Ok, so I didn’t quite update...much while in Leb, but since I’m on a flight to New Orleans with nothing else to do with my life, I might as well.
Initially putting this in as little words as possible, Lebanon was amazing. Beirut was one of the most amazing cities I’ve ever been to, and I’m so happy that I was able to actually spend my summer there. Overall, some things were similar to the U.S. but most things were completely different. Everything was a little bit…less legit haha. But that really added to the fun and diversity of my experiences while in Lebanon. I met some of the most incredible people, with such powerful and sometimes overbearing personalities, and it made for a great time. The people in the barnamaj (Americanized Arabic for “program”) were among the most incredible people I’ve met in my life, and definitely among the most driven I’ve ever met. One bad thing about staying at the American University dorms was that I had regular contact with people of the barnamaj. This wasn’t ENTIRELY disconcerting, however. Beirut has the most incredible nightlife and I think that I spent more hours getting trashed and dancing in clubs than actually studying Arabic, unfortunately (spending 8:30-3:30 in classes got kind of tough sometimes ☺ ). I did, however, manage to spend time with actual Lebanese people, specifically with people from Helem, a gay rights organization whose current center of advocacy revolves around the revocation of Article 534, which effectively criminalizes homosexual acts under an “unnatural acts” law. Being at Helem and experiencing the coming together of this semi-secretive but thriving organization was truly amazing. It was even more amazing to me that Helem was allowed to even exist, but Lebanon and especially Beirut is full of contradictions. I would literally see women walking in the street side by side, one wearing the skankiest outfit EVS and the other wearing full abaya. Beirut is the place for the rest of the Arab Middle East to come and actually live a little, and while there I encountered so many people from the Gulf, Syria, Palestine, and North Africa. Hanging out with Lebanese-Americans (while actually in Lebanon) made me see a side to them that I had not seen in the States with my own Lebanese friends in New York. They were just a bit more out there, a bit more spontaneous, a bit more “Leb” as we all like to call it, than what I’m used to in the States. Beirut seemed like a magical and unreal place where everything was so topsy turvy that things that were different or even that didn’t quite make much sense just were readily accepted and just worked out anyway.
Some of the best moments in Lebanon included hanging out with barnamaj friends that I know I’ll have after the program (Maha, Cale, Afeef, Jakey). Hanging out with Ali (a Lebanese-American who goes to U-Mich) and Omar (an amazing native Lebanese who really could fit in with my cattiest friends in the States) was so much fun, especially when we were around other Helem people. I didn’t really start hanging out with actual Lebanese until towards the end of the program. When I go back to Beirut in summer 2010 (because I am ;-) ), I plan on getting my own apartment, either in Hamra or maybe even in Ashrafieh, now that I’m familiar with the city and actually have friends there now. I realized that my Arabic (particularly my Amia, or Lebanese Colloquial) improved so much more when I hung out with actual Lebanese and just listened to them speak.
The attention I received from a lot of Lebanese guys was sometimes really flattering and other times led to really awkward and sometimes even dangerous experiences. One thing that I came back with was a definite lessening of my naivete as far as the true motives of people. It’s always good to be “diplomatic” in initial meetings with people (this is pretty much also true of a lot of Americans I’ve met too and just people in general I guess), but never get too friendly until you reach a conclusion, most of the time via gut feeling, that the person isn’t creepy. Sometimes when I clearly sensed creepiness from guys I was still nice to them because I thought that maybe I was exaggerating something in my head…and then after I while of being afraid to take taxis by myself because of the disgustingly obnoxious advances guys would make almost every time (of course starting out mostly with “ya helo” or some bullshit like that) that I really should trust my gut feelings with people, no matter who they are or where they are from. I guess that I was expecting something a bit more reminiscent of my experiences and life with Arabs in the U.S. But Middle Easterners are quite different, as I came to realize very quickly.
