Can I Call Myself Lebanese Yet?

I've been living in Lebanon for close to two years now. In that time I've tried really hard to shove myself into Arab culture. Can I call myself Lebanese yet?, I think I can finally make a case for my cause. 

• First I can say, ana libneiniyyeh, (I am Lebanese for those of you who are not as libneiniyyeh as I am).
• I have finally figured out the combination of appliances I can use at one time without blowing the electricity.  2 ACs -OR- 1 AC and the Hot Water Heater (and we should probably turn off some lights), the hairdryer and NOTHING else. 
• I can finally tell the difference between gunshots and fireworks.
• I ate kibbeh nayyeh (raw minced beef) the other day and liked it. 
• I have mastered the missed call and rarely use any cell phone credit.  
• I've been hit by a moped. 
• I usually eat lunch around 2...which maybe isn't quite late enough to be considered Lebanese but pretty late for Americans. 
• Yalla, habibi, shou, and anjad are part of my everyday vocabulary. 
• Also I've started to say things like, "That movie was really nice", "I will pass by your home later.", and "as you like" This may not sound weird to the Lebanese reading this blog but as my roommates often remind me we don't say these things in America. 
• I am always at least a few minutes late. 
• I kiss people when leaving them. (This is anjad one of my favorite things about Lebanon!)
• I don't let people cut in front of me in line anymore. 
• Oh and I just dyed my "blonde" hair brown. 

So there you have it. What do you think Lebnannis, can I call myself Lebanese yet?

10 Things I've Learned About America Since Moving to Beirut

10. American hummus is really gross.

9. You cannot trust American media.
8. Traffic lights and speed limits really are a good thing.
7. Even though America is a bully sometimes, I always feel the need to defend her. #landthatilove (can you hashtag in a blog post, ma barif)
6. Cereal is so cheap in America. I remember when I was little, it was a treat to splurge and pay $4 for the good cereal. Last week I paid $11 for a box of Lucky Charms (I was desperate!).
5. I still can't figure out why the fried mozzarella burger hasn't made it to the States yet.
4. Apparently American girls are very low maintenance. A friend explained to me a few days ago that he wanted to marry an American because Lebanese girls are too needy. He said, "Lebanese girls are too high maintenance. They expect you to have your own house and they want you to buy them a scarf every now and then." Haha. Oh boys.
3. Also American girls don't dress very well. A girl here told me once, "I wish I could be more like you Americans and not care what I wear or how I look." Umm, thank you.
2. We are really blessed in America to have a government that for the most part works to protect the rights of its people.
1. America is REALLY big. I guess I've always known this but it really stands out when you live in a country that's smaller than half of South Carolina. It also makes it hard to answer questions like "What's the weather like in America?" or "What? You've never been to New York?"

15 Things I've Learned About Lebanon Since Moving to Beirut

I logged onto my blog earlier today and realized that the last blog I posted was at Thanksgiving :/ . Sorry for my slacking in blogging. I started this post with 12 things I've learned but I decided to come back and make it an even 15.

So Lebanon....

15. There are NO deserts in Lebanon. And from what I hear only two camels. I have yet to see one :(
14. Lebanon is a land of great cultural diversity with many different religious sects and political views.
13. Nail care is extremely important.
12. Wasta goes a long way.
11. Hairdressers in Lebanon are always men, most of them are really talented, and if you get your hair "brushed" that means styled.
10. You can get anything delivered to your house: groceries, a cheeseburger, even hooka.
9. The arabic word for the number 9 is tes3a. That 3 stands for a crazy sound that we don't have in English. How to Pronounce Arabic Sounds for Dummies says it is similar to a "choking sound."
8. Nothing in Lebanon starts on time... except for movies which always start about about five minutes earlier than they're supposed to.
7. Arabic is really really hard!
6. Lebanese people are the most hospitable people in the world!
5. And the most fashionable!
4. If you visit someone's house you should bring a gift.
3. You should always carry an umbrella because when it rains in Lebanon it POURS and you never really know when to expect it!
2. The Lebanese boast that you can go skiing and visit the beach all in the same day.
1. A common misconception is that Muslims dislike Americans and Christians. Being both, I've learned this is definitely not true, and frankly kind of stupid. I am so thankful for my incredibly kind, loving and accepting Muslim friends!

