Happy New Year from Budapest!

I cannot believe that our vacation is coming to an end! The time has just flown by, but in a very good way. Alex and I accomplished so many things in such a short amount of time.

In every city we were in we utilized, and came to know pretty well, the public transportation systems. We were able to explore all parts of each city, the center and surrounding areas, and really get a feel for each city.

Also I did so many firsts: going to Europe, going to a ballet, having mulled red wine, dancing with a native Hungarian, doing karaoke, getting a professional massage, and going to a club. Ok so one of them hasn’t happened yet, but it will tonight! To celebrate New Years we are having a nice dinner then we are going to a dance club down the street from our hotel. It should be some night!

As for our stay in Budapest thus far, we have gone to a couple very interesting museums and eaten a lot of good food. First we checked into our room at the Radisson, by far the best hotel we have stayed at on our trip. And just a really nice hotel in general. Then we took a stroll in the city center and ate dinner at a family-run restaurant by the British Embassy. Its name was the Golden Lamb, but in Hungarian. The service and food was amazing, but the live traditional music and dancing was even better. While we were waiting for our food the main man and woman dancing made Alex and I dance…it was quite entertaining.

For the most part we took it easy. We visited a couple of museums including the Ethnographic museum and the Museum of Terror. They were both nice changes of pace because they weren’t the same old stuff, they were actually really interesting and very explicit.


The Ethnographic museum started off with a display of Jeans. It was a fun exhibit illustrating how the jeans culture came to be, and how it has played out in Hungary. Also it touched on the theory of uniform, or people wearing certain outfits, etc, when they belong to a social, sports, education or work group. The rest of the Museum showcased a history of Hungary.

We just happened to stumble on the House of Terror. It was a preserved building that the Soviet Hungarian Secret Police and the Nazi Arrowcross both occupied. They used the building, and later building on the whole street, to hold prisoners and bring them to trial. It may be one of the best museums we have been to. It showed the extent to which Nazi policies effected Hungary, and what happened to the groups of people – either because of religious or ethnic affiliation or oppositionists – during the Soviet and Nazi occupations. It was just as chilling as the National Holocaust Museum in DC. If you ever visit, it’s a must.

Fast forward to about 11 pm. Alex and I decided to go to a bar that was having karaoke night. It was mixture of people singing English and Hungarian songs. Everyone was really good and just having fun. Alex got up the nerve to sing Ain’t Nothing but a G-Thang. He was a big hit. THEN he convinced me to sing with him. Not just any song, but probably the most difficult karaoke song – Bohemian Rhapsody. I’m just going to skip the story and say it was a disaster. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to try it again. Alex even told me later that night that I turned him off with my lack of karaoke skills! It was horrifying.

Hopefully I’ll redeem myself tonight. We are going out to a nightclub for New Years, called Bank Club. Alex picked out my clubbing outfit, which is not at all conducive to the weather haha. So hopefully we will be counting down on the dance floor with a glass in our hand and dancing Hungarians surrounding us. I will give you the morning after report soon…hopefully the headache isn’t too bad.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Vienna: Synopsis

Right now my life could be something straight out of a movie. Alex and I have just ended a busy two days in Vienna and are now bundled up in a cold train on our way to Budapest. Its foggy, gray and cold outside. We are passing miles of farmland, littered with fields of trees and rows of windmills. And here I am just staring out the window huddling under my long coat and scarf. Everything seems so archaic…

Anyway, our trip to Vienna was much more hectic than our relaxing stay in Prague. After arriving in the cold city we found our way to our hotel, which was a feat in itself. It was freezing outside, I would’ve bet that it was colder than Prague, if that’s possible. And we couldn’t seem to find our hotel.

Hotel Geblergasse, when we finally found it, was nowhere near the city center. Relatively speaking it wasn’t too far out, but it wasn’t in the center of town. And for the price we were hoping for a big better of a deal. Luckily we didn’t really spend that much time there.

The first night we spent in Vienna was great! We found a little place to eat, had our fill, then napped until we were to attend a ballet. Alex had bought tickets for the Weiner StaatsOper, or the State Opera House around the same time we bought our plane tickets for the trip. And although he spent quite a bit of money on tickets we still had seat in the nosebleed section. Our view, however, was great for the seats. The Opera House itself was beautiful, and the ceiling and walls were enough to wow us.