Ummm….hated Syria. Never going back ever again. Part of it was not liking the atrociously seasoned food (or lack thereof), but Damascus was just devoid of interesting people. The culture and sights were truly amazing, especially since Damascus, unlike Beirut, has almost been untouched by war. But apart from that…spending time in a police state and having to be a bit more locked up wasn’t quite fun, and not being able to go to any interesting places at night because there were no interesting places except the inside of our hotel rooms was just not acceptable.
I decided during my too long 9 hour layover in Moscow coming back from Beirut that I neeed to come back next summer. My time in Israel (and working with Israeli Arabs obviously) is definitely going to improve my Arabic, to the point that when I get back to Lebanon I’ll be much more confident in my speaking ability, and I’ll be able to utilize it so much more in daily situations, unlike in Israel and New York.
I have become amazingly obsessed with Nancy Ajram and Amr Diab…illegally downloading music all the time haha.
I know that the next two weeks in New Orleans will simply be me working on Arabic and thinking of the amazingness that will happen on the 31st…a brand new chapter of my 6 months of Middle Eastern love. Can’t wait for Tel Aviv <3…
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Loving. Beirut.
What can I say? I absolutely love it here. Beirut is such an interesting city...and I've fallen in love with AUB's beautiful campus (the AUB campus cats are particularly favorites for me). It's so great to just be able to go and wade in the Mediterranean whenever I want to, to get some of the best food ever (though no cuisine has beaten my native Creole cuisine yet for me, the food here is amaze). Everything's hotter and more honest even than in New York, and the Lebanese have no problem with that. I've met some of the most amazing people, and got to spend my 20th birthday in Solidaire, smoking shisha and (legally) drinking. I'm loving the classes, and I'm learning a lot of Arabic. Next week we are going to begin taking 'Amia for an hour in the morning as well as Fusha for five more, and I'm happy to be learning Lebanese Colloquial alongside what I'm going to encounter in Al-Kitaab.
Even being in a cheaper country, my money supplies are constantly running low. I need to learn to conserve more, also considering I won't be able to work next semester either :-(, :-).
When I said honest earlier, I meant honest. People here do not care if you know that they're looking at you; they'll look just the same. I'm so used to undercover bitchiness that I guess I'm going to have to learn how to deal with this step by step. I truly believe being a bitch is a notable art form; only the worthy survive hehe.
I HATE my roommate. He's blond, big, and disgusting...I call him "Meep Meep" because that's the first thing he ever told me. He's literally said four insignificant sentences to me in the past three days, and I've said a total of 13 words to him since he's arrived, most of which have been "uh huh" or a couple of times when he awkwardly acted weird and woke up gasping and throwing his pillow when I walked in the door from somewhere (happened more than once eww), I've said, "Are you ok?" NOT what I was expecting at all. Hate my life.
So yes, good times, amazing people, awesome classes, spending money I don't have in a city of amazingness...what more can I have asked for? Well, I still know something missing ;-).
You know you love it.
<3
Even being in a cheaper country, my money supplies are constantly running low. I need to learn to conserve more, also considering I won't be able to work next semester either :-(, :-).
When I said honest earlier, I meant honest. People here do not care if you know that they're looking at you; they'll look just the same. I'm so used to undercover bitchiness that I guess I'm going to have to learn how to deal with this step by step. I truly believe being a bitch is a notable art form; only the worthy survive hehe.
I HATE my roommate. He's blond, big, and disgusting...I call him "Meep Meep" because that's the first thing he ever told me. He's literally said four insignificant sentences to me in the past three days, and I've said a total of 13 words to him since he's arrived, most of which have been "uh huh" or a couple of times when he awkwardly acted weird and woke up gasping and throwing his pillow when I walked in the door from somewhere (happened more than once eww), I've said, "Are you ok?" NOT what I was expecting at all. Hate my life.
So yes, good times, amazing people, awesome classes, spending money I don't have in a city of amazingness...what more can I have asked for? Well, I still know something missing ;-).
You know you love it.
<3
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Leaving...today.
Since I probably won't have time to post during the day...
