to bargain, but his top price was three before he admitted that he had no money, and believe me was outta there instantly.

After some frustration with the 20 some person group, five of us escaped and had an alazing lunch for about 15 USD total.

Then we decided to see the parfum souk in the Medina, where I had eyeliner done by a shop owner, Matthew tried on several types of musk and citrone, Mike dabbled in aphrodisiaques, Alli was offered 250 camels, and I was pulled into shops and corners. It was all fun until one shop owner trying to rip me off refused to let me leave and had me by the wrist. Mike and Alli came to my rescue, and suddenly the necklace for 45d was worth 3d.

After that, we chilled on the steps of the Mosque, talking to the shop owner who had done my makeup, and met one of his friends. After an hour of talking, he offered to take us on a tour of the Medina, and we ended up on one of the most amazing roofs known to man.

Dinner at the hostel was amazing and included... Tunisian food is going to put back all the weight I've lost because it is so delicious.

We smoked shisha, but it was like paparazzi as everyone was taking pictures, following Noel's lead (he is on a mission to get beautiful pictures of everyone, and he took some rqd ones of me so I'm not complaining).

Mike, Angie, Eric and I ventured through the medina sometime around 1 looking for a cafe, and were stopped by a man who said "Atencion!" and pulled down his eyelids, pointing in the direction we were going. We chqnged course, ended up lost and chased by a potentially rabid dog, and eventually found a cafe in the Westerized part of town, where Ayda, Noel, and Jared met with us for an hour or so.

I couldn't sleep because it was too damn hot, so I was stuffy and had a headache all day. 14 of us went to the zoo for less than 1 dinar a piece (about 75 cents each) and once we got in, it was little wonder why:
the animals were diseases and emaciated, with cages smaller than my bedroom, with little (putrid) or no water and garbage in their cages. What made me leave was the baboons, whose normally red butt cheeks are cause for amusement: here, they were swollen and bulbous, in some cases, the growth was bigger than the monkey itself.

Four of us left the zoo disgusted and after an unsettling meal, I bailed out on all activity and napped in our sweltering room, where I either dreamt or hallucinated from the heat. I awoke to the evening call for prayer, which I somehow missed yesterday, despite the fact that I was sitting on the mosque steps at 5pm.

I love Tunis.