Thanksgiving Part 2

To read about the first part of my Thanksgiving you can click here --> read me first. Because some Lebanese friends invited us to dinner on Thursday we had our more traditional American meal on Friday.

We planned our dinner for 3 which meant I got to sleep in :)! Me and all three of my roommates needed to use the world's smallest oven which meant I actually had to get up a little earlier than I wanted to start cooking. Luckily we made it work and got all of our food ready on time.

Our meal was so delicious! Everyone made their favorites from home. Here are some pictures of the food.

We ate the dessert to quickly to get pictures! We had apple pie, pumpkin pie, turtle cheesecake, apple cider, pecan pie, and a lively conversation about how to pronounce pecan. 

Ready to eat!

The kids table 

After dinner we played a game my friend Jackie created for us called "Thanksgiving Olympics," a series of games based on some of each of our family traditions. It was so much fun! The game based on my tradition was called cousins. Each team had to write a skit about cousins getting to together for Thanksgiving.

We all watched "Madea Goes to Jail" and then spilt up the leftovers and headed home. After cleaning up and talking to my dad and Liz I finally got to bed. It was another great day!

Thanksgiving Take One

Hi Friends! It's been a long time since my last blog. The past few weeks have been crazy. Because of that, I have tons of things to write about but no time to write about them. I am so thankful for a low key Saturday where I can drink vanilla tea, wear my South Carolina t-shirt (Go Gamecocks!), and tell you about my Thanksgiving in Lebanon.

*Thanks to Christi Farley for all of the great pictures!*

Thursday November 22nd

10:00am Woke up, got dressed and met some friends at Krispy Kreme!

Elam quickly decided on the doughnut he wanted...a plain glazed. I think Hudson ate two chocolate ones with sprinkles! 

11:30am American Football! Well, 4 on 4 two hand touch football. 

1:00pm A very American lunch at McDonalds.

Some Lebanese friends invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner (Thanksgiving is an American holiday so our friends put this dinner together just for us) so over the next few hours, my roommates and I cooked and got ready to go. Thanksgiving turned out to be an emotional day for me. I think I cried a little during this time.  

6:00pm We arrived at our friend's for Thanksgiving. A lot of the dinner ended up being more Lebanese than American but it was a fun blend of the two cultures. 

This is one of our Lebanese friends carving the turkey that is sitting on a bed of Lebanese rice. My favorite quote from the night. "I like dipping my turkey in the hummus."

10:30pm Stuffed and finally home. Using skype I got to call my family that was at grandma's house. I was able to say hello to everyone there!

It was such a great day but my Thanksgiving is not over! On Friday my American friends and I had a more traditional Thanksgiving meal. 

Eid Mubarak!

It's Eid al-Adha! Eid is a fun and important holiday here in Lebanon. School is canceled, stores are closed, families get together, and sheep are slaughtered. I actually saw a sheep being slaughtered on my way to breakfast this morning!

Eid al-Adha (festival of sacrifice) is a Muslim holiday that honors Abraham who was obediently willing to sacrifice his son. This story is found both in the Koran and the Bible. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son but before he lowered the knife, God provided a ram to die in the place of the son. After understanding the basis of Adha you can see that the slaughtering is really an important part of the celebration.

The Lebanese also celebrate this holiday with new clothes and giving gifts. Families gather and have a big meal. Some families pray and read from the Koran together. They also celebrate with fireworks and gunshots into the air. I can hear music from my room right now! Another important part of Adha is giving to the poor. Families often give meat to poorer families. Happy Adha!

My New Nephew!!!

So, this post has almost nothing to do with Lebanon...but everything to do with my life. Yesterday the most amazing baby was born! My sweet nephew was born October 4th at 2:42pm. 6 lbs and 3 ounces.

Meet Boone Allen Massey!

It has been really hard to be away from my family and I wish I could be there to hold him! Thankfully Skype helps out a little. While everyone was waiting at the hospital and talking to the doctors I was able to sit and wait and listen "with" them. After Boone was born, I even got to hang out with my sisters, mom, and Boone in the hospital room. Amber set me up in the corner so I could listen and talk to them from Lebanon.

My roommates and I decided to celebrate Boone here in Lebanon with a birthday party for him. We got cupcakes and balloons and all wore blue. We played some games and listened to baby themed music like Justin Bieber's Baby as we waited for Boone to arrive. After he was born my roommates all took turns praying for him. I am so blessed to have such incredible friends!

