Flight to Tunis

Tariq's friend Tariq gave me a ride to the airport this morning. The line for checkin on the TunisAir flight was long and rowdy, all of us fanning ourselves with tickets in the unseasonable heat.

I was behind someone working for the ministry of culture, who gave me gum after finding out that I was Americain, not Tunisian. A girl in the line next to us asked me if I could hold her bag, and I became confused. She was Tunisian and the accent was hard to follow. Her mother butted in, pointing out my one little bag and thrusting one of her mountain of bags my way. "Can't you take it with you?"

She was large with eye makeup and a garish lipstick painted on; she seemed like a nice lady. But I refused, having seen "Brokedown Palace". I doubt there was anything in the bag; but I want to decrease the chances of my ending up in a Thai prison to as small as possible. She kept insisting and I kept repeating asifa (sorry), then she just let the bag at my feet until the people behind me backed me up, saying "she's not going to take it".

Soon after, a group of about five pushed their way through the first line, cutting off and joining the second line (mine). They claimed to be first class so people grumbed and let them. Upon arriving at the counter the ticket agent found they were not, and refused to serve them, pointing to us who had been waiting patiently in line. "We're here anyways! God!" They tried to force their bags onto the ramp, and refused to join the line, increasing the chaos, but the agent held firm and we had to pass our bags over theirs and hand our passports and tickets through their protests. Bravo TunisAir lady!