Ok, so yesterday was  my birthday, but I am choosing to observe it today. Yesterday I was way too tired to do much except eat excellent shwarma (with chicken in it and Allah knows what else). When I eat something here, it always seems like I have to take the “wait and see” approach to any sort of bodily consequences… so far so good.

The breakfast here at the hotel is simple – bread, jam, coffee, and a lemon sweet bread of some sort – which is about as much as you might get at any other hotel in Sousse. I actually have a picture of the hotel now, since the weather is a little better.

The hotel isn’t great or anything, but it is exactly what I need for the cost. Less than $500 for a month of stay isn’t too shabby, which inlucdes the simple breakfast I already mentioned. It also comes with two beds, TV, stove, balcony, fridge, bath, and A/C.

Walking around the streets here isn’t difficult, but don’t expect to see something amazing. Unless you are like me and are really looking for goofy signs, things, and/or restaurants. There are certainly plenty of those. I will post some pictures of those here and there.

For my birthday, I really wanted to see the Meditteranean so I asked the sweet Tunisian woman at the reception desk where the best beach is located. She drew me an impressive little map to the Plage beach. It took about 10-15 minutes to walk, so it wasn’t too far. She didn’t understand right away why I would want to walk to the beach on such a windy, cloudy, and cool day. I explained to her that I really just wanted to see it, and in my mind I also knew that there wouldn’t be many people… I was right. I took some pictures…

The weather was about 70 degrees or so with a constant hint of rain and strong winds. It was a nice stroll to say the least. It was also nice to look out to the sea and imagine its history involving Sousse. Sousse has been a major port city/colony for a number of different civilizations. This long list includes the Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Aghlabids, Normans, Spaniards, French… and others.

After returning back to the hotel, I decided to check some email using the hotel’s wifi in the main lobby. The really nice Tunisian woman, who told me her name was Ahmen (and appropriately gestured a prayer-like motion to explain the pronunciation – which was adorable), interrupted me and asked if I could help her with some computer issues. She tried, nearly in vain, to explain to me the printing issues she was having while using WordPad. I decided to install OpenOffice for her… which they had in French… and everything worked great. I think I made a good impression on her after that. She began to explain her son and daughter and their ages (20 and 23). I told her that I turned 26 day… so she started singing and gave me a kiss on each cheek, which was also adorable… then gave me a really nice flower and a hug… thanked me (in French) and then I continued my internet activities.

As of writing this, it is now raining at a consistent rate, so I may not be venturing too far this afternoon.