Here is a picture of me and Tabba a few months ago, a picture of Tabitha, Brady, and Boone, and some more pictures of sweet baby Boone!

What a beautiful family! Hamduallah (Praise be to God!)

Thankful for Tuesday

Last night I sat in my Beirut apartment in the dark for the third straight night. We're having electricity problems in our building and some days the power is out for hours during the day and most of the night. This means we frequently climb the seven flights of stairs to our apartment with no AC. It's easy to have a bad attitude about all of this. Last night as I lay on the floor, trying to keep cool and stop myself from complaining (even more than I already had), I was reminded that, although using my phone as a tiny flashlight to find the bathroom really stinks, I have so much to be thankful for. I can rejoice even though I can't see the faces of anyone in the room (which is probably good because they can't see how bad I'm sweating.) :)

Here are ten things I am thankful for today:

1. I am thankful to be in Lebanon.
2. I am thankful for my family at home that I miss and love so much!
3. I am thankful for a great group of friends at home who love and support me.
4. I am thankful for all of the restaurants in Beirut that will deliver food right to my door (including McDonalds...it's really amazing)
5. I am thankful for this video and all of the laughter it brought to me and my roommates today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7PQggB12cY&feature=youtu.be
6. I am thankful to serve a God who is the same yesterday, today, and always will be.
7. I am thankful for amazing Lebanese friends who put up with my bad Arabic and dumb questions.
8. I am thankful to live by the sea.
9. I am thankful to be loved beyond compare by the creator of all things.
10. I am thankful for Tuesday and the reminder that I am blessed.

Lebanese Lunch!

Almost everyone I know loves Lebanese food. There are a few exceptions though, and I am one of them. Last year I decided I was going to learn to love Lebanese food by making myself eat it. I can't say that I love it all now, but there are definitely things that I like. My first week here several Lebanese from my program took me and some friends out to have Lebanese Mezze. Mezze is basically just a meal made up of a lot of small dishes (that keep coming and coming). Its a great way to get a good sample of a lot of different Lebanese foods. Here are a few pictures from our meal. 

First here is the view from our restaurant. It was such a beautiful place!

 Most Lebanese meals start with hummus (حمس) and a salad. We had tabbouleh (تبوله), a salad made up of bulgur wheat, tomatoes, parsley, mint, onion, lemon juice and salt. The Lebanese eat tabbouleh wrapped in lettuce or cabbage. 

This is chicken liver and a few chicken hearts. The taste wasn't bad but the meat was really soft so I wasn't a fan. The hearts were a little better. 

This is fried kibbeh (كبه ), ground meat usually beef or lamb with some spices and fried cheese rolls.  

Next comes the raw meat!!! We were severed raw chicken liver, beef, and pieces of fat. I tried it all. I actually liked the beef. I usually eat steak rare so it tasted about the same. 

Shrimp. They were kinda cute...and delicious. 

Finally we get to dessert and I am already stuffed. For dessert we had an array of fruit: watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, pears, and plums. 

I almost forgot...here's a picture of my coke.

We started this lunch around one and I think we finished at four. Haha. We even had a 30 minute break in between dishes. We had A LOT of good food and conversation with some great friends!

Back to Beirut. A Travel Diary

Last week I traveled back to Beirut, Lebanon. This post is about my experiences that day. It's a long post but it was an even longer day!

Monday September 3rd

2:00am

Woke and loaded the car to head to the airport.

I couldn't tell if I was excited or afraid, happy or sad. It's really hard for me to feel anything but tired at two in the morning. My dad and I loaded his car and left for Atlanta at three. This was the start to a very long day.

6:00am
After getting to the airport, checking my bags, saying bye to my dad, and going through airport security I was finally starting to wake up. After a little while of tears I pulled myself together and started to get excited about what's to come this year in Beirut. (I repeated this at least three times).

9:00am
I arrive in Newark :) my next flight leaves at 5pm :( . Luckily my friend, and incredible travel buddy, Kim arrives at 2. So after 8 hours of reading, That 70's Show, and catching up, Kim and I leave on a 9 hour flight for Frankfurt, Germany where we have a short layover (or so we thought).

