Belated happy new year from Beirut!

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Janet Posted: Sat, Jan 31 2009 10:22 AM

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Hi, everyone!  Well, I have finally made it back to the Joslin boards and wow, have they changed since I was last here in March last year! 

It has been an incredible 10 months - my move from Spain to Lebanon went as planned, although my shipment took ages to arrive, having got stuck in the port at Beirut while the civil unrest (a mini 2 week war) was happening in May.  Lots of my things arrived damaged or broken and some didn't arrive at all, having been stolen somewhere along the way, including some of my most sentimentally valuable things, so all in all it was a very upsetting experience and one that I hope never to repeat.

I am living in Ain El Mreisseh, a Sunni area of West Beirut, where things were very hairy last May, with running gun battles in my tiny street and rocket-propelled missiles hitting the building next door but one to mine. Yet overall I am happy here - the people are (in general) kind and friendly (some too friendly - I have to wear a wedding ring when travelling by taxi in a usually vain attempt to ward off unwanted suitors, as large, dark women are considered very desirable here!) and in a strange way I feel much more 'at home' than I ever did in my 6 years + in Spain.  I do miss my friends and the wonderful social life I had there, though, as I haven’t managed to replicate that here.

Work has been amazing, too - it never seems to stop and I have never worked such long hours in my life, although luckily it’s interesting work and I am really enjoying it.  The UN is certainly getting its money’s worth out of me!  It helps that my work is portable, so I can be working pretty much wherever I am.  In the last week before I left for the UK at Christmas, the shortest day I worked was 14 hours and I did a couple of 18 hour days.  I have never been so ready to escape for Christmas!   Going back to England was a real culture shock (and a weather one, too) but I had a wonderful 4 weeks travelling round seeing friends and family and came back to Beirut feeling very happy and revived. 

Health-wise, things have been up and down and - sadly - I have become a bit of an expert on Beirut hospitals.  Cutting the tale of woe as short as possible, I hurt my back in July, had my gallbladder out in August, severe gastroenteritis in October, an emergency endometrial resection following haemorrhaging in October, fell from a mini-bus in Egypt in November, hurting both knees, with a massive haematoma and second degree burn blisters on the left knee from hitting the ground so hard ... and so on and so forth!  I managed to keep working through most of it but boy, was I pleased to see the back of 2008!  The healthcare here is world-class if you have the money or the insurance to pay for it and the care I received was excellent - far better than I would have had in Spain or England - but so expensive, especially for someone coming from a non-US system and not used to seeing medical bills at all! 

Diabetes-wise, somehow I seem to have kept on top of things and although my weight has stayed pretty much where it was this time last year, my last two HbA1Cs were 5.91 and 5.71 - my lowest ever - and BP, cholesterol, lipids and so on are all looking pretty much perfect in the circumstances.  So as usual it really is just my weight that's the problem.  I know I have to really get down to tackling it, as although I am still about 20kg less than I was at my heaviest, I am still pretty huge and, like us all, am not getting any younger and need to tackle the weighty issue.  Speaking of age, I shall be 48 next weekend and shall be spending my birthday in Damascus, Syria, which should be exciting! 

So that's where things are for the moment.  I can't believe that it has taken me this long to get myself sorted and back to the Joslin boards, but now I have, I shall do my best to keep up to date, work and life permitting.  It took me a while to find the new boards and I shall try to catch up on all the back posts on the old boards before they disappear next weekend.  I have missed the daily comings and goings of the boards and the friendly support of all you fellow posters, so I am looking forward to catching up with everything and everyone.

Wishing all of you a very happy new year (well, it is still January - just!) and all the very best,

Janet (JanJan as was)

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Spirit replied on Sat, Jan 31 2009 12:29 PM

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Janet:  It is great to hear from you!  Wow, what an exciting life you are leading!  Makes mine seem dull as dishwater by comparison.  That's quite a catalogue of health issues you had .  I sincerely hope that 2009 is much, much better in that regard.  So glad you found us again.

Spirit

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Dee replied on Sat, Jan 31 2009 12:35 PM

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Welcome back!  Glad you found us here, please keep us updated.  Hoping for a much better year for you health wise.  Dee

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Janet replied on Sat, Jan 31 2009 1:20 PM

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Hi, Spirit and Dee!  Yes, life has been pretty exciting one way and another since I was last here and I am very pleased to be back.  Having decided that today would be the day I found Joslin again, I have been sitting here at the computer for several hours this afternoon, catching up on the old boards and the new ones.  The old ones are so much easier to follow!  I keep clicking on unread messages on the new boards, but am still getting ones I have just read, which is frustrating.  Oh, well - Í'll keep plugging away at it!  It does seem very quiet, though.

