My Tunisian Family and the Shisha

The family that ran the parasailing / sea-doo business at my hotel invited me for dinner at their house in Sousse on my third day in Tunisia. They were so friendly and welcoming, which seems to be the true nature of Tunisian people. It was two brothers and a sister. Their mom still lives in a village in central Tunisia and their dad has passed away. Samira made a fabulous meal - of course with couscous, and they kept trying to make me eat more!! I was stuffed and had to remind them that, unlike them, I hadn't been fasting all day for Ramadhan! After dinner we all went to a cafe where I was pleased to see that there were a few women, although none foreign. I was still stared at, but not bothered. In fact, all of the friends who came to say hello to the family were extremely friendly to me even if they couldn't speak any English. I once again enjoyed the mint tea, tried smoking the shisha, and learned a really cool game of cards that I won quite handily on the first go. I was asked again for dinner the next night, but as it turns out I was going to be away the next couple nights. So I went again on my last night in Tunisia for another great meal and another visit to the cafe. This time no cards though - the Sousse football (soccer) team was playing so the place was crowded with rowdy football fans there to cheer on the local club on TV.

My Tunisian family at their home

Sla smoking the shisha at the cafe

Smoking the shisha

Our waiter - just incredible! He wrote nothing down, would serve the whole cafe (probably 60-70 people) beverages for hours and then add your table's bill up in seconds in his head