On 28th December 1991 I arrived in Tunis, Tunisia, North Africa with my mother and my two dogs, Brandy and Sparky. This was to be my first experience living overseas for a long period of time (I had lived in Oxford, UK for six months back in 1982).
   I wasn't scared or apprehensive - I had been moving around Brazil ever since I was born, so coming to a new place was nothing new to me. What was new was the different culture and language. In Tunisia people speak Arabic and also French since it had been a French colony earlier in the century.
   I had taken French at school back in Brazil so I wasn't completely lost. In fact I almost ended up going to the French school in Tunis, but instead my parents chose to send me to the American Cooperative School of Tunis.
   My first month and a half in Tunis I lived in a bungalow in the Abou-Nawas hotel on the beach in Gammarth with my mom, my dad (who had arrived earlier) and my two dogs. One of the first friends I met at school was Mo Habbous along with his brother Salem and his sister Gigi.
   This guy Mo is (was? ;) pretty crazy. I remember we had acorn (that's what we called them anyway; read hard pebble-sized cypress seeds) battles in his garden with my other friend Will and Salem. One time I got him on the head with a particularly large and heavy one. He disappeared inside his house and came back with a damned tennis racket. Those things were flying at me faster than bullets now so I had to jump the back wall and run!
   My own garden was also a venue for some skirmishes. I remember I was hit on the back of the head with a large rotten lemon, - Karim, you bastard ;)
   There was this steep valley close to my house where we rolled down bricks that belonged to a construction nearby. One day Mo decided that he was going to run down the hill. Before we could say anything off he went, carreening down that slippery, dusty, rocky slope like a mad-man. He crashed into the smashed bricks we had rolled down to the bottow and I still don't know how he didn't break his neck.
   Near the valley there also existed an arid forest where Mo, Will and myself ventured from time to time. We had picnics there with people from the school, as well as rock-fights against Tunisian kids.
   My whole life in Tunisia pretty much revolved around the school and it's community. I also knew people from the French school and some Tunisians that we met playing basketball on the outdoor courts/etc. I must say that I had some great teachers during my time at ACST - teachers that weren't only teacher's but also friends who helped to shape my character.
   Every weekend there was Sunday Softball at school with teams made up from the various foreign oil companies/military/embassy personnell based in Tunisia. There were hot-dogs, hamburgers and loads of people. I was usually there playing basketball in the outdoor court (no gym back then) against the Marines/embassy people and whoever else wanted to play.
   The wind was so strong sometimes that you had to adjust your shot to the right or left in order to be able to hit. And there were the sand-storms. Some days you woke up and the car and everything else was covered in sand - part of the Sahara desert is southern Tunisia and all that sand came from there.
   Many of the highlights of my time in Tunisia happened during the Tunisian Studies trips with my friends in ACST. We went to all sorts of places including deserts, oasis, islands, ruins, and more ruins :) Other things I'll never forget are the weekends at the American Rec-Center, the nights at the Brit-Club (where I learned how to drive;) and the various parties and sleep-overs.
   The Rec(reational)-Center had a large pool, a basketball court, a tennis court, karaoke, darts night, food, and people to socialize with/flirt with ;) I remember when Rob Sayer pushed Will into the pool, fully clothed (with his nice shoes to boot). CALM DOWN Will....;)
   The Brit-Club was nothing more that a small house where you could buy booze and meet the foreigners. Ah, and there was the 'parking lot' where I ruined the suspension of dad's company Pegeaut 406. Will and I raced that car in circles over bumps, holes and bushes every chance we got.
   I started playing guitar in Tunisia and I imagine my neighbours weren't too happy when I got my first electric. One evening a friend of mine came around and we decided to build a make-shift 'percussion set' which consisted of pots, pans, cardboard boxes and a couple of sticks. After twenty minutes or so the furious Tunisian artist who was my neighbour rang the doorbell - "Guitar okay, drum, NO!" At least it must have sounded like a drum-set :)
   One evening I stayed over charming Miss Dingwall's house with Andrew, and we brought our guitars to 'practice' for one of our little gigs for the school. Her parents weren't home so we put our amplifiers out on the large porch and played a heavily distorted Knockin' on Heaven's Door for the 'benefit' of the neighbours. Maybe I shouldn't talk about the drinks cabinet :)
   The nights spent in Will's air-conditioned apartment in the American Compound watching every episode of classic Star Trek caused us to arrive late to school more than once. We woke up late and missed the school bus so we had to take a taxi. Tunisian taxis (never mind the drivers) are not your average automobile. Forget about seat-belts - we rode in a couple that had their back doors held in place by string and masking-tape!
   I remember the crush I had on my neighbour's (the artist man) daughter - a lovely Tunisian/French girl called Ensaf - I'll come and visit you in Paris soon Ensaf! :) I'd climb on the garage roof to try and look in her room and I almost fell off more than a few times...
   I'll never forget Jessica, my first girlfriend, and the very bizarre/crazy situations including that first kiss. I'm still a shy boy babe! :)
   As in any place, what made the whole experience a great one in Tunisia were the people that I shared it with. I'll be adding more thoughts and stories as I remember them - don't forget to send me any memories that you have if you were there as well and I'll put them up!

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