Proverbs

When I found out I was moving to Tunisia, I went online to Amazon and ordered a few guidebooks. I got the Lonely Planet and Rough guides to Tunisia. Both of them document where in the country you have to drive to if you want to see the movie sets for the exterior shots of Tatooine from Star Wars, which makes them worth twice the cover price... but I digress.

In one of those impulse buys ("customers who bought this also bought that!"), I also picked up Culture Smart: the essential guide to customs and culture of Tunisia.

Guidebooks are reference books. You generally look things up in them. If you want to know about museums, you flip to that section and it will have all the ones of interest listed on one page. Probably with some kind of discussion about where to park and what the hours of operation are. They also cover the public transportation and give great hints on sights not to miss.

The culture book was meant to be read by business people who will have to interact with locals. It includes taboos and specific knowledge that makes it easier to get along. So I read it. Cover to cover. In one sitting. Parts of it I even read aloud to my husband.

Interspersed throughout the narrative--which covers everything from the ancient history of the country to the current governmental issues--are Tunisian proverbs.

For some reason, many of these struck me as funny. So I read them to my DH. Here are a few of the proverbs I found interesting:

"The world is with the strong of the moment." Ummm, what?

"When someone comes to you and shows you respect, serve him your dinner and make his bed." Is that all it takes to get a roommate?

"An old person will act according to his habits, and a young person according to his education." So, that makes it okay to misbehave if you're old?

There is a very real possibility that these just don't translate well. Either that, or no one told the Tunisians that proverbs are supposed to impart wisdom.

I think the first one might have a bit of cynical insight to share, but the second one is a mystery to me. The third one seems observational. I don't know. Do these sound like good proverbs to you?

--Sandee Wagner