I am finally getting settled in to our apartment, it’s very large and still quite empty but it’s livable now, we have a functional kitchen with all of the necessary appliances, beds and linens and even a washer and dyer. For the first time since I left America, I finally have clean clothes. Yesterday I got a couch and love seat delivered and a coffee table arrived last week, so now Sara and I can venture outside of the bedrooms if we want a place to sit! After a nightmarish week of dealing with flooding ceilings, moldy walls, lack of hot water (or any water at all), a broken washer and spastic Internet service, all of the kinks are finally working themselves out. I’ve spent the last week living on in’sha’allah time, meaning repair men show up when they feel like it, just because an appointment is made, it doesn’t mean someone is going to show up that day or even that week, so I am painstakingly learning to go with the flow. Luckily I have a lot of time on my hands and have the time to wait and wait and wait and wait but in the end, thankfully, things are getting fixed. Now, for my sake and sanity, let’s hope they stay that way!
On a positive note, I got a 3-month-old kitty cat yesterday! His name is Asad (which means lion in Arabic) and I got him from a vet clinic that is the equivalent to the human society in America. This clinic rescues stray and hurt animals (dogs, cats, baboons and chimps), nurses them back to health and then adopts them! Asad only weighs 1 kg and is so tiny but his pers
onality and need for love are irresistible and I am soaking it up. It’s difficult to get lonely with a little animal curled up on your lap, purring and begging for belly rubs. The vet staff originally thought Asad was a girl, so they named him Tamar (which is a female Arabic name) and they thought it was absolutely adorable and fitting that a lady named Tamara adopted him. He only recognizes Arabic commands, so I am having fun practicing and it’s nice to be able to speak Arabic to someone who doesn’t laugh at me and who, in fact, actually listens. Asad has greatly boosted my confidence in a very short period of time.It’s a good thing I am here in Beirut for the summer because out of the blue, I got an email from AUB (the American University in Beirut) where I will be starting my MPH (Master’s in Public Health) in the fall and they are holding a meet and greet for all of the new students this coming Wednesday. It will be nice to meet my future colleagues and professors and I am quite excited. I am also glad I am here now because had I stayed back in the states, I would have missed this opportunity. Hopefully I can get my questions about visas, registration, credit transfers, etc answered and make some new friends. I just discovered the MPH program here, which usually takes about 2 years to complete, has an intensive one-year track available. Since my funding is guaranteed for just this year (next year is still up in the air), I thought it might be to my benefit to see if it’s something I can take advantage of. Although it’s scary to think I could be completely done with school and working in about a year, it’s also very exciting and it would be nice to have an actual income (and benefits) in this outrageously expensive city.
On a less positive note, my endometriosis has come back with a vengeance. I’ve struggled with this disease since I was 16 and had just finished a horrendous 6-month treatment of hormonal-induced menopause shots in April. I was hoping this treatment would have kept the endometriosis at bay for the next few years at least, but no such luck. I have been in bed almost all week and even missed out on SINARC’s Syria trip this weekend so besides being in constant pain, I am completely bummed. Although Tylor assures me he will serve as my personal tour guide to Syria when he arrives in August, so on a positive note, I have another trip to look forward to. I get health insurance through AUB but it doesn’t start until my classes begin in the fall. Luckily Lebanon’s medical system is efficient and cheap and I am thoroughly impressed so far.
After waiting a few days with no end to the pain in sight, I broke down and called Dina, who in turn made me a doctor’s appointment. She not only managed to get me in the very same day she called, she got me in to a specialist. In the states, an appointment for my ob/gyn would take months! Dr. Barbir is the same doctor that Dina’s female family members see and she assured me that he was knowledgeable, very kind and spoke English. I trust Dina’s judgment and felt more comfortable knowing the Dr. Barbir had an existing rapport with her family. I was not disappointed. He listened to me talk for about ½ hour before he even examined me. There were no other patients there and he certainly wasn’t in a hurry, which I have never experienced with American doctors. He spoke perfect English and took all of his notes by hand, with carbon paper. For propriety’s sake, I told him I was already married and he put all of my medical files/records under “Tamara Brand”, I told him that even though I was married, I had kept my father’s surname and he was like, I understand that, but in Lebanon, everything goes under the husband’s name. This makes me wonder what name will be on my diploma from AUB!
He got me into the lab as soon as our office visit concluded and got an ultra sound appointment for me the very next day, no waiting on permission from insurance companies or having to go through numerous secretaries to schedule appointments, he took care of everything himself. The office visit was $80 (this included the exam), the lab work was $30 and then the ultra-sound was about $130, all of this work up in America would have set me back about $1,000! He said he would see me early next week to go over the test results, so although it’s been a stressful week, it’s a relief to know that quality health care is not only available in Lebanon, but that it’s affordable to the average human being. The American medical establishment can definitely take lessons from the Lebanese medical system and I think we would be a much healthier, richer nation because of it.
Hugs & kisses from Beirut,
Tam
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