Lubnan...and leaving :-(

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…