David's Diary: Thursday, March 20, 2003

Tunisian People

On March 20, 1956 Tunisia became independent of France and that event is celebrated today with a holiday. Jocelyn has made friends with Abdula and his brothers. The three of them are living and working on the sailboat Sylphe. Roland, the owner of Sylphe, is doing a lot of yearly maintenance which on a wooden boat includes a lot of varnishing. Abdula and his brothers are helping with the sanding and painting.

Nabiha and Allen

Abdula is just one of many Tunisian's that we have met and liked. Jocelyn's friend Nabiha has been a big influence on Jocelyn and our entire family. We met Saïd, our desert guide. There is Hamdi, our 21-year old university student and friend, who we met in the first week that we were here in Tunisia and who invited us to share the Big Aïd with his family. From the helpful brothers who sell English newspapers in the Medina to the yard workers who worked on getting Dragonsinger ready for the year, all have been friendly and helpful. We will always have found memories of the people of Tunisia.