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jen1229 replied on Sat, Jan 31 2009 2:04 PM

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Hi Jan:

Welcome Back to the Boards. I am just back after a long absence.  I'm not working anymore, I'm on Long Term Disability and Social Security Disability.  I put on a lot of weight and have just recently joined Weight Watchers.  I'm down 14.4 pounds in the first three weeks.  Hope it keeps up, this week I have been feeling like a beached whale.

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Ron AKA replied on Sat, Jan 31 2009 2:32 PM

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Hi Janet,

Good to hear from you again, and that the diabetes control is going well --- despite all the other stuff. You are a brave lady to live in Beirut, but I'm sure it is interesting!

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Janet replied on Sat, Jan 31 2009 3:25 PM

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Hi, Jen and Ron!  Jen - I have just replied to another of your posts, but wanted to congratulate you again on what sounds like a great start to your weight-loss plan!

Ron - yes, overall things aren't too bad at all.  Ten months on, I am reasonably settled, even if I still haven't finished unpacking everything, and am enjoying my work, the excellent free classical music concerts, learning Arabic and living on the other side of the Med..  My Arabic is still pretty basic and watching the wonderfully named Fatafeat cookery channel (it is on next to me now while I am at the computer), while being good for my Arabic, as the presenters tend to speak slowly and clearly and are reinforcing useful food vocabulary, just makes me hungry! 

When I first arrived, there were still roadblocks, checkpoints and razor wire absolutely everywhere, but after the peace agreement which followed the civil unrest in May, things loosened up considerably and in many ways daily life here now seems relatively pedestrian.  However, it's the first place I've ever worked where we are sent a monthly report including a table showing how many political assassinations, car-jackings, armed robberies, celebratory shootings etc. there have been in various parts of the country!  

Mind you, having said that, the three most dangerous things about life in Beirut are actually firstly the smoking (everyone seems to smoke and nobody seems to understand why a non-smoker would object to being covered in it - it really is disgusting), secondly the driving (it has to be seen to be believed, and coming from Spain that's saying something) and thirdly the fact that there are so many tempting products imported from the US and the UK in the shops.  Ah, it always comes back to the food, and Lebanese food really is very, very good.  I'm looking forward to Damascus and trying Syrian food next weekend, too!

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kat replied on Sat, Jan 31 2009 10:50 PM

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Hi, Janet -

Great hearing from you.  I've thought about you many a time and wondered how you had found living in Beruit.  You are a most adventurous woman!

Take care, be safe, and keep those messages coming.

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Janet replied on Sun, Feb 1 2009 3:08 AM

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Hi, Kat!  Good to see you still here, too! The boards were so quiet while I was here yesterday and for much of the time I was the only registered user on here, which - even given the time difference - rarely used to happen on the old boards.  I hope more of the 'oldies' will find their way here and fight their way through the new system, and that those responsible for the boards will get things sorted so that new users will find their way here more easily, as things need to be busy and vibrant here, as they used to be with the old boards.

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kat replied on Sun, Feb 1 2009 10:06 AM

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Hi, Janet -

Yes, the new boards are quieter than the old.  With you back, however, there's hope!  Weekends have been especially quiet of late.  I'm hoping once it's easier to get here via google, we'll have more participation. 

I don't tend to do anything fancy (such as emoticons) and am finding the new format  different -- not difficult.

Hope to "hear" you again soon.

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whalen replied on Mon, Feb 2 2009 9:36 AM

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Dear Janet,

So good to hear from you.  I have thought of you very, very often.  Sorry about all the health problems but hope they are all behind you.  Yes, the board is less active in the new format but we all hope that will change.

Take care,

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jnrjunkie replied on Tue, Feb 3 2009 3:04 PM

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HI Jan,

So good to see you back on board. Yes the boards have changed a lot. Took me while to get here too. I kept on checking the other boards where there were 'no new messages' I wondered why as I was having hard time getting here.

Sounds like you are having quite the adventure. hope the peace aggreement works well, and that you won;t be in any danger.

Looking forward to your posts.

Kiwi

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Janet replied on Thu, Feb 5 2009 8:41 AM

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Hi, Galemarie and Kiwi!  Thanks for your kind words.  Yes, I am pleased to be back here, although still finding it pretty user-unfriendly compared with the old system.  I managed to work my way through the remaining messages on the old boards last weekend in one marathon sitting - quite a feat!

What I have found, though, is that while it is very convenient for posts to be sent to me by e-mail, when I read them like that they feel disjointed, as I am not reading them in the context of the thread.  I have decided not to do it that way, as I have realised that it is the act of coming to the forum and reading and posting here that creates the cohesion and the support, not simply reading the messages.

Off to Syria tomorrow for my birthday weekend - very excited!

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ces replied on Mon, Feb 9 2009 6:29 PM

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Hi Janet,

I hope you'll write more about your life in Beirut. Have a great birthday!

Colleen