~One of life’s little gems~
When I was 25, I spent three months in Tunisia (a small country on the north 
coast of Africa), working as a volunteer instructor at a children’s education centre. Everyday I took the bus to the nearest stop and walked to work. On my way I would pass a snack kiosk, but not without stopping to buy a chocolate bar. I never spoke to the man at the counter…only a friendly smile and a shy “Bonjour” (locals speak Arabic and French). After two months of buying chocolate he gave me the following letter:
Dear Visitor,
I am very happy to write these few lines to you and to express my great happiness in having met you.
I wanted to tell you that I have a great appreciation for the Japanese and the Chinese and that I know a lot of traditions and customs that you practice.
My dream is to travel to Japan or to China and to live exactly like you.
I am very serious about the idea of marriage. But I am content in a simple friendship with you.
My problem is my inability to express myself in French. I understand French a little, but I cannot express myself well.
Thank you for reading my words.
Your Tunisian Friend.
I didn’t buy chocolate again.
Me, with one of the students
Where are you in that photo? I only see two little girls.
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🙂 I gasped when I found that photo, too! Fresh faced and oh, so naive 🙂
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Tunisia now is not the innocent land you then visited. Since then there have been the upheavals from the Arab Spring(s). I wonder if that idyllic time will ever return. Only in dreams. It will take a long long time. Nice vignette
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Thank you for your comment Patrenco.
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I like your story but this one I can’t relate. Lol! You never told me about it. I do remember you going there. Did you understand his letter? Talk soon.
Vivian
Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks Vivian! Just thought I would share this story with my readers. We all have stories waiting to be told….maybe that’s one for my children when they get older.
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