Today was basically a travel day. I didn't sleep well at all last night. Basically, it seems that I'm very sleepy around 8 or 9, but later I'm wide awake. The first two nights I took Melatonin at around 11 and I slept most of the night. Last night I was out of Melatonin and I hardly slept at all. I guess that answers the question of whether the Melatonin helps. Next time I'll bring more.
I had to leave early for the airport. I had a pickup at 8:20. Breakfast starts at 8, but I went up at 7:50 so I would be sure to be ready. The driver seemed to take a very strange route. He really drove in a huge circle around the hotel to get to the main highway. It's possible that there are a lot of one-way streets. He definitely didn't hesitate to go down very narrow streets. Sometimes those little streets were steep uphill covered with snow and ice. The driver definitely knew how to drive in the snow. It was very hot in the airport, especially since I was wearing several layers of clothes because it was snowing out again. I had to stand on a LONG line to check in. I was actually a little afraid I might faint. I didn't have any water because I was planning to buy some after I went through security. Then, when I finally got to the check in, the man said, "you have a business class ticket and you don't even know it?" I told him it's not business class. He looked again and said yes it is. I have no idea how I made that mistake, bit it was really nice when I got on the plane. My seat was even bulkhead. Here's a photo I took from my seat. Do you see how much space there is in front of me? 
I was expecting a snack, but they brought a full lunch - grilled shrimp with spinach and mashed potatoes, fruit, bread and cheese. It's a good thing, because I wouldn't really have had time to eat anything till much later. It was kind of strange that we boarded on time, but the plane sat on the tarmack for an hour. Then we were only 30 minutes late, but I was concerned about my airport pickup. I had to go to a line for a visa. You can get one in DC before you go, but you have to mail your passport and it costs $20. At the airport, it's free and there were only three people in front of me. The man only asked two questions. Why did I come to Beirut and where do I live? He gave me a 30 day visa. I told him I was staying 35 days and asked if I would need to renew the visa. He said no. Then I went to watch for my bag on the luggage carousel. In all this time, I didn't see an ATM. I usually go to an ATM right away to get local currency and then buy a bottle of water so I can get some small bills. This time, once I got my bag, I walked towards the exit and suddenly I was at the place where drivers hold up your name for your ride. I found mine right away. When we got to Saifi, I thought I would pay the hotel for the pickup and just tip the driver, but he told me that it was $25. He took American money.
To get to the place, you go in a path down some stairs. I'll try to take a photo tomorrow. You could easily walk by and not realize it's here. Apparently, it was originally a villa (200 yrs old). My room is off a big sitting room. It's pretty big. There are two beds and an armoire. I also have my own bathroom. There is a heater on the wall. You program it with a remote. Mohamed programmed it for me, but I fooled with it and now I think I messed it up. 
I went out to the street to find an ATM. I had some trouble getting the money. It tells you to enter an amount in multiples of 20,000. I think I did that, but the first time it didn't like the amount. The second time I got 100,000 Lebanese Pounds (about $66)
There's a little cafe in the building. That's where I will get my free breakfast in the mornings. I went there to get dinner tonight. I got some kind of chicken thing and a bottle of water. It was good. You go into the bar and order and they give you one of those things that tells you when your table is ready at a restaurant. When it lights up, your food is ready and you go get it. The meal was less than $5 so if I eat there all the time I won't spend much money. The cafe was full of groups of young Lebanese. I didn't see any foreigners, but Saifi classes have been on break for Christmas. Classes start again on Monday, so there may be more foreigners around then. It's also very smokey in there.
When I came back to my room, I was sure my heater was being an air conditioner. I went out to the sitting room and found someone to help me. He was very nice and showed me you have to change the mode and when you see a sun, it's on heat.
Everyone starts talking to you in Arabic, but I'm not ready to speak Arabic. It's been too long. When I ask a question in English, then they answer in English. Next week I'll need to start speaking Arabic to people. Then I should make a lot of progress. And now I need to make some friends!
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