"Listen," I call after her and she turns around to look at me. I put my hand in my pocket and take out the money.
"I don't know how much I owe you, but-" I hand her the money.
She looks confused.
"For the sandwich? I ended up eating it all." I explain.
Her facial expression is unreadable. I feel like she is laughing at me deep inside.
A moment later, she starts laughing at me on the outside. She pushes my hand with hers.
"You must be kidding." she says laughing. She turns around again and continues walking with her female friend. A friend that I have not seen before. She is a blond girl with green eyes and she has a veil on. She looks pretty. I would have remembered her. Is she in our class? I do not think so.
"Wait!" I call after her again, but she does not stop. And I am not quite sure if it is rude or funny. But it is definitely something.
I get a text shortly afterwards.
Wanna have breakfast together?
Daniel, or Danny as most people call him, is a friend I have made over the weekend. We sat together Sunday night at AUB's green oval and spent quite a good amount of time. Danny is originally Lebanese, but had been born and lived in Brazil his whole life and have just moved from Brazil to Beirut to attend AUB. When Danny told me what a big deal for his family it was for him to be accepted at AUB and to come back to Lebanon to finish his degree, the man I met on Friday night directly crossed my mind. It seems like for most people here, it is indeed important not only to attend a college, but to attend this one. And I have yet to figure out exactly why and what makes it so special.
Of course, I read a lot about AUB's rank in the middle east and worldwide. And the campus is a magical place. But I am sure there is more to the story than these reasons.
Danny and I shared our schedules after having a very deep conversation on Sunday night. He was reading from a book called "The Last Day" by a very famous Lebanese author called Mikhail Naimy. He told me about the book and I thought it was interesting. So he started translating some passages to me and we discussed them. And I felt like Danny would be a great guy to spend some time with. So when we looked at similar breaks in our schedules, we found this same gap on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Perfect for breakfasts.
I text him back.
Yes. Where do I meet you?
Danny tells me to meet him outside, on Bliss street. He says we'll sit somewhere there. As I am walking towards the final stairs before the main gate, I look closely at the motto written on one side in English and on the other in Arabic.
"That they may have life, and have it more abundantly."
I think of how beautiful the sentence is. These people that simply exist, by coming here will stop simply existing and will have a life instead. Have something other the normal. Something more generous and abundant than a simple living. Something to remember.
I wonder for few seconds if the motto is true. If they work and abide by it. And I move on to meet Danny before I am late.
I walk along the street until my sight lands on Danny. I wave to him and he notices me. He leads the way to a restaurant at the end of the street. I do not take a look at the name, I am here to try anything and everything.
We open the menu and choose to share a couple of sandwiches as well as an extra manoushe. A manoushe is one of the most famous Lebanese breakfasts. It is a dough with cheese, thyme or a mix of other things on. Every restaurant and kiosk here has manoushe. And it is quite good.
"So what did you do in the weekend?" Danny asks me.
"Not much. To be honest, I would like to do more. But I feel like I just got here and still have time."
"Uhum." Danny nods.
"I walked along the seaside on -I guess it was- Sunday. The Rawshe. I saw the famous rock. Very nice indeed. So I stopped at a nice, a little fancy restaurant there and had dinner."
"Uhum. Nice."
"What did you do?"
"I spent the weekend with my family. You know, my grandparents and an uncle. Since my parents aren't here."
I nod and the waiter comes back with the sandwiches quite fast.
"How many siblings do you have?" Danny asks me.
"I have a sister. She lives in Paris though. She went there when she was around 25. Found a job and decided to stay. You? Do you have any?"
"I have a brother and a sister. But they live back in Brazil with my parents. They're still young."
"So have anyone made you a list of places you need to visit on your stay here?" he asks me after waiting for the waiter to put the manoushe on the table and leave.
"Not really. I made one myself before I came. Google made me one, to be precise. But now that I am here I feel like maybe I should just go with the flow. There are places that I would like to see and that I am sure would not be listed anywhere on Google."
"What do you mean?"
"Like, old villages. Or like poor neighbourhoods."
"Why would you want to visit poor neighbourhoods?" Danny asks laughing.
"Because, it is part of this whole experience. You know. I would like to see Lebanon fully. Not just the nice parts of Lebanon."
Danny shrugs.
"Even the nice parts of Lebanon have many defects you know."
"Like what?"
"Like, they are not very well taken care of. You'll see when you start going around. But... I don't know. There are quite strong feelings associated with these abandoned beautiful places. Like not everything in the world is fair. Not all beauty is noticed and appreciated. Something about the way they are so beautiful and so lonely makes them intriguing, different. You feel like you want to pour your heart there. Because no one else has."
Danny stops talking and starts eating. I do the same. I take in his words. Beautiful and lonely. What a combination.
I have made plans of sightseeing around since the first day I got here. But I am waiting to build my circle of friends first. The main treasure of any country are, in my opinion, is its people. And that is where I want to start.
———
Author's note:
The green oval:
AUB main gate and stairs:
AUB Moto written on the main gate:
The Rawshe Rock:
A manoushe:
How did you find this chapter? What are your thoughts? I'll be waiting for your feedback!
Yara.