First Impressions
Though I still have yet to see much of anything, the drive into town today stoked my curiosity. Traffic laws lax as they are, Lebanese hospitality comes through out on the streets just as it does inside buildings. The people I've met are extremely hospitable, offering tea, coffee, and assorted sweets, all of which I accept.
Our surroundings are, so far, a bit difficult to decipher. Apparently, there are several different areas of Beirut, separated by what separates most here in the Middle East: religion. We're staying in the Christian area of Beirut (which technically is not Beirut, but I have yet to figure out just exactly what that means). The Muslim areas of Beirut, I would imagine, are broken up into Sunni and Shi'ite. Being inquisitive as usual, I'm learning much.
Coincidentally, Dave and I are in room 911 of our hotel. I don't think that we are the only Americans staying in our hotel, but the shock of the coincidence is not lost on us or the hotel employees that ask our room number for food charges. We both chuckle in a "you've got to be kidding me" or "what are the chances of that" sort of way.
In case you did not hear, a bus exploded just outside of Beirut this morning. We are fine and far from the situation. Tomorrow is the second anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Our hosts are making sure that we are taken care of and will be safe.
The keyboard switched to Arabic character for a while. Cool. ’?????? ????????