This ballet was the first I’ve seen, and it was Die Bajadere. It was based in India, and had some exotic qualities to the dancing and music. During the intermission Alex and I shared a small bottle of champagne and just enjoyed the beauty of the building – we decided it was definitely worth the time and money because we will probably only do this once in our lives!

After the ballet was headed to the dining area of an upscale hotel across the street, called Hotel Sacher. We enjoyed their tea, coffee and apple and cheese strudels. The dining area looked quite upscale and I though the prices would be tremendously high, but the prices were very reasonable – I would recommend it to anyone.

The second day in Vienna began early, although not as early as we hoped. In our room they pushed two bed together so while I was sleeping I keep getting caught in the crease in the middle, and it was a bit cold in our room and we had inadequate covers, so I was constantly waking up during the night. Because of my lack of sleep I slept in a bit, and we started the day a bit later than we wanted to.

When we finally got out the door we began by going to the Schloss Schonbrunn Castle. It was the imperial seat of the Hapsburgs, most notably Franz Josep and Maria Theresa. We went on the grand tour and saw 40 different rooms of the castle. It was mostly in Rocca style, and there was a great variety of styles and colors used in different rooms. Like many other castles, artwork and grand pieces of furniture decorated the whole palace.

Then we stopped by the University of Vienna, and it was one of the most ornate colleges I have been to. It could have been a museum. Next was the Museum of the Imperial Treasury. Alex gets deathly bored in museums, and in this one he was obviously hurting. It was much like other museums…of pretty things that only the elite collected. But some of the displays were very interesting, such the Hapsburg empire having a piece of the cross Jesus was crucified on. They also displayed what was supposed to be a piece of the tablecloth the Last Dinner took place on. Most of the other stuff included Jewels and religious cloths.

We also hit the Jewish Museum, whose permanent exhibit included an unfinished room and a display of a hidden synagogue. It was extremely small. The visiting exhibit was of a Jewish Viennese architect, Josep Frank. This exhibit was definitely larger and more interesting.

The last of our day included trying to visit a cemetery where there were memorials of very famous musicians such as Mozart. However, it was closed so we just got really cold in the meantime. We didn’t have much more luck when we took a tram to the Nausmarket, an outdoor market place. Everything was starting to close up, so we settled for eating dinner at one of the small restaurants in the middle of the Market place.

After an hour of trying to find a place to eat breakfast the next morning, we finally decided on the familiar McDonald’s McMuffin. Afterward we didn’t have much time to do anymore sightseeing so we returned to our hotel, gathered our luggage, and headed for our train to Budapest….

Prague: Last Day

*Disclaimer: Our last hotel did not offer internet connection in our room, thus this blog on our last day in Prague is three days late. Sorry!

Sadly we are leaving the ornate city of Prague. And we are riding out in style, on a European train to Vienna. We will only be in Vienna for three days so our stay will probably not be as relaxing as Prague, but just as exciting. I’ve decided to sing Sound of Music songs until we arrive at our platform in Vienna. Alex probably won’t be too happy about that, oh well.

Our final day in Prague was the most relaxing of them all. Only restaurants, souvenir shops and the Christmas markets were open on Christmas day, so there wasn’t much to do around the city. So we spent all day watching Christmas/Old movies on youtube and google videos. We watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas, WHAM music video to “Last Christmas”, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Nightmare before Christmas, Babes in Toyland, The Shining, and ended the night watching comedy clips.

Sometime in between laying around and watching tv, I took a stroll around Wenceslas Square. Alex wasn’t feeling well and I was restless so I went out for a brat for lunch, then took the 9 Tram to its end, and back. I saw another part of town and realized that all of Prague isn’t like the city center. The city center is very nice, and outside of it the architecture becomes bland and it looks more slumish…like any other country I guess.

Even now, as we are leaving the country we are just beginning to see how most of the country is. There are areas where it looks like a shanty town – just shack after run down shack. Some of the suburbs we are passing do not have paved roads and some of the houses are literally falling to pieces. It kind of puts a damper on all the beauty we saw in the city. Not that Prague’s image is ruined, just a reminder that there is a reality behind the well-kept city center.