I want to literally shoot myself in the face for all of the procrastination that I've done. It's so coming to haunt me in one shitshow today. It's been a very stressful two weeks, with tutoring every day and having a day job, while trying to balance friends and getting my life ready for six months in the Middle East. Tomorrow's agenda includes:
1) mailing off tutoring timesheets to Cali, and my baby pics and birth certificate to Mother
2) Calling Mother and my crazy sister/2 brothers, and Griffin who I've neglected for the past two days
2) "working" at Special Sessions for like 2 hours
3) last minute seeing available people
4) washing my clothes
5) making it to the airport in time...
all before my flight leaves at 8:30 PM. Loving it. It may seem like not much, but time really flies when you don't have really much of it.
I am LOVING Amr Diab's songs...his music is so intoxicating. On constant repeat today on my iPod during my neverending busyness was Wa7ashtiny and Ya Habibi La. Habibi Ya Omri is also amaze. OMG. In. Love.
I saw James today, and helped him get stuff today out of storage, and got two badly needed suitcases in return. It's always so nice to see him. It really helps having someone there who's more mature really tell you about life and be real. I'm really excited to know the amazing progress of the After the Storm documentary, and even though I can't represent at the premiere in LA, hopefully it will show in Jerusalem in the fall while I'm in Israel.
I stayed since Saturday at Ryan (Teet Teet) and Jeff's place on St. Mark's. I really didn't realize until I actually stayed at that place how much of a stabilizing presence Teet Teet brings. I think I'm a little allergic to Choo Choo the House Chinchilla though. Loves it. Now I'm at Nikki Rox's at Hayden, all ready for my flight packing wise except a small bag of dirty clothes that I have to wash in the morning.
Working at Special Sessions/Study has been a real lovefest for the past three weeks; the intrigues of the office have been truly fascinating. Some of my favorites from the past three weeks include: the mutual hatred of everyone of a certain high official in the office, Kevin's coyness, the arrival of Camadeco (and subsequently a semester's worth of study abroad drama), fighting over the delivery schedule, having a sultry voice on the phone, and, of course, loving Erica and Kimmy.
I was sort of able to say goodbye to D. Stern, and loved having s'mores and a sleepover with Madhavi and Neesha. I didn't see Nik though, which is actually sad; I'm really going to miss his big nose. I kind of know who I'm definitely going to keep in contact with while I'm abroad, and who I'm going to probably say hi to every once in a while in a Facebook post. It's just sooo hard keeping in touch on the reg with everyone.
I'm making sure that everyone knows where Lebanon is so that...they'll know where I am haha. Slowly, but surely, people are starting to actually remember where I'm going, and, for the ambitious ones, where Farawayland actually is. No, it's not in Europe.
I expect to sleep a lot during the flight to my layover destination in Moscow. A lot. As in sleep as I haven't in 4 weeks. I'm so happy I'm gettting to Beirut a day early, so that I have time to explore/get a cell phone. I'm so excited for nightlife in Beirut, because, unlike here, in Lebanon I'm old enough to do ANYTHING haha.
Aughh. So tired. Now going to bed. I'll probably be on here again during 8 hours in the Moscow airport, doing a bored post.
You know you love it.
<3
I want to literally shoot myself in the face for all of the procrastination that I've done. It's so coming to haunt me in one shitshow today. It's been a very stressful two weeks, with tutoring every day and having a day job, while trying to balance friends and getting my life ready for six months in the Middle East. Tomorrow's agenda includes:
1) mailing off tutoring timesheets to Cali, and my baby pics and birth certificate to Mother
2) Calling Mother and my crazy sister/2 brothers, and Griffin who I've neglected for the past two days
2) "working" at Special Sessions for like 2 hours
3) last minute seeing available people
4) washing my clothes
5) making it to the airport in time...
all before my flight leaves at 8:30 PM. Loving it. It may seem like not much, but time really flies when you don't have really much of it.
I am LOVING Amr Diab's songs...his music is so intoxicating. On constant repeat today on my iPod during my neverending busyness was Wa7ashtiny and Ya Habibi La. Habibi Ya Omri is also amaze. OMG. In. Love.
