Laptop Revival

A dying laptop can be really annoying. For the past month our internet time has been really limited and unproductive because our universities laptops, which we had to pay outrageous fees for, couldn't handle two years of usage. We initially wanted to wait to buy our next laptop until we were back in America; our IBM thinkpad thought otherwise.

Constant bluescreening and random shut-downs severely hampered any blogging, research, and emailing. We might as well have fallen off the face of the earth, since we also rely on it to keep in contact with employers and friends in Lebanon. Needless to say, it was a pretty hectic last couple of weeks.

However, Alex and I were able to find and buy an amazing laptop. We had almost given up after a week or so of asking around and walking into shops to make inquiries on selection and prices. We actually went across town to a mall that some people had recommended, but it bore no fruit. There we ran into one of my co-workers and he turned out to be our savior. We, of course, had to buy him a little gift for being so helpful - a cute little bag of chocolates.

So now I am back to being in touch with the outside world - it feels wonderful. Moreover, our new laptop exceeds my expectations. We bought an HP Pavillion with Microsoft Vista operating system. Vista has had bad reviews from some of my friends, but I am in love with it. Its so efficient, and esthetically pleasing. And our HP laptop is great. The features are user-friendly, which is a big plus. Of course, it is brand new so that may be why everything seems so great. Only time will tell how long this will last.

Last weekend, Alex and I were able to have dinner in the mountains with a friend. We went to a restaurant that was in the middle of nowhere - it took us a couple of times to find the street that it was on. It was an Arabic restaurant called Fadal. It was on the edge of a hill overlooking all of Beirut, the view was gorgeous. The food was almost as good as the view, and the company was equally as enjoyable.

The best part, however, was how brisk it was up in the mountains. Since being here there has been no rain - except a few drops one night - and it is not even close to being chilly. The weather has been more bearable, but it has been hard to adjust. For twenty years my body was used to one weather schedule, which was for the most part consistent. Now, it's almost November and my body had no idea what is going on. This has been the longest summer of my life and its still not over.

As for daily life, we have been falling into a good schedule. Alex is now writing for the media organization that I work for - so we are working together in the mornings. He also picked up an internship at The Executive, a business magazine much like The Economist. He is really busy, much more so than I, but it is a great learning experience for the both of us. Now I just have work in the morning and then I have the whole afternoon to myself to get things done - study, exercise, socialize, etc - until Alex and I have class in the evening.

Our weekends have been just as busy as our weeks. We are really taking initiative to explore Lebanon and meet new people. This past weekend we had two parties and a dinner, this coming up weekend we are attending a Halloween party and may be hanging out with some other friends. It is great how much we are doing. Of course, we have met a big ex-pat community but we are trying to befriend more Lebanese and other Arab people. So far, so good.

Working and going out is a lot of fun, but I have found myself getting restless. I love the international experience and really enjoying our stay here, but I miss school. I can't wait to get back to my studies and apply what I have learned here to it. This is really benefiting me and I am opening myself to many opportunities. But I know that my most important objective right now is to finish school. I will be doing that as soon as I get back to the states, but in the meantime I miss it. Classes used to take up a large portion of my time and I didn't realize how much I enjoyed it until now. Soon enough, I guess. Once I've started again I'll probably regret this blog, haha.

Speaking of the states, we have met many Americans who have no desire to return to America. Some have been young people, usually still students, and some older who are working. Of course I have my own criticisms of the country, but it seems baffling to me that these people never ever want to go back. I love adventure and traveling and experiencing new things - but never go back to the states? It never even occurred to me.

It may be that I have very selfish reasons for being here, and I am not traveling for altruistic reasons. I didn't come to work in refugee camps or work with an NGO for women's rights. Instead I'm here just to experience and enjoy a new place and then come back with more on my resume to make myself more marketable. Maybe this is why I don't understand where the ex-pats we met are coming from.

So far living here has just increased our appreciation of life in America. Everything takes four times longer to get done here - grocery shopping, clothes shopping, traveling - and it is just frustrating. Living in America is just convenient. Someone told us that we would get addicted to the lifestyle here, but I doubt it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the culture and the differing qualities with Lebanon. I am enjoying being here. But going back to America is going to be a breath of fresh air. I like convenience, efficiency, urban sprawl, and the liberal lifestyle of Americans and I miss it.

And to finish off, I want to do a little praising of my fiancee. He officially proposed to me last week and I said yes. Of course we won't be taking any vows for a couple of years, but it is official. I don't think anyone will be very surprised, haha.