Tuesday September 4th 
7:00am (Germany Time)
Until now, I've had pretty seamless travel and a great time with Kim. As we are unboarding deboarding getting off the plane we learn that many Lufthansa workers were on strike and most of their flights in Europe were cancelled. Our flight, not landing in Europe, was scheduled to leave to as planned at 10:20am....until 9:50.

9:50am
Time to find another flight. Two thirds of Lufthansa's flights flying out of its biggest international airport were cancelled. You can imagine the chaos. After being directed from one line to the next and then back to first line we were in, and even leaving the airport once, we finally found the rebooking line and took a number. 511. The board had just called 320.

I've now lost track of time
So now we wait and wait. Kim and I took turns napping, well laying on the floor with our eyes closed, finding bathrooms, getting food, and looking for Euros to use the internet. About 5 hours later our number was called. We got rebooked and now were headed to DUSSELDORF, Germany.

6:40pm
Kim and I were so deprived of sleep at this point we were laughing at everything. Also we were on a plane to Dusseldorf which is just funny.

You can tell were pretty delusional at this point. I think I'm singing a song about Dusseldorf into my seatbelt. I really thought we were going to be kicked off the plane but there weren't many people on our flight.

9:45pm

Kim and I leave from Dusseldorf and head to Beirut!

Wednesday September 5th

12:55am
We arrive in Beirut. Our bags do not.

After filing a claim about our lost baggage, which was much easier than I expected, Kim and I found our friends who welcomed us water, my favorite Lebanese cookies, and m&ms (Thanks Tim, Ty, and Matt!)

Middle Eastern Airlines (great airline! not their fault our bags were lost) gave us a toiletry bag and a t-shirt!

Saturday September 8th

All of our bags arrived in Lebanon and Kim and I were able to go get them! At the airport all of the lost luggage was piled in one room and Kim and I had to walk inside and find ours. We found our bags, signed a piece of paper and finally ended our travel into Beirut. It was a long trip but I actually had a lot of fun along the way!

Here is Kim and me finally reunited with our luggage. 

Opa, Opa, Opa!

We went to Greece!!!
During the break between semesters my team and I got to go to Greece for a week of vacation. It was my first time in Greece and I had a really great time! Here are some pictures from our trip. On our first day we visited The Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

 This is me at the top of The Acropolis with Athens behind me. From this spot the view of Athens looks very similar to Beirut.

Here is the Parthenon! The Parthenon is a temple built in honor of the Greek goddess Athena. It was completed in 438 B.C. One of the coolest things about being in Athens was that Paul walked in the very same places we were. Paul preached at Mars Hill, a spot very close to The Acropolis. You can read his speech in the book of Acts chapter 17.

This is the Erechtheion, a temple dedicated to many of the Greek Gods.

After seeing Athens, we took a day trip to Delphi. Here is a picture of little Hud-man in the Delphi Museum before we were told not to take any pictures.

In Delphi we saw more Greek ruins. This is what is left of the Temple of Apollos. Also at the Delphi Archeological Site we saw an ancient Greek theater and stadium used to train for the Olympics.

Euros!

One of my favorites things about Greece (other than the incredible internet speed!) was the food. Everything I ate there was amazing. Chicken and pork gyros, spicy feta dip, moussaka (an eggplant dish), saganaki (delicious fried cheese), zucchini fritters and of course Taco Bell! We were looking forward to Taco Bell months before our trip.

Finally, here is a picture our group doing the "don't you wish you looked as good as your mama" dance (something my mom does that the group picked up) at the Parthenon.

Greatest Unexpectations

Coming to Lebanon, I had expectations about what it would be like. That being said, so much of what I have encountered here has been unexpected. Here is a quick list of some of those things.

The Blonde Guy
Yes the blonde guy, because there is only one. I've never met the blonde guy but I see him around Beirut a lot (he stands out among the dark haired Lebanese men).  Okay, there might be a few more than one blonde guy in all of Lebanon but the main point of this story is that there aren't many blondies (Americans/foreigners) here, at least less than I expected.  Blonde guy, if you're reading this...I like your new haircut!

Arabic
I am really excited that I am able to learn the language here and experience this part of the Lebanese culture. I expected Arabic to be difficult, and it is. The biggest "unexpectation" here is that I rarely need to speak Arabic in everyday life. All of the students on campus speak English (and Arabic and French), the guy on corner selling maneskah speaks English, even most of the taxi drivers can figure out what you want without Arabic.

