Flower Field Paths

Winter didn't really come this year to Tunisia like it normally does (chilly temps and rain) and I have been grumpy. I wanted Winter because we are suppose to and as you know, I hate change. But it is now almost March so I have decided to stop sulky and welcome Spring. It appears to be on its way! My favorite part of Spring it the wildflowers we have here! They show up everywhere and are absolutely beautiful! Last weekend was a gorgeous one so Zoe and I went walking on the dirt paths through the flower fields. While the flowers are not in full bloom just yet, it was nice to see them starting and to see all the green! I also loved seeing the animals out and about too!

Love these too looking at the camera at just the right time!

Amongst the sheep and goats

Now this is true Africa... even surrounded by fields of flowers and animals, there is still a pile of trash.

The view leaving my neighborhood... reminds me of Florida!

Cannot wait to see these fields covered in yellow flowers soon enough

Not a flower field but saw this on a major road as I was driving home from swimming. Moooooooo!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day can be "dreary" for singles but I always try to enjoy it for what it is... a time to honor and be with those you love! I always go all out in my classroom because kids make every holiday more fun. (Click here to see my PKers celebrating Valentine's Day on Friday.) And this year on Valentine's Day, I got to spend the morning watching my two favorite kids in Tunis! We had so much fun playing, exploring and creating!

We started the morning off roller skating. Mila liked it better with her hands.

Liam is quite the skater and fast as can be...as you can tell by the blurry pic.

Love this girl loving my dog

Skating Darth Vader with Star Wars music on in the background

Love this girl and her princess spin!

Such a sweet cuddler

Mirror Selfies!

They both made Valentine cards for their parents... too sweet!

Thank you for letting me spend the morning with you two! I had such a wonderful time! You are such good kids and sweet as can be!

Julius

I have been blessed to go to Kenya three times. And each time we went, this wonderful man with the best smile, was always our driver. Julius became a part of our family fast and we loved him dearly. He took us all around Nairobi, on safari and to Kisumu. He was so happy, funny and full of life. He was so optimistic. He was also a jokester often kidnapping Thaddeus (my much-loved bear). But more than anything, he had the biggest heart. He took care of us like his own and was very productive. He also involved himself in whatever we were doing- he just didn't sit in the bus while we served. 

And as I type, the tears well up. Julius is gone. He died of a stage 4 brain tumor. He's gone. Next time we go to Kenya, he won't be there. He's gone. I didn't believe it at first. He is young, he is healthy, he has many children and a loving wife, he is Julius. He can't be gone. But he is. And all of our hearts are mourning the loss of an amazing man.

Since his death, my family and I have been reminiscing about our favorite Kenyan driver and sharing pictures. It has done my heart good to see that smile again.

We miss you Julius. We love you.

Julius and I when he visited us at church- not as our driver but as a visitor coming to see the church we have all been talking about

Mom, dad and I with Julius and his family

Meghan, Julius and I on our second Kenya trip

Julius showing the boys something cool I am sure

Julius and his kids- he always drove the "kids" bus and we loved him so much for it!

This is a picture I will always treasure! We were in Outreach, painting the new building and he worked along side us painting to. What a heart he has to serve alongside us!

I made a collage of a Kenyan man I adore and look up to!

We love you so much Julius and miss you tons!

Very Tunisian

More times than I'd like to admit, I find myself doing American things because it is what makes me think of home and enjoy American things abroad. But recently I have been doing some very Tunisian things so I thought I would share!

On Saturday, three of my friends and I went to a Hammam. No one was in there so I ran in to take pictures so I could show you the magic of a Hammam! A Hammam is very traditional and Tunisian. It is where you rinse your body with water and get scrubbed down with a mitt to remove all dead skin. You are then covered in orange scented mud over your exfolidated skin. You then rinse off. My friends and I then often put on our robes and chat while drinking tea. It is one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning and my skin feels so smooth and I feel relaxed and rejuvenated.

Driving with the head out the window on a warmer-than-usual Winter day with the wind between her ears

On Sunday I went to the fripe with Katie and her mom, Lauren. The fripe is a clothes market where all the clothes are in piles on tables grouped by type (pants, sweaters, dresses, kid clothes, etc). Each table has a set price and everything on that table is that price. It is so fun to sort through the tables and find treasures! With the help of Lauren, I found tons of baby clothes for the hospital I volunteer at.

There is also a produce market with an amazing selection of fruits and vegetables! This was the week I had been waiting for... blood oranges are in season- finally! They make the BEST juice!

I also bought succulents that I potted and am now praying I don't kill them. We will see how long they can hold out. 

Karen, Liam and I tried out a new Carrefour in the new Tunisian mall! It was new and fancy but not as good as our regular Carrefour. But we did find the largest collection of Kinder Eggs! While they are German, we find them all over here.

While she was in town visiting, Lauren came with me to volunteer at the hospital to care for the babies. It was so special to watch her love on these babies! She also donated some of our finds from the fripe. 

After the fripe, we headed downtown to meet up wtih Katie to look for fabric. Karen T is getting a grogeous wool coat made so we went with her to pick out a gorgeous wool/cashmere mix!

After shopping, we had a yummy lunch downtown. It is very common to get a whole fish restaurants here bcause we are on the sea but they not normally displayed like this- love it!

My view on the way back to the car. Love the banners of Tunisian flags and splashes of blue.

One night for dinner I made ojja. It is a Tunisian specialty that is slow roasted peppers in a tomato sauce with mergez (Tunisian sausages) and eggs cooked on top. It was quite yummy!

On Thursday after work, some friends from work went to have the new mall to eat. This was next to where we ate. This is the name of the restaurant in Arabic. Recognize it?

What about now? ;)

These two beautiful ladies, Jouda and Cherihane treated us to Lablabi (pronounced Leb leb-ee). Lablabi is a traditional Tunisian soup with chickpeas and spices.  Before you add the soup, you tear up pieces of bread.

Then you add a variety of toppings: poached egg, tuna, harrissa, lemons, capers, olives. It was oh so yummy! We had fresh orange juice with it too. 

Karen and her lablabi

Friends tasting yummyLablabi

Lauren, Karen, me, James

James showing how to mix it

Enjoying our yummy Lablabi!

I am so thankful to live in this country!