I spent a sabbatical semester in Montreal at HEC. Now I am back in Beirut at the Lebanese American University (LAU) for about three months of teaching before going back to Montreal for a summer break.
What a contrast being in Beirut and Montreal? Not much for what they stand for as city of old and new. Yeah Beirut is an old city compared to Montreal. Here modern history has its philosophical and scientific roots.
I am less stressed arriving at Rafic Hariri international airport than at Pierre-Trudeau international airport. Surely officers at Trudeau know what they do, but sometime I wonder for what purpose they do the little extra that make you feel that you are suspected for something they cannot name. I guess for a first time at Trudeau, it must be a whole experience. At Rafic Hariri airport, nobody asks me questions for which answers are already provided on the customs card. I hand in my passport and residence card to the officer behind a box, the officer check something on his computer, look at me, stamp my passport, and give back my documents except the stamped customs card. The customs x-ray my suitcases from time to time. This time it took me in total 15 minutes to get out of the airport.
The time the taxi-drivers at the Hariri airport reaped me off is gone. On my arrival I call Allo Taxi (1213), and order a taxi that arrives in the 5 or 10 minutes. I pay $20 maximum for a trip to Hamra or Raouche. I think the official rate must be 20,000 LBP.
It can be difficult for a foreigner to settle in Beirut in her/his first year. Last year I was paying $650 for a room plus a toilette and a balcony in Hamra. I liked the place. The manager of the place is honest and very helpful. Unfortunately, I could not move back there. The room was taken. In Hamra such a room cannot be empty for long. So I went back to my old place in Raouche at Universal Residence. The manager wanted me to pay $1,200, I refused. Since I promise to stay longer, we settled for $1,000 for a studio having in it a living room combined with a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a huge balcony giving on Australia street. From the balcony I can see the former Saudi Embassy, and the burn-down Future TV. From my Kitchen, I have a partial view of the Mediterranean sea. If you compare what I was paying and what I am paying now, the $350 difference is somehow covered up. I have more space, I have a better view, I have large windows giving me plenty of daily light, and I have house helpers.
Settling down means being connected. The university offers Internet but I cannot be satisfied with that. Some year ago, I will stay at campus longer than I should, but because I have to Skype my family back in Montreal, Internet is a must. Last year I was using a very slow Internet that was provided by one of the mysterious Internet providers in Beirut. I could not use my Cyberia Box as the signals was too low. So this time I decided to acquire a Touch dongle (a kind of USB key charged with Internet data). I really thought it was all easy to get one, but it is not as everything else in Beirut. Touch gives on its webpage representatives but some of them do not sell the dongle. I went to the one in Raouche (Talaco) on the same street where I am staying. First I bought a dongle for 45,000 LBP ($30). Second, I have to acquire a SIM card for data (my passport was needed for that and having a line already was a must). The SIM card comes with 1.5 GB. I did pay another $10 dollars to have 5 GB. In total it costed me as much as announced on the website. The guy at Talaco did activate for me the SIM card. Back home, I plug into my computer. I thought it would be direct. No. You have to install the software, restart your computer, and on the dialog box click on an Internet icon. Let see how long the 5 GB will last. May be I need 10 GB for a month as I am not a heavy user of the Internet. That is for this first week in Beirut.
What a contrast being in Beirut and Montreal? Not much for what they stand for as city of old and new. Yeah Beirut is an old city compared to Montreal. Here modern history has its philosophical and scientific roots.
I am less stressed arriving at Rafic Hariri international airport than at Pierre-Trudeau international airport. Surely officers at Trudeau know what they do, but sometime I wonder for what purpose they do the little extra that make you feel that you are suspected for something they cannot name. I guess for a first time at Trudeau, it must be a whole experience. At Rafic Hariri airport, nobody asks me questions for which answers are already provided on the customs card. I hand in my passport and residence card to the officer behind a box, the officer check something on his computer, look at me, stamp my passport, and give back my documents except the stamped customs card. The customs x-ray my suitcases from time to time. This time it took me in total 15 minutes to get out of the airport.
The time the taxi-drivers at the Hariri airport reaped me off is gone. On my arrival I call Allo Taxi (1213), and order a taxi that arrives in the 5 or 10 minutes. I pay $20 maximum for a trip to Hamra or Raouche. I think the official rate must be 20,000 LBP.
It can be difficult for a foreigner to settle in Beirut in her/his first year. Last year I was paying $650 for a room plus a toilette and a balcony in Hamra. I liked the place. The manager of the place is honest and very helpful. Unfortunately, I could not move back there. The room was taken. In Hamra such a room cannot be empty for long. So I went back to my old place in Raouche at Universal Residence. The manager wanted me to pay $1,200, I refused. Since I promise to stay longer, we settled for $1,000 for a studio having in it a living room combined with a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a huge balcony giving on Australia street. From the balcony I can see the former Saudi Embassy, and the burn-down Future TV. From my Kitchen, I have a partial view of the Mediterranean sea. If you compare what I was paying and what I am paying now, the $350 difference is somehow covered up. I have more space, I have a better view, I have large windows giving me plenty of daily light, and I have house helpers.
Settling down means being connected. The university offers Internet but I cannot be satisfied with that. Some year ago, I will stay at campus longer than I should, but because I have to Skype my family back in Montreal, Internet is a must. Last year I was using a very slow Internet that was provided by one of the mysterious Internet providers in Beirut. I could not use my Cyberia Box as the signals was too low. So this time I decided to acquire a Touch dongle (a kind of USB key charged with Internet data). I really thought it was all easy to get one, but it is not as everything else in Beirut. Touch gives on its webpage representatives but some of them do not sell the dongle. I went to the one in Raouche (Talaco) on the same street where I am staying. First I bought a dongle for 45,000 LBP ($30). Second, I have to acquire a SIM card for data (my passport was needed for that and having a line already was a must). The SIM card comes with 1.5 GB. I did pay another $10 dollars to have 5 GB. In total it costed me as much as announced on the website. The guy at Talaco did activate for me the SIM card. Back home, I plug into my computer. I thought it would be direct. No. You have to install the software, restart your computer, and on the dialog box click on an Internet icon. Let see how long the 5 GB will last. May be I need 10 GB for a month as I am not a heavy user of the Internet. That is for this first week in Beirut.
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