Happy Heart!

*In less than 12 hours, I leave Tunis and head to Ireland where I get to see my parents!!!  It has been over 3 months since I have gotten to talk to them in person and give them a hug!  I am oh so very excited!  I am proud of all of us that we have made it this long without seeing each other but I am oh so very ready to see them tomorrow!

*On Sunday when I arrive back in Tunis from Ireland, my brother will be at the airport (in Tunis) waiting for me!!!!  He flies in an hour before I do!  I cannot wait to see him!  He is spending the week with me and we are exploring the area near the dessert the following weekend!  I am so happy he gets to come and visit me!

*Today I got to talk on the phone to a very close friend of mine from WLE!  While Voxer is a lifesaver, there is nothing like a real conversation!  It was so good to catch up with her and bounce ideas off of her!  Oh how I have missed running into her room for constant advice!  But I must remember she is only a phone call, email, or Voxer away!  Happy Birthday, Melissa!!

Thanksgiving in Lac

Since I will be Ireland on actual Thanksgiving day, I knew I wouldn't be eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  So I invited those that live in the apartment buildings around mine (in Lac 2) to have Thanksgiving meal at my place.  We have become close as we know we can depend on each other for rides, food at the last minute, protection, etc.  So it was really nice for all of us to get together and eat a meal!  I felt like it was just a time for us to stop and enjoy each other and all that we've been blessed with the past 3 months!  Joni's parents are in town visiting so they joined us too!  It was a great time together and I am thankful for my Lac 2 neighbors!

Joni made these adorable pumpkin cupcakes!

My place setting!  I made name plates because that is a Radcliff tradition I had to carry on!  Joni made the adorable 3D turkey!

The Lac 2 Ladies and Jeff

Joni, Laura, Jeff, Abbey, and me

Our gang symbol... L2!

Dalton and Joan (Joni's parents)

Food's on the table and we are ready to eat!

We had turkey breast, spinach, creamed corn, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green bean casserole!

And no Thanksgiving is complete without my chocolate chip pie!

International Bazaar

Today there was an international bazaar in downtown Tunis.  Laura and I thought we would go check it out!  All different countries had their own booth where they were selling items from their country.  It was neat to see the booths and purchase some things from the booth but it was absolute madness!!!  There were people literally everyone!  You had to push to go anywhere!  Thank you Laura for braving it with me!  But we did leave with some fun treasures!

Can you spot Laura?

Outside the bazaar

Eating lunch away from the madness (we had German food)

My finds... French wine, French goat cheese, Romanian handcrafted eggs, Polish rings

Tunisian Thanksgiving

Tonight I went over to a friend's house where she was hosting Thanksgiving.  She had some teachers from school and some people from the community!  It was so yummy as we had real turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sauteed pumpkin, salad, beans, and so much more!  But what I enjoyed the most was the company!  It was great to learn more about Tunisian culture and mingle with friends!

pumpkin and coconut pudding

apple and pear cobbler and chocolate chip pie

Corbett and Angie (crazy these too but I sure do love them!)

Mohamed and his wife

Hedia (elementary secretary) and her husband

David, Katie, John

Cheryl (whose house we were at) and Miriam

Shoping in La Marsa

La Marsa is my favorite neighborhood in Tunis.  It is an adorable area with the cutest little stores.  It has a mosque in the middle of town and it is right on the Mediterranean Sea.  It has a cozy neighborhood feel with friendly people.  Joni and I headed down there Saturday morning and spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon in La Marsa.  Oh how I love that place!

My favorite store in La Marsa.  It has pottery, baskets, foutas (thin towels), tile wall hangings, and the sweetest owner!  He is too kind and even speaks some English!   I go there at least once a week!

The outside of his store

This amazing soap store I have been SEARCHING for for weeks!  I finally found it! Many Christmas presents are coming from here!

I stumbled upon this cutesy store!  It has fun jewelry, flower pins, cute dolls, and so much more!  Reminds me of my favorite jewelry store in downtown Apex!

Does this look familiar? (Dunkin Donuts wannabe... we also have Starbox)

Never been inside but love this building

Joni took me to this store!  How beautiful!  Am going back once I get more dinars!

Sweet mama cat and her kittens

Right on the water!

Saturday wouldn't be complete without my weekly market trip!

Sweet potatoes (new find of this week!)

and tomatoes already in a crate just for me!

Love the flowers at the market!  A bouquet is only 8 dinars (less than $5)!

Then we had lunch at this yummy Lebanese restaurant. 

Baba Ghanoush and Humus 

Falafel sandwich

Then I took Joni to the amazing grocery store I discovered last week!  It has a great selection and it is not busy!  Look... Joni has the aisle to herself!

Walking around the Neighborhood in Berges du Lac 2

On Friday night, Joni and I went walking around our neighboorhood and then ended our walk at our favorite (and really only) dinner spot in Berges du Lac 2.  This area is quite new so it is truly a construction zone.  I took pictures along our walk to show you our neighborhood.  

Right next to our apartment, we use to have these 3 puppies we have watched grow up.  Now they are full grown!  We walked by the same site and now there are 6 NEW puppies!  They are too cute and we watched them for quite some time.  

Had to take a picture!

Tunisiana building (our main cell provider here in Tunisia)

Olive- a salad bar (Last time Joni and I went walking we saw this place but it was closed while the owners were out of town.  We were so excited it was back in business but it wasn't open.  It made us think it would only be open during business hours because Berges du Lac is full of businesses, like the RTP.)

Something very common in Lac 2... construction!  Here is a pile of rocks in the middle of the sidewalk.

A muddy empty construction site (notice the almost full moon)

A daycare opening as kids are piling in

The sidewalk lined with palm trees (the Lac is to the right)

A pretty door with purple flowers on the outside

Tunisia Tech (is that like Wake Tech?)

Our Friday night dinner spot!