Also I mentioned to Alex two days ago that I could count, on one hand, how many black people I’ve seen since being in the Czech Republic. Or Arabs, or any minority markedly different from the Czech peoples. I’ve seen many Asians, and many European looking people, and that’s all. I’m not sure if there is a significant minority here with a significant difference in skin color, or if the minority is something more like a community of people who identify themselves with Slovakia.

Coming from a country that is so diverse, it sometimes amazes me that places I’ve traveled to have populations that are so homogenous. I realize that America is much bigger than small countries like Lebanon, Czech Republic, etc, but it still amazes me.

Now off to Vienna!

Prague: Day 4

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! According to custom in Prague, Alex and I celebrated Christmas today. Like many Christmases before this one, I got up much later than usual. It must just be something about the day, where you just want to lay around and just enjoy doing nothing.

After a big breakfast we went back to our room to lay around again. I’m telling you, its just something about the day.

We began our Christmas adventures by walking over the Charles Bridge. It was a beautiful structure, lined with stone carvings of individuals and scenes. From there we walked to the Jewish Quarter. One of the synagogues was closed, but the Old-New Synagogue was open.

The Old-New Synagogue was filled with history, from its architecture and all it had been through. There are also many legends attached to it.

Afterward we just walked around Wenceslas Square, drank some mulled wine and enjoyed the cold weather. Then we returned and took a long afternoon nap.

Finally we ended the night with a nice Christmas dinner at the restaurant around the corner from our hotel. They had a Christmas special of Christmas Chowder, Duck leg, Cabbage, Dumplings and Apple Strudel. It was my first time eating duck and I really enjoyed it.

After we ate our fill, Alex opened the gifts I bought for him. This year I got him some special gifts to last a long time. A black leather Business card holder with his name inscribed on it and a matching keychain with an engraving. I also got him a nice tie clip and a flask with engraving, so he can be a handsome and smart business man!

We are now relaxing and watching Christmas movies. We just saw Babes in Toyland, another first for me, and now The Nightmare before Christmas. Definitely a classic. Hope everyone’s Christmas is going just as well! Miss everyone and Merry Christmas!

Prague: Day 3

Not breaking our Sunday tradition, we woke up late today and took our time to eat breakfast and get ready. Unfortunately we missed Mass, but we are planning to attend one in Budapest. Around noonish, we stepped out to confront the cold and do some more exploring of Prague.

It was nice to just stroll around the city and see all the Christmas shoppers. We even saw some people carrying Christmas trees back to their homes. Getting a late start, I guess.

Our first stop was the Museum of Communism. It outlined a brief overview of the history of big communist leaders, but also communism in what was Czechoslovakia. Much of the museum focused on communist propaganda, either to promote the lifestyle or against capitalist states like America, and it was very interesting. Propaganda infiltrated even sports and such. They also had a short film of demonstrations against the communist regime in Prague, which was really moving. Alex really liked the museum and I would recommend it to anyone interested in history.

Next we passed by the Astronomical clock, which is a clock on the side of a church with significant historical significance. There are turks on the clock, and one the hour all these mechanical figures move and a Turk wags his head. The turk is supposed to represent the bad, it’s interesting to say the least. Supposedly the man who created the clock was blinded by the ruler at the time so he could never make another clock like it. There was a huge crowd to see the hourly ritual, so it was hard to see everything happening.

We sat down for some lunch at a cute little restaurant. The soup we ordered was great, but the cokes were $6 a glass. That was a bit of a shock.

Somewhere in between that and the Christmas concert we attended I bought a very warm wool hat, always a must. Anyway, the Christmas concert was a lovely find. It was in a small church with a pretty small crowd. The musicians, however, warranted a bigger audience. It was just a string quartet, three violinists and a man playing a big stringed instrument (maybe a cello, but I really have no idea). Despite my ignorance of the instruments used, the music was beautiful and moving. We heard some Handel, Mozart, and two versions of the Ave Maria.

We finished off the night with a visit to the Sex Machines Museum. We were on our way back to the hotel when we came across the reddest building I have ever seen, with an even more interesting title. This museum showcased toys and machines for sexual enhancement, devices for the opposite effect (including chastity belts and anti-rape devices) historical pornography, and much more.

