This morning was my first field trip, but without kids! I was escorted out of school by Walid, after giving the reins to a substitute teacher. Two other new hires, Paul and Andrew, were already in tow. Our destination? The heavily guarded Beirut Security Office. Purpose? To make an appearance for our residence visas. Back in August I was required to turn in my passport to the business department at school, and given a laminated copy. Today was the first time I've seen my passport, and see it was all I did. Walid is the school's resident "Visa Broker". His job is to take each "foreign hire" through the process, made painless, of getting the residency visa. He's been doing this for the past 20 years! And our role? To sit on the chairs at the back of the room. Walid waited in line for over an hour. There were three people ahead of him.
It was nice to have Andrew and Paul along. We talked about hot topics for foreigners; our Lebanese banking experiences (comparing notes and banks), Food preparation and Eating (we concluded that those who cook and eat at home get sick less often), School related topics (just where is the "Rabbit Field"?), and Housekeepers. Paul and Andrew each live in resident hotels, in other words, a hotel suite complete with counter, fridge and hotplate. This set-up includes housekeeping; a maid who comes in to tidy up. Many of the veteran staff have hired housekeepers who clean everything from floors to dishes to laundry for 10,000 LL an hour (less than $7 an hour). Others hire cooks who drop off meals. My place is small, and I prefer to do the cooking myself (more of that "Spendthrift
mentality!") But I DO enjoy cooking! Anyway, we kept up a friendly banter until Walid waved us over to the counter. The busy clerk gave us nothing more than a glance as Walid handed Paul a pen and pointed to the line where he should sign. Then it was my turn, Andrew's turn, and that was it!
We backtracked down the stairs and through the halls, waving our blue slips under the eyes of camo-dressed guards in each doorway before handing these off to guards at the exit door, and back to the car we went. I got to school as the students were out at recess; two and a half hours later. At some point in the day I had a realization. I am now part of some kind of IN crowd; I am an official resident of Lebanon! Should be getting my passport back any day now, and you know what that means? The gates to travel are OPEN!
It was nice to have Andrew and Paul along. We talked about hot topics for foreigners; our Lebanese banking experiences (comparing notes and banks), Food preparation and Eating (we concluded that those who cook and eat at home get sick less often), School related topics (just where is the "Rabbit Field"?), and Housekeepers. Paul and Andrew each live in resident hotels, in other words, a hotel suite complete with counter, fridge and hotplate. This set-up includes housekeeping; a maid who comes in to tidy up. Many of the veteran staff have hired housekeepers who clean everything from floors to dishes to laundry for 10,000 LL an hour (less than $7 an hour). Others hire cooks who drop off meals. My place is small, and I prefer to do the cooking myself (more of that "Spendthrift
mentality!") But I DO enjoy cooking! Anyway, we kept up a friendly banter until Walid waved us over to the counter. The busy clerk gave us nothing more than a glance as Walid handed Paul a pen and pointed to the line where he should sign. Then it was my turn, Andrew's turn, and that was it!
We backtracked down the stairs and through the halls, waving our blue slips under the eyes of camo-dressed guards in each doorway before handing these off to guards at the exit door, and back to the car we went. I got to school as the students were out at recess; two and a half hours later. At some point in the day I had a realization. I am now part of some kind of IN crowd; I am an official resident of Lebanon! Should be getting my passport back any day now, and you know what that means? The gates to travel are OPEN!
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