Surprise!

Little did you know you would have your own personal correspondent from a violent region... well, we have not heard anything here except fireworks. I guess the huge explosions yesterday night were in celebration of the capture of the Israeli soldiers. They were loud enough that I would have thought they were bombs! On TV we saw pictures of jubilant Hezbollah supporters with platters of sweets in the middle of the Beirut streets, handing them out to those in traffic. I have to say this attitude is ridiculous. Why people would rejoice over beginning unnecessary hostilities is beyond me. This is the result of pride gone wrong.

I'm very happy that we took our little trip to Baalbeck before these events, because the town was bombed today. I still hope that things may calm down soon. Classes won't be cancelled- apparently they're never cancelled here no matter what happens. Just as well, since we have nothing else to do! The positive outcome is that we can now see news in Arabic instead of tasteless American shows.

I've been sick the past two days with an intestinal thing. I got some really delicious cherries and sterilized them with tablets you can get at the pharmacy. No problem so far with other fruits or even salads. I had to call the same pharmacy yesterday evening to have some medicine delivered. Nice to get medical advice over the phone, with free delivery 24 hrs. a day! I'm tempted to eat the rest of the cherries, but one day in bed is enough- I can't afford to miss classes again. The funny thing is people seem to think I should go to the emergency room- hardly necessary for "routine" food-borne illness.