Most of it was either interesting or funny, except for the third floor. That floor covered all things sadistic and masochist, and very disturbing things for the alternative lifestyle. I will leave it up to your imagination. This is a great stop for those who don’t take life too seriously!! But if you must choose between this one and the Museum of Communism, go with the latter.

We are really enjoying Prague! We forewent brats again tonight, but tomorrow it’s a must. The Jewish Quarter is on our agenda for tomorrow, as is a trip to the Charles Bridge (which, by the way, we bought a nice painting of today. It was exactly what we were looking for!).

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas Eve, and hope you enjoy the beginning of parties and celebrations!

Prague: Day 2

Despite the cold, our first full day proved to be really satisfying. We woke up pretty early, ate a fulfilling Czech breakfast and we were out the door by 9:30, ready to do some exploring.

We first walked up to Petrin Hill, which is a little touristy village very close to our hotel. We rode up a funicular tram to the top of the village where there was a small replica of the Eiffel Tower. Two hundred something steps later we were overlooking all of Prague, and had the most beautiful views of the city.

Also I made Alex pay for tickets for a mirror labyrinth. It was exactly what you would expect – a small building with a small mirror maze, probably more for little kids, one historical painting to justify the building, and another room with silly mirrors. I though it was great…Alex was a little less enthusiastic, but it was still a fun time.

Afterward we walked around some nice village-like streets, walking in and out of little shops. We also visited a small art gallery, we are thinking about getting a piece of art as our souvenir but Alex has a specific idea, like a painting of Prague during the winter as we are here during that time. We have a couple days, hopefully we will come across something really nice.

To warm up, we stopped for a bit in a little café an enjoyed a great cup of cream of mushroom soup and really rich hot chocolate. We finished in time to witness the changing of the guard at Prague Castle, said to be Prague’s most popular tourist site. The guards are much like the British guards, unmovable and fun to take pictures next to!

We paid for the long tour in the castle, which included passes to the Old Royal Palace, the Story of Prague Castle, the Basilica of St. George, the National Gallery and the Golden Lane. And everyone had access to the Cathedral. The Cathedral was really something else. It was like pictures you find in history books of really beautiful churches. This one was in the Gothic style and it took five hundred years to complete it.

The Cathedral was huge, over 160 meters long, and housed some of the most beautiful displays of stained glass and artwork I have seen. This is not saying much becuase I haven't seen many ancient cathedrals, but it was definitely worth seeing. It was pretty crowded, but all of the artwork and mini chapels surrounding the nave justified the crowds. We invested in the audio tour of the Castle and the Cathedral alone took up soundbits 1-25. Most of it was history of the cathedral, and the saints, members of royalty and patrons buried there, or memorialized in mini chapels.

The artwork in the National Gallery is alone worth the visit. A lot of religious-themed paintings are housed there, but there were a lot of Bohemian historical paintings as well. In the Story of Prague Castle they displayed skeletons of people buried in the castle community, as well as the artifacts and dress they were buried with. The displays, among many other things, illustrated some very interesting parts of their historical culture.

We will post pictures as well, but here is a link with some history and pictures of Prague Castle: http://www.prague.net/prague-castle

By the time we left it was getting dark already. Alex wanted to buy our tickets to Vienna ahead of time, just in case, so we utilized the public transport (which is almost as extensive as New York’s) and rode the metro down to the train station.

Then we finally headed out to get lunch/dinner. We were both in the mood for Italian, and after a brisk stroll trying to find the nearest tram we luckily found a restaurant called Pizzeria Coloseum, and sat down to eat. Alex ordered Lasagna and I had the best plate of Spinach Ravioli with Cheese…one of the best Italian meals I have eaten. The price was really good as well. Unfortunately, we ate pretty late so we didn’t get brats today, but I am definitely looking forward to one tomorrow!

So our long day ended with a brief tram ride back to the hotel, us immediately jumping under the covers to warm up, and almost directly after lying down we feel asleep for a refreshing two hour nap.

