I'm here, e-mailing from the dorm.
It's 5 in the morning. I slept for about 4 hours. I still can't really sleep. At 1:45 I was woken up by a bomb. I realized that I hadn't really repacked my suitcase or got my clothes ready. I had broken my own rule from that Taiwanese typhoon situation and wasn't properly dressed to run outside. So I re-packed my bag, got my clothes ready and went back to bed.
The dorms here are just lovely!!! The moment I walked in, I could feel my whole physical person change. I felt calm; I stopped shaking. I returned to normal Jane (whatever that means.)
So when I was on the phone with Caroline, my friends came by. I told them what was up and furiously started getting my stuff together. I was like, night is falling, within the hour, and I have to get to Beirut now. . . And before they could even say anything, I was like, There is NO WAY that you're driving me. We're getting a driver from the souk.
So Rabih went to go get a driver, while I called some people and ran around and blogged. They got one of those old guys from the souk, and they were haggling with him over the price. At first he said $40, then he said $50. Rabih and Nazih gave him that Come on, you know that's too much look. But they all know each other and that is the normal haggling. I was like, Khalas (Stop.) I'll pay the $50. Yalla (Let's go) Night's falling."
This is the normal interaction. Haggling over the price. $50. And I think you can safely say the guy was risking his life. They said they had a hard time finding someone who would go. And to think that people are paying like $600 to get on a bus or a cab to Syria, which normally costs $10. If I took a car like that from the school to Beirut, he'd charge me around $10-$12 anyways. I'm not totally sure because I've never done it. I take a bus or a van which costs 67 cents.
But Neda still hadn't come. So as I was putting the stuff in the car, and she drove up. !!!!!! She was wearing her crazy rainbow wig and we took pictures and said Good bye. At least I was with some buddies who put me in the car.
And once we got in, I felt totally safe. Rabih and Nazih had spent a good time discussing the route with him. And he's an old guy. He was driving his servees around duringa 17-year civil war. He knew the deal. He's a professional.
The 15 minute ride from Aley was, thankfully, uneventful. Kind of normal really, except there were hardly any cars on the road. We booked it on the Beirut-Damascus highway (along which the bombings I witnessed last night happened). In Beirut, there were some people walking around, but hardly any. And some people (men) gathered in the corner stores. And a lot of soldiers everywhere. But there are always a lot of soldiers everywhere.
And there were people at the Corniche. A lot of people just standing there looking at the water, eating corn on the cob. Like normal. Except that Israel bombed Ein Mreisse at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
When I was talking to the woman on the phone, I asked if I could stay in the dorms because my friend (with a former, but no current AUB affliation) had moved in two days ago. She said she had to check with ---- blah, blah, blah. So once I was in the taxi, I called my friend and told her I was coming. She said it's near the South Gate at Ein Mreisse. For some reason, I didn't even think about it. I knew it was bombed. But the highway had also been, too. So that was fine. But it was really fortunate that I went that way becasue I didn't have to go through the hassle of the security at the Main Gate.
About 1/3 of the time I want to walk around AUB, they ask for an ID and turn me away. But when I came in today at the South Gate, I just looked at the guy and walked right in. Maybe I said Hi, in that authentic American accent. Maybe. But considering there's a war going on and thousands of people have been made homeless in the city because of the demolition of the southern suburbs, I thought I might have to call this woman, get the permission, etc., etc. Not at all. I felt like Obi Won Konobi, playing that mind trick, where he says "Let them pass," and the weak-minded imperial storm trooper lets him and Luke pass.
When I got to the front desk at the dorm, a girl looked up at me, and said, "You're still here?" Like she knows me. I guess I really look the part, eh. "I'm going out with the next batch."
So then they just gave me a key to a room. I hadn't even talked to Caroline or gotten any authorization. When I talked to her, I told her I was at the dorm. She was like, "Oh good. Do you want to talk to the media?"
"Sure."
So then I get to my room. I feel like I'm in some luxury suites. The girl left behind a lot of stuff. Like her toiletries, clothes, food. . . Good food=non-fat yogurt, dried apricots, pre-made Indian food she had bought from the local chichi grocery store. I really hit the jackpat. And I didn't mind using her towel and sleeping in her bed sheets. (Hey, I've shared toothbrushes and underwear with my friends.)
God is really taking care of me.
I feel so completely grateful. For the AUB students--George, Jared, Jihan, Joy. Joy who's been e-mailing me from the Netherlands, and was e-mailing everyone she knew to try to get me out. She put me in touch with Caroline.
Caroline is in charge of the international students at AUB. And she so graciously took me on. I have no AUB affiliation whatsoever. I'm not a student, anywhere. And she just took me.
Thank God for these good people.
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