Day 1: some initial observations

I arrived in Beirut yesterday afternoon without too much trouble, and have already seen my friend who has been living here for close to two years, which was great. I'm living in a hotel for the next week or so before I can move in on campus, and this morning has been about getting the necessary shit done (bank account, phone, etc.)

Here are a couple of things I've noted in the past 24 hours:

-According to my friend (and the numerous looks of confusion I've encountered) directions here are not so much given according to street names and intersections, but based on landmarks. Ask for the corner of Baalbak Street and Jeanne D'Arc? Quizzical looks. The best way to let someone know where to find you is apparently to give them the name of the nearest big building/store/etc. I've noticed that a lot of the streets in this neighborhood, Ras Beirut, don't have names but can be assigned a number. As a result, it seems that only the really big streets around here like Hamra or Bliss get instant recognition. It shouldn't be too hard once I get used to living here (insh'allah), but in the meantime... this is going to be really, really interesting.

- Given my already established reputation for reckless jaywalking, I am probably going to be run over by a car sometime in the next two years. I haven't encountered any crosswalks so far, and I don't have very much faith in cars stopping when they see me in the middle of the road (some haven't). So this should also be fun.

-"Insh'allah" is a very useful phrase, but a little worrisome when it follows the sentence "your credit card should arrive in a week."

-In other banking related news, HSBC and their "$25,000 minimum balance at all times if you want to open an account with us" policy are assholes.

-I have the old-schoolest cell phone ever, which, if you know me, is saying something. Let's just say the black and white screen is ironically retro. Or we can say that I'm stingy. That is also a fair statement.

-A studio hotel room has its pluses: very conveniently located; beautifully set up; ridiculously big bed (two double beds put together, as it turns out); complete with small kitchen

-Minuses: only having one locatable electrical outlet (right above the stove); having said stove, microwave, fridge and washing machine, but no pots, pans, plates or cutlery in sight.

-Very big minus: only finding out above kitchen deficiencies after having bought groceries.

-Cooking lentils in an electric water boiler is messy but effective.

Despite the negative tones of this list, Beirut has been really sunny and beautiful in its own way, and a lot of people have been extremely nice and helpful to me despite only knowing me for three minutes. Hopefully I will have more interesting things to say once I start orientation and get things going.

In the meantime, I'm going back to McGyvering my way through eating lunch.