Our itinerary tomorrow includes attending mass (not sure of the church yet), hitting up the Jewish Quarter, Christmas concert in Wenceslas Square and who knows what else!

Prague: Day 1

We safely landed in the snowy city of Prague, after a comfortable 5 hour flight from Beirut. Leaving Lebanon at four in the morning was ideal – I slept through the whole 3 hour flight to Milan, and through the 2 hour flight from Italy to the Czech Republic.

Our first view of Prague from the plane was what looked like a blanket of snow covering the whole country. Literally it looked like nothing but thick snow…no buildings or anything. We actually couldn’t tell if we were close to the ground or still above the clouds. We soon realized, after flying through the thick sea of whiteness, that it was the fog that had settled over the whole city. The sun that was warming us in the plane could not be seen anywhere from the ground.

And of course it was FREEZING! In Beirut this year, like every year before it, there will be no snow. And it can be warm enough to wear a jacket out sometimes. But here it’s a totally different story. I was definitely not prepared for the -9 degrees Celsius (Farenheit?).

Otherwise we had no problem getting off the plane and catching a tram and metro to our hotel. Well, that is, after we missed a stop because I didn’t know how to work the tram door. Four frozen thighs later we found our hotel and dropped off our luggage before heading out for lunch.

We ate lunch at a homely warm (keyword) restaurant right next to our hotel. By this time we were dead tired and really just wanted to take a nap. However, Alex got it into his head that he wanted to walk down to the Charles River and take a peek. Not being very well dressed for it and a little cranky, I wanted to nap first then do some sightseeing. But Alex was suddenly incredibly hyper, and it was just so cute. So I got some pics of him being silly and looking out at the River.

After a couple hour nap, which turned out to be really refreshing, we layered up and went out for a little stroll. We crossed the river and walked around Wenceslas Square. How fitting, eh?

As we walked it was impossible not to admire all of the beautiful architecture – it’s almost like stepping into a scene from two centuries ago, except everyone is wearing modern clothes. We also did a little window shopping, and found it very nice to be back in a country with outlets and department stores.

Best of all, while walking around an outdoor Christmas market in the square, Alex and I stopped for bratwurst sandwiches and mulled red wine. The wine was pretty strong, but warm and spicy, and the brats (which I cannot find in Beirut, and yes I have tried) were fantastic! We decided we would just buy brats off the street for dinner every night until we leave for Vienna, and go out for lunch instead. Supposedly lunch is the main meal here anyway, so it works out perfectly.

When our fingers told us it was time to get back to the hotel and thaw out, we bought a map and headed back. Now we are spending the rest of the night watching dubbed American movies and planning our adventures for the next few days.

Unfortunately I’m having symptoms of a small UTI so it is putting a damper on our plans for tomorrow. I’m trying to water it out, so hopefully it will just leave me alone for Christmas vacation. But I can’t let such a small thing get to me. To name a few places, we are planning to visit the National Museum, the Museum of Communism, the Jewish Quarter, a big castle (in Alex’s words), and a couple villages outside of the city.

We will try and get as many pictures as possible. Actually today Alex noticed my lack of picture taking, and rightfully pinned it on the fact that it is just too cold. If the sun peeks through tomorrow maybe we will get some good shots. Stay tuned for many Xmas vacation updates!!

December Update

Updates on everything:

*The Thanksgiving dinner went extremely well. All of our guests, and about 25 people came, really got into it and helped out so much. They brought pies, dishes, drinks and we had more than enough for everyone. The two turkeys I made turned out great and so far no one has reported any food poisoning. The stuffing tasted like Grandma’s recipe and that alone made me more than happy. The night turned out to be great, and Alex and I didn’t miss Thanksgiving after all.

*Sayidaty magazine is paying me for my first article. I interviewed a woman, and a friend, who is publishing a comic book and the character is based in Lebanon. So I did an article and the mag is using it! I have also spoken with the editor about a couple of other story ideas and I think that I may be doing another story very soon.

*We began taking Arabic with our new tutor and its working out great. She’s young, smart and a great teacher. We are moving much faster than we were with the other center.

