Corner of Rue Sakiet Sidi Youssef and Rue Atlas

The cold showers, sharing a room with strangers, and creepy encounters with four-foot tall man smoking constantly in the foyer has ended as I now live in an actual apartment, in a very nice neighborhood in central Tunis. Having spent a good portion of my first week and a half searching for more suitable housing, I found myself facing a pleasant dilemma. I could share an apartment (and a bedroom-eeks) with a Tunisian girl I had recently met. This apartment was tiny, almost a studio, unfurnished (that means no refrigerator, stove or oven here!), and had a kitchen the size of my baby toe (if you've ever seen my feet you know that my toes are abnormally small). However by living with a Tunisian, I would be able to work on my language skills, and most importantly this apartment has a terrace that could easily host a party of 30, and you'd want to invite at least that many since it overlooks the Mediterranean. As in, from the apartment, which is located on the top floor of a large house in an all blue-and-white, palm tree-lined neighborhood, one can see the ocean. Fine technically, sea, whatever, gorgeous no matter what you call it! Plus did I mention that the rent was insanely cheap? I won't tell you how much, because I would like to have some friends when I return to the U.S.

It took herculean strength for me to put all romantic notions of overlooking the ocean aside in order to choose the far more reasonable option. I am now living in the lap of luxury with the coolest Swiss girl ever (of course, I hate her a bit cause she speaks 6 languages, but love her too because she is opinionated, funny, and nearly as chatty as me). Her two bedroom apartment (which means I have my own room) is completely furnished, has microwave and washing machine (how many years did I not have a washing machine in Boston?). Plus I would have had to take the metro (yes, I was shocked too. Tunis has a Metro! And it's pretty decent. How many American cities do not have metros?) about 25 minutes and then walk about 20 minutes to class. So, that's basically the same length of my commute from Roxbury to Newtown. Of course, I told myself, I did not exactly have a seaside villa in Roxbury; the Reggie Lewis Center cannot quite compete with white sand and palm trees. Well, despite my burning desire to see the Mediterranean every day, I opted for convenience and the joy of not having to fight the system in order to set up hot water, internet, and buy a stove, something I've never done, and am not interested in trying for the first time in North Africa!

The ocean is still very nearby, so I can visit it when I so choose. However, nothing, nothing can compare to waking up at 7:45 and arriving on time every day to my classes at 8:00. My commute is roughly 2.3 city blocks. To makes things more glorious, every morning for just over a week, Ester, my new favorite person on planet earth, has made me a delicious cup of Nescafe. And no, I normally don't like Nescafe, but she makes it very strong and I awake to the intoxicating smell of caffeine, glorious caffeine! It's so nice, I cannot begin to express how happy it makes me. So, the moral of this rather overdue update is that with surprising speed and acumen, I have established a life of routine and even normalcy. I begin the day with coffee that was prepared for me, continue onto Arabic classes that are really advanced for me, then coffee break at 10:45 at the cafe next to the Bourguiba Institute, then home to make lunch with SuperWoman who happens to be a great cook. I now can make a really great Risotto! In the afternoons, I do errands, hang my wash on the roof and admire my neighborhood, or have my 18th cup of coffee overlooking the lake at the Park Belvedere. At night I study (en principe) in my cozy apartment and it feels like I actually live here. I also like the fact that the apartment is located near the corner of Rue Sakiet Sidi Youssef and Rue Atlas. I've always liked the image of someone carrying the whole world on his shoulders. Somehow I never imagine that it's heavy, rather full of good stories.