I have arrived!

So I'm in Beirut! The flights were uneventful (which is good). I flew from Greenville to DC to Istanbul to Beirut...in Greenville, all 5 of my bags were overweight, so I was pulling items out to send back home with my family and managed to have them checked all the way through to Beirut (which is good because I was thinking I was going to have to claim them all and recheck). The only problem was that I still had to pay a second baggage fee for the second leg of the journey...I think that someone with the airlines dropped the bal...but cest la vie.
I met an American at the airport in Istanbul who I palled around with until our flights, he to Kuwait me to Beirut. Upon arrival, I got in the wrong line, proceeded to another line, only to discover that I had to go to two other lines...finally I made it through!
As I was being driven to my hotel (my apartment isn't ready) I noticed that there are very few street signs...upon mentioning this to my bosses (who picked me up) I was told the only traffic rule in Lebanon is "if it can be done, do it". Guess I won't be driving for a while...
Once at the Mayflower Hotel, after unloading in my room, I showered and went to bed. THe next day is when I truly began my BEirut experience.
My hotel is in the neighborhood of Beirut called Hamra (pronounced like it looks), which is also the area where the major universities are (AUB, LAU, and the French one) as well as most of the popular pubs and shops (I think). My apartment is in the neighborhood of Ashrafieh (pronounced ash-ra-fe-a). Anyway, after dressing, I walked a few blocks to a coffee shop for a frappe and free Internet, where I caught up on my "I made it safely" correspondences. I believe my new past time is people watching. Remember the lack of traffic rules...well it is fun to observe driving here...all you hear is car horns. Whether they are honking tonhear themselves, warn pedestrians, or other vehicles is unknown (perhaps all of the above) regardless one should always be on their toes when around the streets.
STanding in lines, experiencing the traffic, and observing the people, I'm noticing that the Lebanese have this attitude of "what I'm doing is of utmost importance and the hell with what youre doing" all while smiling and being polite. They have been nothing but friendly and kind but won't hesitate to honk you out of the way, block traffic with a parked car...is this just Beirut or just another huge ass city...more to come...heading to the school to do some work!