I saw James today, and helped him get stuff today out of storage, and got two badly needed suitcases in return. It's always so nice to see him. It really helps having someone there who's more mature really tell you about life and be real. I'm really excited to know the amazing progress of the After the Storm documentary, and even though I can't represent at the premiere in LA, hopefully it will show in Jerusalem in the fall while I'm in Israel.
I stayed since Saturday at Ryan (Teet Teet) and Jeff's place on St. Mark's. I really didn't realize until I actually stayed at that place how much of a stabilizing presence Teet Teet brings. I think I'm a little allergic to Choo Choo the House Chinchilla though. Loves it. Now I'm at Nikki Rox's at Hayden, all ready for my flight packing wise except a small bag of dirty clothes that I have to wash in the morning.
Working at Special Sessions/Study has been a real lovefest for the past three weeks; the intrigues of the office have been truly fascinating. Some of my favorites from the past three weeks include: the mutual hatred of everyone of a certain high official in the office, Kevin's coyness, the arrival of Camadeco (and subsequently a semester's worth of study abroad drama), fighting over the delivery schedule, having a sultry voice on the phone, and, of course, loving Erica and Kimmy.
I was sort of able to say goodbye to D. Stern, and loved having s'mores and a sleepover with Madhavi and Neesha. I didn't see Nik though, which is actually sad; I'm really going to miss his big nose. I kind of know who I'm definitely going to keep in contact with while I'm abroad, and who I'm going to probably say hi to every once in a while in a Facebook post. It's just sooo hard keeping in touch on the reg with everyone.
I'm making sure that everyone knows where Lebanon is so that...they'll know where I am haha. Slowly, but surely, people are starting to actually remember where I'm going, and, for the ambitious ones, where Farawayland actually is. No, it's not in Europe.
I expect to sleep a lot during the flight to my layover destination in Moscow. A lot. As in sleep as I haven't in 4 weeks. I'm so happy I'm gettting to Beirut a day early, so that I have time to explore/get a cell phone. I'm so excited for nightlife in Beirut, because, unlike here, in Lebanon I'm old enough to do ANYTHING haha.
Aughh. So tired. Now going to bed. I'll probably be on here again during 8 hours in the Moscow airport, doing a bored post.
You know you love it.
<3
Thursday, June 11, 2009
One more week...
I'm so overwhelmed. It's my last weekend in the city, and there's a bunch of people that I want to see before I leave. However, I have so much shit to do: tutoring, as well as moving out of NYU Housing by this Saturday (also having tutoring that day from 10-4), and basically moving around all the time until I leave for Beirut next Thursday.
I confess, I've gone on a mini-shopping spree. Unlike many who feel so guilty after these, however, for once I was buying things, not because I necessarily needed them, just because I had a bit of extra money and I decided to treat myself. It felt wonderful.
Although I've had more drama in the past month and a half than I've had all spring semester, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Loves the Core...I'm going to miss you guys soo much you have no idea.
If someone tells me that I'm going to get blown up ONE more time, I'm going to explode. Just had to throw that out there.
I am so happy to be forced not to work for the next six months.
You know you love it.
<3
I confess, I've gone on a mini-shopping spree. Unlike many who feel so guilty after these, however, for once I was buying things, not because I necessarily needed them, just because I had a bit of extra money and I decided to treat myself. It felt wonderful.
Although I've had more drama in the past month and a half than I've had all spring semester, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Loves the Core...I'm going to miss you guys soo much you have no idea.
If someone tells me that I'm going to get blown up ONE more time, I'm going to explode. Just had to throw that out there.
I am so happy to be forced not to work for the next six months.
You know you love it.
<3
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Starting June
It's the end of the week tomorrow, and I've officially survived tutoring every day (except today). And it's officially two weeks until Beirut. OMG. I got my passport in the mail two days ago (yay!) so that drama is over with.
