http://www.indianabeth.blogspot.com/

Dear All,

The US Embassy has just informed us that students should be prepared and keep the following in mind:

1. Only a carry bag is permitted. i.e a bag that you carry in your arms, back, hands. Nothing trailing on the ground.
2. Your US passport must be ready.

It is also advisable for all of you to be around campus for the coming couple of days just in case of an immediate departure from campus. US students will be taken by buses from AUB to the points of departure allocated by the embassy.
Please inform your peers of your whereabouts at all times.

Sincerely,

Caroline C. Chalouhi
Coordinator
International Student Services (ISS)

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Hey everyone,

I think people here are settling into a sort of rhythm, with a few exceptions. It seems like the bombings are worse at night--or maybe you just notice it more when you are trying to sleep. And, every day when I wake up, more people have managed to make their way out of Lebanon somehow--and it seems to be a matter of money and social class. For instance, the Harvard and Yale kids, through their school, seem to have found a kind of disaster insurance called SOS, that is really expensive. The deal is that you pay a ton of money for it, but these former commandos come and rescue you if things go down the tube. The Ivy League schools seem to have their stuff more together than the rest of us. And a term has started to circulate that we've been "Katrina'd." Meaning, that the poorer people are getting out last. Seeing as how the non-Ivy kids had no idea about this insurance, and probably would have chosen not to pay the arm and leg for it anyway, we are stuck waiting for the government to bail us out. I have extracted promises from many people not to just disappear on me--to at least let me know if they have plans to escape via Harvard convoy or whatnot. It's kind of disturbing; I have no desire to wake up and find out that because of the school I was accepted into that I'm the last American left here stranded without a ride. I know that that is a ridiculous thought, and that I'm in the same boat with a lot of other people, it is just disturbing.

Many of the kids aren't really sleeping at night, either. Its a combination of the surreal situation, the thought that we might get really short notice to leave so they'd rather be awake, the bombings, and the fact that since everything is all fubar'd anyway, why not party the night away? Some people have made it a point to break as many of the rules as possible (such as drinking and smoking in the dorms), but who can really blame them?

My cold is getting better. That makes me happy.

The latest word is that AUB is planning an evacuation for non-American students to coincide with the official American evacuation, to occur sometime next week. This sort of jibes with what I've been reading on CNN--that there are US carriers stationed in Jordan that could be mobilized, but it would take about a week for them to get here. There is also the question of how the hell they will manage to extract so many people so quickly. The horrible rumor circulating is that the Israelis are going to wait until the Americans leave, and then lay waste to Beirut. I pray daily that this isn't true.

In the meantime, all of us have taken to reading books about the Lebanese Civil War. I think it's an attempt to come to grips with what's happening, and to try to ascertain what will happen next. The big question is whether or not the Israelis chasing Hezbollah will trigger a war like the last time when the Israelis were chasing the PLO into Lebanon. The thought is that the circumstances are slightly different owing to the Cedar Revolution--the Lebanese are more united now than they were 20 years ago. I wonder if it's Israel's intent to destabilize the state. They seem to be punishing everyone equally, and as a result, everyone is against them equally. They have even attacked Christian areas--something they didn't do last time. Either their logic is crazy, or there is something vital I don't understand. Why would they think that by punishing everyone that everyone would take their side against Hezbollah? It seems so simple--many students here that were ambivalent before about Israel have come out strongly against it--wouldn't you if you were on the wrong side of Israeli attacks? Not that many people support Hezbollah, and Hezbollah seems to be making things worse rather than better, but really, I can't imagine why anyone in their right mind in Lebanon would come out on the side of Israel. It's nonsensical.

We just got back from going out to lunch at a 24 hour diner called "Breakfast to Breakfast." It was pretty good. We met a reporter from an Atlanta paper, who seemed to be really cool. He actually had a sense of humor and didn't ask us stupid questions like, "do you feel as if you are stuck in a gilded cage?" Pretty funny.

I think we are all getting used to the attacks. There is still flinching, but instead of running in/running out of buildings, people just keep doing what they are doing. There is a hard core group of people who are camping out in the lobbies, but by and large, everyone still has their stuff in their rooms. We are all packed and ready to go, but I have a feeling that we are going to be here for at least another week, watching everyone else make the dangerous journey out of the country. Where are the Marines, anyway?

There is a dorm meeting at 4, so my plan is to go read and doze in the lobby in front of a TV broadcast I don't understand until then.

More later,

Love,

Beth