Welcome to Beirut (June 22, 2009)

For those of you who know me, you are well aware that drama is my constant companion. You would think by now I would be used to it; but alas, the idealist in me always hopes that this time, just this one time, things will be different. Unfortunately, this has not been the case, but at least I can say the last week has been anything but dull!

After spending my last week in the states frantically trying to sell my belongings, sublet my house, sort through 29 years worth of files and paperwork, pack my life into 3 suitcases that couldn’t weigh more than 50 pounds each, and stuffing myself with heavy, greasy American food (and lots of pork), I left for Beirut. Before I continue, I owe three people a generous thank you: to Jeff and Vicki, thank you for allowing me to store my belongings (indefinitely) at your house, I don’t know what I would have done without your generosity and also, for the calm, collected and very loving send-off at the airport, words cannot express how thankful I am to you. To Tylor, for taking the good with the bad, in so many ways, our last week was incredible, but I am aware that in other ways, not so much, I promise the worst is over and you get the old Tam back!

After a physically and emotionally exhausting week, I left Phoenix last Tuesday. One of my best friends Angela had twins a little over 2 months ago, so I was able to plan a stopover in NYC to see her and little James and Evelyn, who were absolutely adorable. I was not the only thing that got off the plane in NYC, my luggage, which according to my travel agent was supposed to be checked all of the way through to Beirut, also made an appearance. It doesn’t sound like that big of deal, but this means I got charged twice for all of my bags (I had 4) and at $100/bag and then another $175/bag, it turned out to be a very expensive day. I arrived in NYC at 5AM, hung-out at the international terminal for a while and then for the second time in my life, I decided to brave the subway system. This is no small feat, as many of you know, I have no sense of direction, I continuously get myself lost and I rely heavily on those around me to steer me in the right direction. This time I was all by myself. But to my pleasant surprise, I made it to Angela’s apartment without any sort of problem and to tell you the truth, I was quite proud of myself.

I got to spend the whole day catching up with Angela, playing with James and Evelyn, strolling through Central Park, sipping my last American mocha and eating delicious Italian food, I navigated myself back to the airport, the only problem I encountered was keeping myself awake on the subway. I arrived at the airport, for a bargain rate of $50, got my luggage out of storage and trekked up to the International terminal and proceeded to check into Air Emirates for the second leg of my journey. This next flight was from NYC to Dubai to Beirut. After waiting in line for what seemed like forever (all of the passengers, like me, had extra baggage, but unlike me, had lots of children as well, so the lines moved extremely slow) I finally reached the receptionist. After checking me in for the Dubai, she informs me that she cannot allow me onto the plane. I thought she was joking and I frantically asked her why not. She then informed me that I couldn’t enter Lebanon on a one-way ticket, nor was my paperwork (visas, etc) in order. I showed her my acceptance letters from both of my Universities in Lebanon and stated the schools told me I didn’t need a visa, that I could pick one up at the airport for $35. After speaking with a manager and myself trying not to freak out, the airline told me that both myself and my schools were wrong and I had a few choices: one, I could stay in NYC and wait for a visa from the consulate, which could take days or even weeks, I could go back to Tucson and wait and forfeit my flight, or I could buy a round-trip ticket back to NYC from Beirut for a measly $6,000. After 24 hours of no sleep and the stressful week beforehand, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening and burst into tears. It’s rare that I cry at all, let alone in public. I pride myself on being thoroughly responsible and thought I had taken care of everything. In the back of my mind, I was also well aware that Tylor had also purchased a one-way ticket and I was afraid both of us were going to have to eat the cost of our one-ways, which were still a $1,000 each and buy round-trip ones.

Luckily, I ended up realizing I just needed a ticket to leave Beirut and it didn’t have to be back to the states, it could be anywhere, so I ignored the advice of the airline and instead bought 2 one-way tickets to Larnaca, where we are going to get married in August (luckily we hadn’t purchased them yet). For those of you who haven’t heard of Larnaca, it’s in Cyprus ☺ This whole process took 5 hours, every time I managed to make a decision and show the airline new paperwork, they made me go to the end of the line and start over. I got stuck in security because, as usual, I have a suspicious aura about me and they love to stop me and search everything. I didn’t even have time to grab any trashy magazines for my long flight or eat dinner; I literally made it to the gate with 5 minutes to spare. But the good news is, I got on my flight!

If Emirates hadn’t given me such a horrific time at the airport, they would officially be my favorite airline. I got freshly steamed towels to wipe my face off with, each seat had its own TV screen with about 500 channels of TV shows, music and movies (which I could pause and restart at any time, I didn’t have to wait for one to end before another would begin), we got 2 gourmet meals with real silverware, not the plastic crap the airlines usually serve. I got little booties for my feet (FYI, never take your shoes off in the plane, if your feet swell, shoes-especially boots-are a pain in the butt to get back on), a sleep mask, a blanket and a pillow, none of which I had to pay extra for. I had two men by me, one was from Sudan but he was working in Dubai and the other was from Pakistan, both were amazed that I spoke Arabic and was moving to Beirut. They got a kick out of my accent, which is very formal and precise at the moment, which is another reason I am in Beirut for the summer, so I can learn a dialect that won’t make people giggle when I speak. I took 2 Tylenol PM tablets on this flight and slept pretty much the whole way through it.

Luckily, I didn’t have to pick up my baggage in Dubai and the Pakistani man also had a layover, so we went on a mission to find his mother, who was also having a layover in Dubai. In typical storybook fashion, we ended up meeting at a Starbucks. Her husband and daughter were doctors in Pakistan and she encouraged me to come to Pakistan where she promised my work was not only needed but also very much appreciated. It’s nice to know that I have a place to stay (and maybe even a job) if I ever make it out there one day!

I still hadn’t heard back from Lebanese American University (LAU) confirming my pick-up from the airport in Beirut, this is after at least 5 emails to them with my flight information, the majority of which bounced back. I am not used to getting confirmations from any kind of business in the Middle East, but with all of my luggage and the fact that I was arriving at 3AM, with no idea which dorm I was to be housed in, I didn’t want to chance it, so I skyped my Lebanese friend Dina, told her my predicament and low and behold, when I arrived in Beirut over an hour later than expected, retrieved ALL of my bags (miraculously none were lost) and made it through customs; I saw the LAU driver holding signs with students’ names, of course mine wasn’t on it, but then I saw Dina’s smiling face in the crowd, it turns out she had waited up all night for me to get her work done so that she would be able to pick me up. I don’t know what I would’ve done with Dina (and her father, who also got up at the crack of dawn and dragged all of my bags up to their apartment) and for this, I extend another thank you, to Dina and her family, for all that they have done and as I know in my heart, for all that they will continue to do, for which I am eternally grateful for and hope that one day, I can return the favor.


This my friends, was my experience getting to Beirut and I am afraid the drama doesn’t end here; but that is a story for another day. Stay tuned!

Hugs and kisses from Beirut,
Tam