• this world is not my home

While sitting on an airplane, my friend, who grew up in Portugal, told the American stewardess that he would like a bottle of water, "Without gas."

She had no idea what he was talking about.

I regularly amuse/horrify my American male friends when I absent-mindedly grab their hand and hold it, pulling them along as we cross the street, or when I put my hand on their knee or around their shoulders when we are talking. I also have an occasional habit of standing way too close to people when talking to them.

All this is normal and welcome in Morocco, in same gender situations.

Drive Like You Walk

    Driving in Tunis is much like pushing a cart through Wal-Mart on the day after Thanksgiving. There are many foreigners, everyone is in a hurry, and there is a lot of bumping and scraping carts. Intersections not regulated by lights often require quick assessment of other drivers. Does the other driver posses the capability and willingness to stop after you begin to pull in front of them.

    As of last Monday, I am a full-fledged North African driver with the scraped bumper to prove it. While driving through a construction zone that may have two to four lanes at any given moment (depending on the size of the vehicles and the creativity of the drivers) ; I scraped the back bumper of the car in front while attempting to change lanes.  During the glance of my blind spot for creative drivers, the car in front abruptly stopped due to creative driving several cars ahead. The half a cars length between us was no longer there, and a new acquaintance was made.

    With a chuckle, another acquaintance who has spent several years driving here explained my mistake and how to avoid it. " In the States they always tell you to check your blind spot. Here, just use your mirror, if anyone is in your blind spot they'll honk and let you know."

    In the States, drivers trust what they see and worry about what they can't see. Here, drivers trust what they can't see and worry about what they can see. What they can't see they know is watching them with the same caution and mistrust.

I have this habit now of stepping off the curb and into the street without looking for cars first.

I just got back to the States and I was in the Metropolis of Fargo, ND (yay...)  Anyways, I was going to cross a 4 lane street.  It was around noon, so everyone was out for lunch.  For the past 3 months I was used to looking both ways, making sure the driver saw you, walk half way into the street (the divided line) and repeat the process.  I did this in Fargo and I have never heard so many horns in my entire life.  This is when I realized that I was in America again.

Also, I was driving and the light turned green and the first instinct in my mind was to honk my horn.  Even though I never drove in Morocco, I somehow adapted to the driving style...Luckily I stopped myself before I actually hit the horn.