The Separation

On Sunday I left Austin for the first time to travel to Tunisia. Anxiety reigned supreme. He hasn’t been weaned. We’ve never been apart (since he was conceived!) I am the one who knows best how to care for him. Hayden will miss the queues for when he’s hungry, when he’s tired, when he wants his ball, when he’s telling him about a passing plane…most importantly, my heart was breaking with the thought of missing him. Deliriously negative thoughts about never seeing him again took up way too much space in my brain.

On day four of Tunisia, it turns out that Austin is ok and so is Hayden, and I think maybe I am too. I may even be a little bit excited about being in Tunis. I haven’t seen much yet, but heading out to the Medina and some sightseeing very shortly. It is a nice calm oasis in an otherwise rather turbulent Middle East. It reminds a bit of Tripoli (minus the turbulence). It is windy but beautiful. The hotel I’m staying in, The Residence, is ridiculously lavish. The food is good, but not great. The fish is very fresh and the calamari in particular is that divine, tender, melt-in-your-mouth kind of calamari that you only get once in a very blue moon. The mezza is not as good as Moroccan or Lebanese and the pastries aren’t as good as Turkish.

Working with my colleagues in the field is, as expected, a breath of fresh air and excitement about the work. Lots of energy around new ideas and collaboration. I’ve promised trips to Egypt, Jordan and back to Tunisia several times (we’ll see).

It is nice to take a break from constantly worrying about Austin. Indeed, I have been sleeping better here, although aided by Tylenol PM.

And today we spent sightseeing, which is just amazing here in Tunis. We went to Carthage, site of ancient Roman ruins overlooking the Mediterranean. We went to the medina and I got some bargains. The guy I bought a little rug from complained that I was too difficult J We went to Sidi Abu Said, which is basically the Tunisian Santorini. Just so charming. We sipped Tunisian mint tea with pine nuts while overlooking the vast inlet to the sea and downtown. Finally, we ended up at a S-WANKY restaurant nearby that must have been the best restaurant in Tunis. Certainly better than most DC restaurants, where we drank delicious Tunisian red wine (who knew) and debriefed each other on the geopolitics of the region and the fantastic shopping in Tunis.

But boy am I ready to see my boy. And Hayden and Jeter too!