*Things are starting to look hopeful for Lebanese politics. Since Nov 24, Lebanon has been without a president because the majority March 14 coalition and the opposition March 8 camp could not agree on a consensus candidate and neither one could secure a 2/3s quorum to hold an election. Now, however, the majority has agreed on a candidate that the opposition also agreed on: Army Commander General Michel Suleiman. However, the Lebanese constitution says a grade-one employee, such as Suleiman, has to step down two years before running for office. Right now the two camps are in the process of discussing if and how to amend to the constitution to allow Suleiman to run for president. Also last week there was a bombing in Baabda, where the presidential palace is. A top army official was targeted – Brigadier François Hajj. The assassination has stalled the process once more.

Otherwise Alex and I are doing great. This past week we were a little sick, which put a damper on the beginning of our break. We were worried that our vacation we had planned would be ruined, but we got lots of rest and hydrated a lot and we have both definitely seen improvement.

Alex is now getting published in The Executive, where he has worked as a researcher for a couple of months. I’m so proud of him – he is doing really well. And his boss, Matthias, is trying really hard to convince us to stay longer. Guess he realizes just as much as I do how big of an asset Alex is – in everything he is part of!

Alex and I kicked off our Christmas celebrations last Friday when we attended a Christmas party put on by the American and British ladies of Lebanon. It was held in the ballroom of a really nice hotel. We danced all night, listened to great music, won a raffle and really enjoyed ourselves.

And on Friday morning, at 3, we are getting on a flight to Europe for you Christmas vacation! I’ve never been, and am really excited about experiencing another continent. I will definitely try to update during the trip, and will post our pics as soon as possible. Hope to hear from everyone soon.

Moment of Silence for Victims of Bad Hair Cuts

Today will go down in history as a day of mourning…for all those women who have experienced really really bad haircuts. And I don’t mean a bad experience with a hairstylist who has a few unresolved issues, or a few hairs out of place. No! I mean the kind of haircut that stays bad until it grows out, and nothing less than scarves or a wig will make it remotely cute. Will explain later….

So today was possibly the worst day of my life. It rained all day. Within three hours of getting up I knew that it was going to be one of those days where everything was going to try its hardest to go wrong, and I wasn’t in the mood to entertain it.

Rewind to 7 a.m. Alex had a man date today and went out with one of his new coworkers to Faraya, to ski and snowboard a little. We usually spend a bulk of our day apart and I really wanted him to go out with a guy…you know how women can get after a while. He deserved it anyway. I had a busy day ahead of me anyway. I had to finish up college applications, send out more mail than I have in my life, combined, and I wanted to run a few around-the-house errands.

Alex leaves and I get straight to it. By 9 I’m ready to go out and print extra materials for applications, pick and go to a friend’s house to pick up a bank draft they got for us. Well, right about then it starts to rain heavily so I decide not to take the laundry and just wait until a little later. Luckily, however, my friend is almost right outside my apartment and happens to have the bank draft so I forget about the rain and head out to the shop to print.

I ask the owner how much it will be to print and he confirms it will be 200 Lira. Great! Actually, I used the color printer so its five times as much…and the homemade Christmas cards I printed out in color are now six times more than if I would have just bought hallmark ones. Oh well. At least I had all my college materials.

I’m heading back to the apartment and I realize that almost five minutes after stepping out it had stopped raining, and now I would have to make the trip again when I brought my laundry…and I had soooo much to do!

Trying to be really optimistic, I finally made it home. By that time I was really frustrated because I had to deal with really careless people on the sidewalk. I tried to not think about it, and I was bound and determined to get my stuff done. But it was just one thing after another. First the webpage I needed to get one wasn’t loading…then the computer froze at least four times while I was trying to access Seton Hall’s website…then we had a blackout and our internet connection was out (this happens everyday and our internet goes out for hours at a time). Not to mention me running into things, dropping things and just having to run up and down the stairs every time I forgot something in the room.

I made my way downstairs to use the wireless, which worked for a while….until our server went down and then I couldn’t get any of the college addresses I needed. AND I had no one to complain to because Alex was gone…so I took it out on the door.

Finally I reconnected and did speed addressing to get it to the post office by 2 in the afternoon – the time I was told that LibanPost closes. Now I know they close at 1…so I didn’t accomplish that.