Our first couple of months here were pretty rocky. You really get to know a person when you are both in a very foreign place and have no one to vent your frustrations to except each other. Although we lived together for a while before moving to Lebanon, we didn't expect the high tensions we experienced here. We managed to survive as individuals, and as a couple.

Never before have I met someone so encouraging and giving. He has really helped me to take hold of this opportunity and cultivate it into something unforgettable. I feel like I am doing what some would kill for, and he really made it possible. I would never have done it on my own - at least not to this extent.

Now that we have a great computer I will be trying to blog more often. 

A News Update

From 8 am to the early afternoon I am constantly reading coverage of the Middle East - this is basically my job description as copy editor of the Middle East Reporter. Compared to my understanding of current events in the Mid East region my first two years of college, I feel like a Mid East expert.

During the four weeks I have been at the Middle East reporter I have read stories on every major Middle Eastern country and then some. Undoubtedly it is great to be able to talk intelligently on numerous Mid Eastern subjects, but its even better to realize that I love doing it! In other words, I know that I am going to love the field I am choosing as my career path.

I have not yet taken time to compare the news I read everyday to news sources in America, but it would be interesting to see which stories they do and do not choose to cover.

So just to share a couple things going on in the Middle East (ME):

The United States has offered to host a ME peace conference in Maryland, with the specific aim of pushing forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Only recently did the US release the invitation list, as some hesitancy to invite certain ME countries existed - Syria being one of the main ones. Last week Syria declined the invitation saying it would only attend if the issue of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was on the agenda - Israel said it would not consider putting it on the agenda.

Regarding the conference, Egypt issued a statement a few days ago suggesting a postponement. There have been issues between the Palestinian authorities and Israeli authorities over a timetable and agenda should be a precursor to the conference, or the result of it. There have been promises on both sides to begin drafting resolutions, and promises of follow-up meetings after the conference to settle any unresolved issues. After these statements by Palestinian and Israeli authorities, and a brief visit from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Egypt says it has renewed confidence in the conference.

Turkey made headlines the past week, after asking its Parliament for permission to possibly send troops into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels. The Kurdish separatist PKK party has a support base in northern Iraq, where the majority of Iraq's Kurdish population resides. Turkey has had problems with the PKK rebels, who have committed numerous attacks in the country. America and Iraq, however, have argued against such a move by Turkey saying it could destabilize a a relatively calm region, allied to America. Iraq and America are jointly calling for Turkey to settle the problem diplomatically, and Turkey has responded that permission from Parliament does not necessarily mean an immediate attack but an option if they deem it necessary. Turkey's Parliament officially approved the request. Syria bolstered Turkey's legislation saying the country had a right to defend themselves against a terrorist group.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, after ignoring warnings that he may in danger of assassination, visited Iran to hold meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two leaders met to discuss Iran's nuclear program, and Iran's consequential row with the West. Since his visit, Putin has publicly stated that any military action by the West on Iran would be unacceptable to Russia. Talks over the Bushehr complex, where Iran is building a nuclear reactor, was also on the agenda. Russia, who is going to supply the fuel for the reactor, says Iran has been defaulting on payments whereas Iran claims that is not the case; rather, Russia is fearing a backlash by the West and is stalling the plans. Regardless, Iran requested Russia's help with the creation of two more reactors. In response, President Bush said a nuclear Iran could spark World War III. The UN and the US imposed two rounds of sanctions on Iran thus far. Further sanctions by the EU are being discussed but will probably held off until current reports are released by the IAEA.

Adding to the already low expectations of the US-sponsored ME peace conference, Israel announced that it was going to confiscate more Palestinian land to build roads, saying it would improve the quality of life for Palestinians. The move has led many to question the intentions of Israel amid peace talks.

In a shocking and rare occurrence, Hizbullah agreed to a prisoner and body swap with Israel. Hizbullah released one Israeli soldier and a body of a civilian for some of their comrades. Hizbullah boasted that the move proved their strength after the three month war with Israel last summer.

A German general visited Algeria today to discuss strengthening Algerian forces in order to combat terrorism. Nothing else really interesting in that respect.

Lebanon, however, is a different story. Besides the ever confusing presidential election (or lack thereof) and the prevailing discord between politicians, Lebanon has begun talks to potentially allow America to build a military air base in the country. The stated reason by Lebanon is to enhance security after the three month battle with Fatah-Islam militants in north Lebanon that left over 150 Lebanese soldiers dead. Opposition members, those allied to Syria and who believe Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Sinoira's government is illegitimate, however, believe the rival majority party is encouraging the base to counter Syria and gain backing from the West.