Lebanese Food
Before I came to Lebanon everyone said, "You're going to LOVE the food there." Unfortunately, I do not. As I try new things I am beginning to like it more and I hope by the end of the year I can say, "I love Lebanese food." *I'll post more specifically about the food soon!*

The Greeting
The Lebanese greet friends with three kisses on the cheek, alternating cheeks. This is how women greet women and men greet men. It has taken some getting used to, but when I see someone going in for a kiss I know that they think of me as a friend. It's nice.

Power Outages
Every so often at my apartment, a coffee shop, the grocery store, during Arabic class, etc. the electricity will turn off.
What happens in America when the lights go out...someone screams. Someone will scream, everyone gets a little frantic, and even after the lights come back on everyone is still discussing what could have happened.
What happens in Lebanon when the lights go off...nothing. No one seems to even notice. The electricity in Lebanon runs on a cycle. When some parts of the country have electricity, others do not. Most parts of the country go three hours a day without electricity. In the city, where I live, most places have generators. A few seconds after the power goes out, the generators kick in and lights are back on. 

FASHION
I heard before coming to Lebanon that the people here are very fashionable. Even knowing that, I was still a little surprised when I got here. Wearing sweatpants to class or pajamas the day of an exam? Not in Lebanon. Girls here get dressed up for class EVERYday, most of them wearing heels. I don't think I've ever seen a girl in a t-shirt (other than myself).

Living in Lebanon is much different from living in South Carolina. I've definitely had to make some adjustments but I love the people here and living in a city is fun and exciting. Lebanon is great place to be!

Ana Shway Bahkee A'arabee

While in Lebanon I am taking a class to learn Arabic. The Arabic language is very complex. Spoken Arabic varies so much from country to country many people would say that the different dialects of Arabic are different languages entirely.

Arabic is written and read from right to left. Each letter only makes one sound (that's what my teacher says but when the letter is written with a vowel it sounds differently.) Letters are connected when writing words (some of them are, some letters are non-connectors and they do not connect, you just have to remember which are which.) 

I am learning classical, written Arabic as well as spoken Lebanese Arabic. So far on the classical side we have learned the entire alphabet and all of the letter sounds. This is what the letters look like.

Many of the letters have English equivalents. The ba sounds like the English B, the sin sounds like the English S, shin sounds like SH, mim sounds like M, BUT a lot of the letters are entirely new sounds for me and are difficult to say. It just takes some practice to be able to pronounce them.

The letters also look differently depending on where they are in a word, because most of the letters are connected in writing. This chart shows how they change if the letter is the first letter of a word, in the middle of a word, or at the end of a word.

In the second half of my class we learn spoken Lebanese Arabic. To learn the spoken language we write words using Latin letters instead of Arabic characters (this is hard to do though, because like I said earlier, many of the letter sounds do not exist in English)

Here are some things that I have learned:

Marhaba          Hello
Kiifak               How are you?
Kteer Mniih       Very Good
Shou ismik?        What is your name?
SabaaH l kheer     Good morning. 

We have learned the words for all of the things in a Matbakh (kitchen), Ssu (market), and a Mahall Tyep (clothing store).

We have also learned pharses like:

Ana talbe bi l jamiama.                              I am a student in university.
Baddi shawarma chicken bidoon kibess.   I want chicken shawarma without pickles.
Huti l may bi l berrad.                                 Put the water in the refrigerator.
Iza betrid atini jazar iasiir.                           Please give me carrot juice.    
Ana Shway Bahkee A'arabee                     I speak a little Arabic.

Learning Arabic has been difficult but I am enjoying it. It is fun to experience this part of the culture and try to talk to others in Arabic.

Honk!!!

Driving in Beirut is insane. Recently, speed limits were put into place, but they are not enforced or followed, neither are traffic lights, or the use of seat belts. Red lights are more of a suggestion here. To drive in Beirut you have to be a very aggressive driver. Most of the streets are not divided by lanes so people drive all over the road and pass whenever they can.
While driving here seems chaotic it is actually pretty impressive. Even without all of the driving laws we have in America there are very few accidents. The people here are excellent drivers, very attentive, and can stop in a second.

Here's a video that shows an intersection in Beirut. You can see that the lanes are not marked and people aren't following any kind of traffic signs, but still no accidents. This is really what it's like all over the city! (And usually people are crossing the street too.)

