We meet on the Corniche at 7 am, at the tall antenna, our getting in place. The water temp is 18, about 64 degrees F, and it feels screamin' COLD. Swimming is the only way to warm up. By the time we are heading back to the AUB antenna, my hands feel hard as wooden paddles, and I'm just pulling for all I'm worth. But I LOVE it: seeing the white sand, rocks, fish and deep blue all around. It is a swim of wonders. Ali saw a jellyfish! I didn't see that, but need to keep my eyes on the look out. There are motor boats and occasional jet skis, and until today, I thought these were all I had to avoid. We swim in groups and wear brightly colored swim caps. Some people wear big floats tied to their waists. But the important thing is to swim together.
All was well this morning until I realized I was an hour early... it was just going on 6 am. The sun was up, however, so I decided to warm up with a walk. On the way back, I stopped to take pictures of the silly men and their antics. These guys were jumping off a rock, making a great show of shouting (in Arabic), and counting on one another. Here are those pics:
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| Young Abdallah with his uncle, grandmother, and daughter-mother |
While watching the men being boys, I noticed this adorable child, and asked his mother if I could take his picture. She said it was ok. We began to talk; she in her lovely English. Her mother-in-law, younger than me, spoke in Arabic... from which I could pick out some words, namely, 4 sons! By the time my swimmer friend Ali arrived, I was taking pictures and turning down an invitation to their house; Time to swim!
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| Abdallah |
These men, a Swimming-Running Club, meet and swim every day at 7 am. They bring their campstove to prepare the hot tea, and carry in brownies and yummies to eat before and after the swim. While Ali and I swim along the shore, to the marina wall and back, these guys swim straight out into the sea 750 meters, then back. As swimmer Ibrahim explained, "Beirut looks like this (he holds up his hand; no wider than his hand, all compacted), and this (the antenna) appears to be only so tall (he holds up his pointer finger). I love seeing the city in miniature; it is my favorite swim, and we're out and back in less than 30 min." The 30 minutes is important because the water is cold (18 degrees C = 64 F), and before you arrive back, your hands feel stiff. The sweet, hot tea is just right to begin the warming up process. For some reason, these men accept me. They must wonder what I'm doing there, but they give me tea and brownies, and don't ask me anything. When I took their picture today, I could hear the unspoken questions: what's this woman doing here?
Well there is only one answer: SWIMMING TO FEED MY SOUL!
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| Ali, second from left, with hot tea pot, brownies, among his friends; awesome swimmers all.
Ali speaks very little English. The first time he met me was in the sea, struggling with waves to get out onto the rocks. This was last year. I was swimming with Ingrid and Phil, friends from ACS. From that day on, Ali, often near, would swim with us. What was fun was that he would swim fast, and I would enjoy trying to keep up with him. Phil, Ingrid and I stopped swimming back in November as the storms came in and then the water temp cooled. It seemed appropriate to stop. Well, not for these swimmers. They swim all year round.
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So I was on my way to school a few weeks ago and I heard, "Carolyn, Carolyn!" Ali was running over! "Do you want to swim?" he asked. Of course! He invited me to join him and his friends. And so for the past several Saturdays I have met up with Ali at the big antenna and defied my own shyness at being the only woman; climbed down the ladder from the Corniche, walked self-consciously over to the concrete slab, taken off my sweatpants and sweatshirt, and walked over to the water's edge. I sit, with feet dangling, then up to hips, then up to waist while splashing upper arms, then in. The entry is a screamer!
I have loved every minute of swimming and being with these other swimmers. It is amazing. At any other time in my life I could not have been so bold. Thank God for Ali, giving me courage. Is ANYONE luckier than I am? I am happy out there in that bracing water, and on the rocks sipping the sweet hot tea. In these moments my joy is complete.
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