Our pepiniere!!


planting with my women from our tree nursery training


theres a tree underneath the sac, they're protecting it from the inevitable goat


there's also a tree in this picture, i swear we actually planted.



Almost one official year! October 1 will mark the one year anniversary of my arrival at site. I however have not been at site recently! I've just returned from my wonderful ten days in tunisia where I was happily reunited with Kate and Miche. We had a really relaxing and fun time and it was so good to be with friends who have known you at your best and worst(ex: right before a econ final, not having slept for 36 hours). it was like no time had passed, although i did show my ignorance on the past year's pop culture on several occasions.

Tunisia is like a islamic french greece. how so you ask?
Islamic- We were traveling during Rammadan which made it difficult some days to find an open restaurant during the day and a glass of wine at night. We saw several beautiful mosques, although we couldn't go inside and their calls to pray are sung by muezzins, not recordings, so they were really beautiful to hear. There's a large population of women who choose to wear the hijab, but also a population that chooses not to. I would estimate it to be 50-50.

French- Tunisia is a former french colony so not only do tunisians speak french (and with pretty god accents I might add) but they've also picked up on alot of aspects of french culture like cuisine (crepes! pain au chocolat!), but also often mixing it with their own mediterranean dishes. We had amazing seafood and some traditional dishes too, like the pastries Muslims eat when breaking their fast during Ramaddan. There are streets in Tunis that look just like Paris, one is actually called the Champs Elysses of Tunis.

Greece- When flying over Tunis, it looked like someone had dropped a big can of white paint and just coated the city. When you get closer on the ground, you see the blue accents on the doors and windows. Sidi Bou Siad is a beautiful town outside of Tunis that we visited and I posted some of the pictures below. We stayed at an apt building on the water in the beach resort town of Hammamet which was also very beautiful. The water was crystal clear and warm (most days). A mediterranean paradise!

Here's some pictures, you'll understand the greece thing from these?

Sidi bou Said

Sidi Bou Said

more sidi bou

on our apt balcony--she came with the house

carthage ruins


full moon on the water

view from our balcony



miche and Kate thanks for an amazing vacation. it was just what i needed! where to next?