What happens when you cross a tour guide, a janitor, a restroom, English as a second language, and a case of mistaken identity? They say great comedy takes the right setup and perfect timing. Standing in line at what was apparently the only water closet amid the ruins of the ancient Roman Forum, I felt like I’d walked into the surrealism of a Saturday Night Live skit. I watched as the janitor knocked on the door of the bathroom for the third or fourth time, and listened to the muffled response indicating both occupation and disinterest in a dialogue with the outside world. I wondered where this was going.

Our guide had encouraged us to a bathroom break at this particular juncture, access was going to be a challenge going forward. I was surprised to discover a single serve restroom with a line of men in front of it and a janitor pounding on the door. The janitor clearly needed access to something within this particular water closet – I didn’t sense he was overly concerned about the biological needs of those in line – and he repeated his knock with a rather non-specific “Sir” as his request. I suppose the implied message was “hurry up!” but there was clearly a lack of understanding in the exchange.

About 15 minutes into my wait, I heard the voice of a woman behind me calling across the courtyard, “Mr. Chen?” She repeated the call several times before she found her way to our line. Walking to the janitor, she asked, “Is Mr. Chen in there?” The janitor shrugged and knocked on the door again. “Mr. Chen?” The woman, who we discovered was a tour guide, began banging on the door, “Mr. Chen?” Then “Mr. Chen?” And then, “Mr. Chen!” as her sense of urgency increased. The man behind the door mumbled some broken English but it didn’t really sound like a response to any question.

Apparently, the expression, “Mr. Chen” conveyed a variety of meanings and no additional words were needed. I watched as the janitor, the tour guide, and Mr. Chen, engaged in a verbal exchange in which no one seemed to be responding explicitly to the other person. Looking at the other men in the line, I saw smiles appear as we all seemed to encounter the Saturday Night Live effect simultaneously. Apparently, everyone was Americanized enough to understand the humor of the unfolding bathroom skit happening before us. Some of us never outgrow the sophomoric in what entertains us.

As the exchange built into a crescendo, the man behind the door finally yelled in quite articulate English: “I AM NOT MR. CHEN!!!” The tour guide, not fully convinced, asked three more times: “Mr. Chen?” Then the janitor added, “Mr. Chen, we need you out of there.” Again, “I AM NOT MR. CHEN!!” It took a few moments for this to register as the janitor’s supervisor walked up and asked, who is in there? Reflexively, the janitor responded: “Mr. Chen.” By the time the supervisor asked Mr. Chen if he was ok, the man behind the door was apparently far enough past the struggles of his now 30 minute journey in the restroom, to yell several more times that he was not Mr. Chen.

At this point, the supervisor retreated and the tour guide resolved herself to the conclusion that she would have to find Mr. Chen somewhere else. Only the janitor and the six men in line remained to greet the rather agitated man as he opened the door to the bathroom. The man’s English was limited but was clear enough as he got in the janitor’s face: I am not Mr. Chen. A line he repeated a dozen times before a large Australian man intervened to calm the situation, “It’s ok mate. He’s just trying to do his job.” Nonplussed, the janitor entered the water closet, grabbed some supplies in a cabinet and left to continue his day.

As the men in line were finally able to go about their business, the mutual greeting after leaving the bathroom became “It’s all yours, Mr. Chen” to which the proper response was “Thank you, Mr. Chen.”

Italy is a beautiful country and we had the opportunity to experience the amazing treasurers of art, architecture, food, and culture. We journeyed through many Holy Places, saw the relics of Saints, and celebrated Mass in beautiful chapels and basilicas. As other-worldly as much of Rome can be, I found it very comforting to witness the common ground of our shared humanity. Though he did not know it, the mysterious Mr. Chen reminded me of just how common that ground can be.

I don’t believe I’ve ever waited 30 minutes in a line for a restroom. However, some dramas are too good to pass up. Finding our tour guide a few minutes later, she asked what happened. I laughed out loud as I heard someone down the hill calling, “Mr. Chen?! Mr. Chen?!”