some guy in lebanon

So, it’s almost been three month in Beirut. How time goes by in a flash! I won’t forget it… so, to recap, here are some things I’ve learned about myself in the past 87 days:

• One does not need hot water to survive, leading also to the conclusion that,
• One does not heed hot showers to survive.
• It is impossible to weigh friends against anything else – Good friends and people you can trust is incredibly valuable.
• Buying a cup of coffee using three different languages is a strange but hilarious thing:

Me: “Bonjour”

Waitor: “Bonjour, monsieur.”

Me: “Wahid nescafe, min fadklak.” (One NesCafe – which is instant coffee – please)

Waitor: “Wahid nescafe, tayb. Something sweet?” (One NasCafe, ok…)

Me: “La, Shukran” (No, thank you.)

Not exactly an advanced application of French or Arabic, but still – Three languages.

• The Lebanese make especially good hamburgers.
• A bottle of Almaza (Lebanese beer) is surprisingly cheap (22 oz for $3.75 US).  10 bottles of Almaza is surprisingly expensive and should be avoided.
• Watching an African American get elected President of the United States, while in Lebanon, and then inaugurated two and a half months later, is extraordinary.
• Israel has a special place in its heart for the destruction of a people.
• Even though I know that the Lebanese lack any serious capacity to tap my phone, I’m quite confident I’m being listened to by every other major intelligence organization in the world.
• Being blond and white and American in Bierut is grounds for immediate suspicion.
• Newspapers that don’t pay their bills get shut down, even when they employ a mountain of interns who don’t get paid (i.e. myself)
• Not having a computer because it breaks or is seized by the Lebanese court when the newspaper gets shut down because you used it in your office is a drag.
• Paying $.50 a minute for cellphone service is outrageous, and I’m fairly confident that SMS’s are giving my carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Captains Cabin will not close until 4am or later if you keep buying drinks.
• I’m no good at pool and the pool table at Captains doesn’t help the situation.
• Clubs that stay open all night and have retractable roofs are cool, even though they’re still pretty uncool since they’re clubs.
• This certainly is an incredible country, and I have so many wonderful people here to thank for helping me get through these past three months.

I’m off to Amman, Jordan, for a few days. When I return, there will be many changes, including my move across town to a real apartment with real hot water. Lots of other things will change as well. But I’ll never forget these past three months, and all the things I learned, and all the things I still have to learn.

The Dao that can be experienced is not true;
The world that can be constructed is not true.
The Dao manifests all that happens and may happen;
The world represents all that exists and may exist.
-Dao De Jing