I have been wanting to write about the driving in Beirut for a while now. Now seemed like the right time because it is starting to directly affect my well-being.

First let me start by saying. The Cupcakery (an incredible amazing bakery around the corner from where I live) sells the greatest cupcakes in the entire world! Last week I got a mint chocolate one with peanut butter inside.  Attempting to cross the road, I stepped into the street with my cupcake. The second I stepped off the curb the taxi parked there started to back up... right onto my foot. It knocked me down and stopped there on my foot. Most taxi drivers here do not speak any English so I started banging the side of the car and screaming "You're on my foot!" I gathered a little crowd from the screaming and the driver finally realized what was happening and pulled forward. I was fine and the worst part was that I dropped my cupcake. :(

My Birthday in Beirut

Two days ago I celebrated my 23rd birthday here in Lebanon. The day before my birthday I was feeling a little down because I wouldn't be able to celebrate my birthday in the usual fashion. For as long as I can remember, in my house birthdays have been celebrated the same way. If it's your birthday you get to have your favorite meal for dinner and your choice of dessert. Every year it's the same, Tabba, Dad, and Matt have steak on their birthdays, Liz wants crab-legs and Red Velvet cake, cheesecake for Amber's birthday and me...I always have bbq chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and strawberry cupcakes. While I was going to miss chicken and cupcakes, the fact that this would be the first birthday I'd ever spent away from my family was what really had me down.
My friends here knew that I was bummed about being away from home for my birthday so they tried really hard to make my birthday great. And they did!

So how did we celebrate?

I was surprised in Arabic class with the most amazing cheesecake I've ever eaten.
I got a beautiful vase of flowers. I was really excited, and I LOVED them!
I got an Amazon gift card that I am going to use to buy some books for my Kindle that I've really been wanting.
Dinner at TGI Fridays. Yay American food!
A nice nighttime walk in downtown Beirut.
I took my first service (like service but with a french accent) I'll explain service in another post but it's basically like a taxi.
Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing (my favorite!) and some pretty intense firecracker candles on top. My friends here are so wonderful.
Karaoke at Hard Rock Cafe. So much fun!
We ended the night with some homemade apple pie (so American) that my roommates made because they knew I was missing home.

While nothing could replace being at home with my family it turned out to be a really incredible birthday. Thank you Beirut for a great time!

Dogs, Slides, and Children

Today I saw a dog being pushed down a children's plastic slide. This is strange for a few different reasons. First, it was a dog being forced down a slide. I say forced because it was pretty obvious that he didn't like it. Second, rarely are dogs seen here in Lebanon. We live in city, so it makes sense that I might not see as many dogs as I'm used to seeing around Fair Play but I've been told that dogs are rare in all parts of Lebanon. What isn't rare are cats. That's right...cats. Cats are everywhere you go here. On the street, on college campuses, at the park. Everywhere. And lots of them. Not like an atrocious amount where you can't walk without stepping on them, but there are a lot. If you ever wanted a cat, you could find one.
Another thing I don't see very often are children. They do exist here...I think, but kids do not come into the city often (unless they're selling Chiclets). An American friend from my Arabic class has two little boys. Everyone here loves them and are always trying to touch them. Both of the boys have light hair and blue eyes. I guess that seems pretty exotic to the dark hair, dark eyed Lebanese.
So in short, it's not everyday that you get to see a dog on a slide in Lebanon but today was that day.

What a View!

My blog posts will rarely be as frequent as they are now at the beginning of my year here, but everything is new and exciting and certainly seems post worthy. I wasn't planning on posting today, but the view from the balcony of my apartment building has changed my mind.

One of the biggest differences between Fair Play, my hometown in South Carolina, and Beirut is the scenery. While Fair Play is beautiful, rolling hills, green pastures, and backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, (Mmm, I love it in Fair Play) it cannot compare to the view of the seaside city of Beirut that I can see from my bedroom window.  What an incredible place to live. And can we just stop a minute and give credit to the Creator for His amazing creativity. Fair Play, SC, Beirut, Lebanon. Both so different, both so wonderful.

I've never lived in a city before. It is certainly different from small town life. Beirut is different from most US cities though, in that people are never in a hurry. There is not the hustle and bustle you expect from city life, but that's a whole another blog post (coming soon).