Tunisians Love Kids

Traveling with kids is tough, but I still think it’s a net benefit. Kids can get you into things (like bathrooms) and out of things (like awkward social situations). They force you to get out in the world and meet people, and they don’t have stereotypes or imagined limitations in their minds. You go to a playground with them, and the next thing you know, you’re chatting with another parent…or at least using hand gestures and a mush of languages to be friendly to each other.

This is for sure the case in Tunisia. I’m getting a kick seeing how everyone dotes on Story. More than one adult has been unable to resist petting her head, maybe to feel her thinner, lighter hair. When she and Mike went into a small market to buy water, she came out with a free piece of gum as well (not stolen, just to be clear).

Even the cats want to be close to the small human from a far-off land.

We ate at a restaurant called “Plan B,” which really seems like a questionable name choice for almost anything, right? But it was yummy and cheap, and they even have a “Plan B Kids” meal (extra questionable combo of words). Despite the very American-style decor of the restaurant (all in English), the language barrier was big there. But the guys who worked there were all smiles for Story, and they gave her two of the kids’ meal toys for no good reason.

At the hotel pool, the lifeguard/security guard/waiter happily said what we think were nice things about Story. He loved when Mike wrapped her up like a burrito after her swim, and he tickled her toes as he walked by. He also gestured that we needed to take a picture of her like that (or maybe he was asking if he could?), so we did as we think we were told. (It was pretty cute. Mike was always the better swaddler of the two of us.)

When we were leaving Geek, the lady who ran the little gift shop gave Story a hug and a kiss on the cheek. No idea why, but it was super sweet.

And when we took Story to get her fancy-pants haircut, I just loved the way the guy picked her up to put her on top of two pillows in the hair-washing station and again in the hair-cutting chair. I don’t think they get kids in there too often, and it seemed like they enjoyed the change.

Sometimes the rest of us reap the benefits of having a littler kid along, too. It’s possible the milkshakes at the cafe today always come like this, but I have a feeling they piled on some extra whipped cream for Story. Don’t worry, we collected the proper parent tax for that and ate a couple spoonfuls ourselves. It’s the law.

So much yum.