REACHED THE DESTINATION: BEIRUT

Now that I made everybody relax and told them I am ok and nothing happened to me yesterday (other than a trip to Byblos with the Lebanese bus on a 50 degrees Celsius day ) I can write about my first day here.

The road here was tiresome, cause I had to wait in the Budapest airport a lot. My butt and back were sore from sitting. Thank God I had the laptop with me and bought that wireless adaptor on saturday morning. I chatted, I read, and then i read again, and i fell asleep on the way from Budapest to Beirut. I arrived at 3 30 in the morning, and i had to stand in a line for an hour or so to have my passport checked.

This time it was the children's flight. Soooo many children. Like 20 babies in the plane. Last time i came o beirut I ended up sitting with a whole family of arabs, the women wearing hijabs. And the stewardess in the plane didn't serve me dinner cause she thought i was with them. Bitch!

Well, Beirut is hot. I've never been here in the summer. And the heat is killing me. The humidity too. You get sweaty in an instant. I never used the hot water in the shower and i'm sneezing. The trip to Byblos yesterday was depressing. The service, the share a ride taxis that everybody uses here because of the lack of public transportation, cost like 2000 Lebanese Pounds a ride (1 euro). And I'll have to take a service everymorning to go to the bus station near the City Mall or Nahr El Mot area (try to say it for a change, it makes people laugh when i say it) where i can get the bus to Byblos. The way to Nahr El Mot would cost me 4000 Lebanese Pounds, 2 euro, because it's very far from my place in Ashrafieh. The bus to Byblos is 1500 LL, one dollar. And then another 2000 LL for the service from Byblos to the Lebanese American University where I am to study for the next two years. Then the way back. Around 10 dollars a day. Then the bus. That's a whole story. They drive with the doors open because of the heat, you might get to sit next to a sweaty smelly drunk man and they're usually very talkative. No AC, crappy cars, dirty benches. I miss the subway and the trains inn Romania. They are much cleaner, as unbelievable as it may seem! No train here. They used to have trains long time ago. But they stopped. The explanation for that : you know, Ana, this is Lebanon! Ok, I'll need to work my ass off to get a car very soon. It's full of old Beetles here. And I will probably get one of those.

Apart from the transportation and weather problem, everything seems to be fine. My apartment is great. Thank you, Ben, for telling me about it. And thank you, Bassem, for taking care of it for me. It's in Ashrafieh, quite close to the center, it has a huge veranda, more or less of a view and no nosy neighbors. And a book shop downstairs. And a dentis's cabinet on the first floor whose wife is Romanian.

So tonight I'll get my own Lebanese number. Celebration needed. So tomorrow I'll be able to call people around and have meetings and do the stories I wanna do. :) Well, thank you Bassem, again. A SIM card here is more or less 100 $. I was amazed too. He got mine for 60 $. I really need to buy this guy a present. A big present.