It’s a great time to get a break from work. Since our people
are mostly coming in on charter flights, we just got 10 of them, including my
new bosses. The old bosses are still there, too, plus among the 10 there’s
another senior person in my section and an additional deputy. Basically just
layers and layers of people, and everyone has some kind of onboarding issue.
That’s not their fault, of course, but trying to get one person lined up to
receive a shipment while working on another’s email and yet another’s Teams
account while simultaneously trying to get another couple of bosses out … it
was just a good time to squeeze in R&R No. 2. I’m due three, but ran out of
time.
But this time, I didn’t want to go far and opted for Tunis,
which is a nonstop from Amman. Really, that’s how I landed on it. I just didn’t
want to go more than four hours. It came down to this or London, which I
figured would be far more expensive and a lot more lonely with just me. On this
one, I am joining a tour on Monday and I’m also meeting a colleague tomorrow,
so it’s not bad.
Today, I had a doctor appointment (gotta do these on
R&R!) and just went to the mall afterwards. I wanted a real meal – I’m
eating in the hotel lounge while I can – but couldn’t find a table to just park
it and eat. I wound up finding a mostly empty table and kind of motioned to guy
sitting there that I just wanted to sit and eat. He was too bewildered, I’m
sure, to brush me off. I mean, some random tourist in a goofy hat just sits
down and starts to eat. I’m sure he had no clue.
After I had been eating a fast-food meal from a Lebanese
place – schwarma and hummus – for a little, a lady sat down with the guy. In
broken English, she asked where I was from and I told her I was American. We wound
up chatting – a little English, a little Arabic and a little French – for over
an hour and a half! It was so much fun. She is from Libya and moved to Tunis
for cancer treatment. The guy is her brother – one of three – and he has three
kids; she married at 14 and has six! They were killing time before a doctor’s
appointment and just hanging out. (It was maybe 1 p.m. and her appointment was
at 4.) At one point, her mom called and I heard her say something about eating
with an American, so I popped up behind her and photobombed the call. It made
her day. Before that, they’d done a round of selfies. 
It was just a totally random thing to do and was the
absolute highlight of my day, and theirs, too. I mean, even if I hadn’t been
coming from a doctor appointment and they hadn’t been heading to one, it would
have still been the highlight. Something so insignificant as strangers sitting
down together and talking. I had a great time.
Yesterday was more of a tourist day. I got a driver and did
Carthage! Wow. I am so at home in ruins. I love this part of the world. I went
to the amphitheater, which is still in use. The tour guide said he saw James
Brown perform there, and there was some kind of event going on that evening. The
“good seats” had cushions laid out – colorful rugs over a section of seats.
Oh man, the rugs. I do not need any more, but man, I love
them. I already found one that I am still thinking about, which is not a good
sign. It’s gray with Berber designs. Unfortunately, he has the same design in
many shapes. I bet I could fit it in somewhere, but I don’t need to get another.
I need to stay strong.
The Roman baths were phenomenal, too. Gosh, I wandered
around forever. My driver guy probably thought I was insane. He was a great
guide and I might see if he can take me somewhere else on Sunday. Saturday the
plan is to visit the American cemetery – WWII – which I did not know existed
until yesterday. The driver gave me a drive-by yesterday and it’s pretty
moving. Tomorrow I’m headed to another set of Roman ruins, which are the
largest in Africa.
Despite doing little to no planning, this is coming together all right.
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