I've been trying so hard to be a good boy and not get too fucked up all week, but Tuesday night at Bbar was too much to resist. I went with Ryan R., Ryan P., and Jeff joined us later. We got there at exactly 10, just before they start carding. But Nikki Rox was carded, which is total BS because if she doesn't look 21 I know that I defs don't. Maybe they were acting weird because it was gay night and she's a girl, but...still not ok. Suckiness.
I drank a lot more than my limit normally is...I think that this is a good sign that my tolerance for alcohol has increased, and that I'm not a shitty mess after five or six shots. The guys at Bbar were a lot better looking than when I was last there...a little younger and more brown guys. I stayed behind and hung out a bit more after both Ryans left and actually took care of myself, so Ryan R. can bite me. I hung out with this one guy that I was told later likes Jeff, but he asked me for my number as we walked back to our respective places. I actually didn't think about that aspect of the night until just now. Hmm. Why are gay men sometimes so sketchy/not straightforward? Totally baffles me. Still hasn't called, but really wasn't my type anyway. An intro to my ideal type would be, I guess, two times bigger than me and Arab or South Asian. These preferences are seldom fulfilled for me, including for this Bbar night. It's sad.
I'm really, really going to miss bitch-out sessions with Ryan R. and Nikki Rox, so much.
I've realized how much Facebook is such an amazing tool to reconnect with people. People that I haven't seen since middle school are suddenly adding me as friends. It's interesting to see how much people have changed.
Barackie officially declared June Gay Pride Month! Official proclamation can be read here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-LGBT-Pride-Month/. I am very ok with this.
The song at this YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dT5-y1f3W0, called "Ya Gali"...amazing.
You know you love it.
<3
I've been trying so hard to be a good boy and not get too fucked up all week, but Tuesday night at Bbar was too much to resist. I went with Ryan R., Ryan P., and Jeff joined us later. We got there at exactly 10, just before they start carding. But Nikki Rox was carded, which is total BS because if she doesn't look 21 I know that I defs don't. Maybe they were acting weird because it was gay night and she's a girl, but...still not ok. Suckiness.
I drank a lot more than my limit normally is...I think that this is a good sign that my tolerance for alcohol has increased, and that I'm not a shitty mess after five or six shots. The guys at Bbar were a lot better looking than when I was last there...a little younger and more brown guys. I stayed behind and hung out a bit more after both Ryans left and actually took care of myself, so Ryan R. can bite me. I hung out with this one guy that I was told later likes Jeff, but he asked me for my number as we walked back to our respective places. I actually didn't think about that aspect of the night until just now. Hmm. Why are gay men sometimes so sketchy/not straightforward? Totally baffles me. Still hasn't called, but really wasn't my type anyway. An intro to my ideal type would be, I guess, two times bigger than me and Arab or South Asian. These preferences are seldom fulfilled for me, including for this Bbar night. It's sad.
I'm really, really going to miss bitch-out sessions with Ryan R. and Nikki Rox, so much.
I've realized how much Facebook is such an amazing tool to reconnect with people. People that I haven't seen since middle school are suddenly adding me as friends. It's interesting to see how much people have changed.
Barackie officially declared June Gay Pride Month! Official proclamation can be read here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-LGBT-Pride-Month/. I am very ok with this.
The song at this YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dT5-y1f3W0, called "Ya Gali"...amazing.
You know you love it.
<3
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Routines. Give me my passport NOW. First love.
I bought my ticket to Beirut today via Aeroflot Airways. Out of all the places that I expected to fly through to get to Beirut, I never in a mil would have thought that I'd have a layover in Moscow. So random. Right now I'm also having passport issues because the U.S. Department of State can't get its life together. I applied for my passport at the end of March, so please tell me why, up until now, I still do not have it. Not ok, at all. Not to mention I still have to get my visa. If I don't have my passport/Lebanese visa in hand by June 18, someone is going to get a mega bitch out.
On a not so lighter note, these next three-ish weeks that I have left in New York are going to be really stressful. I'm tutoring 6 students on top of babysitting and an on-campus work-study position to try to make up for the fact that I'm not going to be able to work for the next 6 months. I feel like I have so much to do and so little time to do it.