Although the Lebanese presidential election is what I read on the most, it is the hardest to discuss. Everyday we cover stories on what leaders have publicly said - and everyday it gets more confusing. The second attempt for parliament to elect a president is slated for Oct 23, but there are doubts anything will come of it.

The majority party is sticking to its claim that if the parliament cannot achieve a two-thirds quorum for the election, then it is legitimate for them to elect a president with a simple majority quorum. The opposition, however, argues the move would be unconstitutional and they will not recognize the majority's government. If that is the case, there have been threats by the opposition to elect their own government, thereby splitting the country into two. Furthermore, Hizbullah stated it had a list of "options" it would take if needs be and they would employ them at the opportune moment - although they did not say what those options were.

The Maronite Christian Patriarch, Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, is heading a committee to push Christian opposition and majority leaders to agree on consensus candidates. However, the meetings have not yielded any results, as both parties disagree on the other's candidates. Another initiative was introduced, suggesting that four neutral candidates be put forth and members of parliament vote for them by ballot. No one has yet claimed to support or reject it.

Ummm...I'm really racking my brain for more news. Its so hard to keep all the stories straight sometimes. That's all the news I can remember for now, but I will keep you updated on any other interesting stories.

Damascus

Before I break out with a recount of our trip to Damascus, I have a few announcements. They may be surprising, so sit down. After a week of frustration with the AUB staff and a following week of exhausting studying and emotional breakdowns, Alex has decided to drop out of the Economics graduate program and be a full-time language student. He is also looking into an internship.

Consequently my plans have changed as well. I will not be beginning coursework at AUB, or any other school in the Middle East. Instead I am going to continue my Arabic courses at the American Language Center of Beirut, and continue with my job at The Middle East Reporter.

We are going to remain in Beirut until March of next year, when we will move to Damascus. The rest of our time here will be split between studying in Damascus and Yemen. We are not sure of the exact details, but we are pretty sure that we will spend the rest of our time here studying Arabic and making contacts.

Since we are now full-time students of the Arabic language, for the next year, we are planning on cutting our trip short. Instead of two years, we are going to spend one year in the Middle East and return before the fall semester begins in America. Instead of finishing up my undergraduate degree in the Middle East, I am going to wait until we return in August and begin a school, probably around the DC area.

Like I said, we are not sure of the exact dates and plans, but we are pretty sure that we would rather study in America and just spend our time studying the language and the culture here.

Now to Damascus:

As I mentioned earlier, after coming home from work on a Friday afternoon I found Alex in a really bad state. He had a semi-nervous breakdown after a week of studying economics for 12 hours a day. I tried my best to calm him and we both decided that he needed a break. Surprisingly he immediately suggested that we take a trip to Damascus for the weekend. An hour later we each had packed a backpack and were on our way to the bus station.

The cost of the bus to Somalia Station in Damascus was $6 a person. It was about three hours travel time, from Beirut to the border of Syria. The terrain was beautiful, and it was a nice surprise to get out of the bus on top of a mountain and feel a cool breeze.

Leaving Lebanon was no problem, but when we got to the Syrian border crossing it was another story. The officials told us that they would have to send a fax of our passports to the government and get our visas approved – so we waited. We went to the Syrian Duty-free shop and played with Legos – I made the coolest military base and Alex built Israel on one side and Lebanon on the other and we did a little war-gaming.

Three hours later we were eating Iftar at an “Italian restaurant”. Finally we went to go wait at the border building and were told they STILL didn’t have our approval. Alex wanted to go back to the café but I decided I was just going to wait there until they let us pass. Not more than five minutes passed before they called me over, by referring to me as “America”, and told us that we were ok to go. I’m pretty sure the whole spectacle was for show, but oh well.

Since it was ten at night there were no empty cabs passing by, but we finally caught a ride with a government official who was making a night run from Beirut to Damascus. As sketchy as the ride seemed, we made it to Damascus around eleven at night. We also managed to check in a chic hotel, a little bit on the expensive side, but better than nothing.

Instead of hitting the sack, we went to the Hammidiyah souks in the Old City. It was the most happening thing I’ve seen since being in the Middle East. It is a whole city of shops revolving around the famous Umayyad Mosque. It doesn’t close until midnight or one in the morning and is packed with women, children and men all day. The prices were dirt cheap and they had everything you could imagine.