I'm soo excited to be leaving for so long, except for the obvious fact that I'm leaving a lot of people behind.
I can't believe I'm turning 20 in less than 30 days. I'm soooo old.
I feel as if time is slowly slipping away. Although I never stay in the same routine for more than a semester lately, it's scaring me how I easily slip into each succeeding schedule. My most recent is waking up, saying good morning and goodbye to my adorable Japanese roommate (hopefully that wasn't too politically incorrect), work at NYU Special Sessions with Ryan and Nikki Rox, then babysitting at Grace, then tutoring. Then hanging out for a little while, then going to bed. Then doing it all over again. Part of the reason why I'm so excited to go abroad for 6 months is to always be able to explore something new, something I didn't know before. Soo ready for it.
I get to legally drink while in Lebanon. I don't know whether or not this is a good or bad thing. Probably is a bad thing. Sooo ready for it.
Hopefully Lebanese men in Lebanon are different. And hopefully I'll be able to go safely clubbing in Beirut without my friends' worst fears coming true. And hopefully I'll be able to tell the U.S. Department of State's latest Travel Warning for Lebanon to bite me at the end of the summer.
You know you love it.
On a not so lighter note, these next three-ish weeks that I have left in New York are going to be really stressful. I'm tutoring 6 students on top of babysitting and an on-campus work-study position to try to make up for the fact that I'm not going to be able to work for the next 6 months. I feel like I have so much to do and so little time to do it.
I'm soo excited to be leaving for so long, except for the obvious fact that I'm leaving a lot of people behind.
I can't believe I'm turning 20 in less than 30 days. I'm soooo old.
I feel as if time is slowly slipping away. Although I never stay in the same routine for more than a semester lately, it's scaring me how I easily slip into each succeeding schedule. My most recent is waking up, saying good morning and goodbye to my adorable Japanese roommate (hopefully that wasn't too politically incorrect), work at NYU Special Sessions with Ryan and Nikki Rox, then babysitting at Grace, then tutoring. Then hanging out for a little while, then going to bed. Then doing it all over again. Part of the reason why I'm so excited to go abroad for 6 months is to always be able to explore something new, something I didn't know before. Soo ready for it.
I get to legally drink while in Lebanon. I don't know whether or not this is a good or bad thing. Probably is a bad thing. Sooo ready for it.
Hopefully Lebanese men in Lebanon are different. And hopefully I'll be able to go safely clubbing in Beirut without my friends' worst fears coming true. And hopefully I'll be able to tell the U.S. Department of State's latest Travel Warning for Lebanon to bite me at the end of the summer.
You know you love it.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Another new beginning
Although I've had a LiveJournal for quite some time, I figured that I would create a blogger blog because, I don't know...I like the idea better :-). I did keep a LiveJournal up until now, so anyone who is interested in my life since I was...16 lol can visit my old blog at http://jite.livejournal.com/. Not that there's anything tooo too interesting.
About me:
Occupation: Student, New York University (rising 3rd year), double majoring in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and Politics, but was a drama major my 1st year of college
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Age: 19 (20 on June 24!!)
A part of the reason why I chose to start blogging again is because I'm spending the next 6 months in the Middle East (first intensive Arabic at the American University of Beirut, and then at NYU in Tel Aviv). I figured it would be a shame to not write about those experiences yayy.
In the meantime, I'm in New York until June 20, when I leave for Beirut. Ummm...that is all for now.
<3
About me:
Occupation: Student, New York University (rising 3rd year), double majoring in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and Politics, but was a drama major my 1st year of college
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Age: 19 (20 on June 24!!)
A part of the reason why I chose to start blogging again is because I'm spending the next 6 months in the Middle East (first intensive Arabic at the American University of Beirut, and then at NYU in Tel Aviv). I figured it would be a shame to not write about those experiences yayy.
In the meantime, I'm in New York until June 20, when I leave for Beirut. Ummm...that is all for now.
<3
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