The next day we stopped by the military museum which was really nice. It was very unlike museums in America, where you can’t touch anything and everything is encased in glass. The displays inside the Museum were behind glass, but they had artifacts outside the museum that you could walk around and touch. In the artisans’ square we came across a painter who did magnificent work! I picked out a black and white scenery painting and bought it for $16.

We also went to the New City which was more miles of shops. These, however, more closely resembled shops in Beirut - in quality and price. That night we hit the Old City again and had dinner with an American we met at a different hostel.

After roaming around the Old City for an hour or so, we wanted to sit down and smoke argilah and have some tea. We stopped by a couple of places, but it was so unlike Beirut – there were no women sitting with the men and definitely no women smoking! We kept walking around until we remembered a restaurant we read about, where Syrian President Assad occasionally goes to have big parties. We found it on the outskirts of the souks and it was beautiful! We sat there for a couple hours just smoking and sipping on chai.

Sunday, our last day in Damascus, we stopped by Hamaams. They are like Turkish baths, where you sit in a steam room, get an exfoliation, soap bath, and massage. It was a liberating experience. I am definitely not used to being completely unclothed around other people, but it had the opposite effect on me that I thought it would. I was completely comfortable and it was extremely relaxing. I went to one in the early morning, when they had hours for women, and Alex went to one for men a little later. Alex learned the hard way that the male souks were a little more reserved!

We walked inside the Umayyad mosque, including Saladin’s courtyard and the prayer room. I had to cover up in a hooded full-length robe, and everyone had to take off their shoes to walk around the Mosque. The mosque was very extravagant, from the intricate deep red carpet to the walls designs outside and inside the Mosque.

Our remaining time was spent picking up some souvenirs at the souks in the Old City. My most memorable buy – a black and red beaded robe for a woman with a matching headscarf! Now I can convert if I am ever so inclined!

Highlights of Damascus:
~Pictures of President Assad everywhere – his face had a place at the border-crossing, hundreds of billboards throughout the country, and on a wall in almost every shop and restaurant.
~Almost no Westerners, but of course some of the first people we saw in Syria were Asians
~Arabic speakers – most everyone spoke Arabic, and a few English. It was nice to practice!
~Night-life – women, men and children were up until all hours of the night.
~Traffic – most drivers actually paid attention to traffic lights.
~Dinners – we ate at some of the most popular and famous restaurants for nothing!
~The terrain – view after view of cities built into the side of mountains.
~Syrians – they were very hospitable and helpful, well except the taxi drivers.

Written in September, Posted for Memory

Am I feeling a bit sentimental? I am definitely feeling a bit lost in nostalgia. Perhaps it's the chamomile tea I'm sipping on, the Beatles-Elton-Sinatra-McGraw compilation I'm listening to or the overall feeling of relaxation coming over me as I lounge out on our balcony. Regardless, I've taken a break from studying and relapsed into the old me.

I'm surprised that I haven't gone through some life-changing transition. Take away all the experiences I can now put on my resume and nothing has changed. I'm unsure of what I expected to happen but it is a comfort knowing my "self" is tried and true.

Of course my politics are always adapting as I become more educated. Yets it's also comforting that I do not change when my politics do. Then again, ideas as abstract as politics have never meant much to me. Experiencing life in another country and being happy with my choices, that is meaningful.

No word less than awesome can describe the fact that I was able to travel across the world to live and not sacrifice the things I've kept over the years.

Alex and I were discussing culture the past few days. We mainly focused on the differences between countries labeled "highly developed" and their cultures and those "lesser developed". We didn't come to any conclusions, but we remarked on the simplicity of continuing our daily rountines in a foreign place.

I love learning about the culture in Lebanon - finding out what the younger and older gernerations do, tasting the food, listening to the music, observing tradtions. But the simplicity of turning on iTunes and listening to music that I grew up with and feeling completely at home, really gets me.

If I did not have all the conveniences, would I have completely changes my preferences due to limited choice? Who knows. It's easy for me to say yes as I continue to listen to John Denver - but I don't have to make a choice. I have to exist in another culture, but Lebanon is nowhere near forcing me to accept all of its peculiarities.

Again, I am amazed at how easy it was for us to settle down comfortably. And that I can be myself and indulge in music, food, etc that I love.

Not to say that I am not participating or exposing myself to aspects of Lebanese culture. It is just great that I can add those things to my preferences.

Anyway, its bedtime. As the younger generation of Beirut is beginning their night, I'm off to bed to get my required 7 hours of sleep. Until next time...