I had brought my laundry with me because it was kind of on the way, so I dropped that off. Pretty painless. Here comes the good part. I decided to get my hair cut because I had been wanting to for a while and I finally saw a salon for women (usually I only see salons for men).

I should have known when I walked in and there were only two old women there. I should’ve know…but anyone can say that afterward. But I waited for half and hour anyway to get my hair cut by a man. I showed him a picture of what I wanted. He didn’t speak much English and I didn’t know how to tell him in Arabic exactly what I wanted, so I just pointed it out. I figured he couldn’t mess that up.

Well thirty minutes later, when the cut was only halfway done, I remember thinking that it wasn’t going how I thought it would but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. By then I couldn’t concentrate on the book I was reading because I wanted to see how my hair was progressing. By the end, I was almost in tears. It looked nothing like the picture and is the WORST haircut I’ve ever had. I don’t even know if a stylist could fix this because it’s a little shorter than medium length. And yes, my friends, I cried a bit over my hair. I know, I know it’ll grow out but it just sucks. It’s going to take a couple months to get to the length that it was and I hate having to worry about my hair. All the self-conscious thoughts that I suppress every day had a chance to scream out.

I wore a hood home, and as soon as I could I got on the internet to see if anyone had any advice on how to cover up badddd haircuts. There was nothing that I couldn’t figure out myself, but interestingly one girl had a story uncannily similar to mine. The way she described her awesomely bad haircut sounded exactly how mine did. More importantly her blog entry was dated the same as today, just a few years back. It was an intense moment…so I decided that today was to be the official Bad Haircut Day, where everyone who has experienced it puts a little time aside for remembrance…to remember what its like to be plagued with a bad bad bad haircut.

And this is why I’m taking time from finishing college application essays and blogging. I’m going to be fine, but I just wanted to share my traumatic story with those who may benefit from it. Well actually, it probably more likely because it’s after five and Alex still isn’t home.

To make a long story short, what was supposed to be my most productive day turned out to feel like the least productive….and it’s still raining.

Beginning of the Holiday Season

I think I should see a psychotherapist…I am officially addicted to Christmas music and am getting too excited about the holidays. And we haven’t even had our Thanksgiving dinner yet!

Actually, I’ve been a little homesick this past week. Alex and I went out to get a Christmas tree and some decorations, and I’m really missing the American way of Christmas. What I really love about the season is that everybody knows and loves the same songs, and people just really get into the season.

It all begins with Thanksgiving, when people really start traveling and spending time with family during the season. I don’t think I will ever spend this part of the year away from America, because it’s just so disappointing to be in a place where they don’t have the slightest idea about your traditions. Of course, I don’t expect people here to, but it just makes me homesick.

I remember last year I spent Thanksgiving with one of my favorite families – my boss Clarke from Other Mothers, her husband Tim and her two children Alex and Jenny – and even though I spent it in New Jersey away from family it was still so wonderful! It was all about family and friends sharing time together and just relaxing and enjoying life – and so it doesn’t matter where you are as long as you are surrounded by people who can really enjoy the season.

After putting up the tree, and reminiscing about all those years I put one up with my family and spent the winter break just laying around with a book and some tea, I just wanted to hop on a plane and come home. Its funny how, however ambitious one might be or however busy one becomes, they just can’t get away from the contagious spirit of the holidays.

So I hope everyone is really enjoying the Christmas preparations, and the cold weather. And for all my fellow Christmas lovers, be thankful you are not in a country halfway around the world because it’s just not the same!

This week, I am just running around trying to get a lot of stuff done. I am slowly working toward finishing college transfer essays. I am glad that I have an early start on them, and hope it really pays off.

Otherwise I am really busy trying to plan a Thanksgiving party. So far I am cooking two turkeys, mashed and roasted potatoes, stuffing, veggies on the side, deviled eggs, chocolate chip cookies and a cheesecake. To participate in the American way of Thanksgiving we encouraged everyone to bring something to the party, and people are really helping out! People have said they are bringing pies and other desserts, beverages, side dishes and helping out with decorations.

We expect 25-30 people, so it should be a lot of fun. At least it will help to diminish the disappointment in missing Thanksgiving in America. Best of all, the rushing around to make sure everything goes well has turned into a kind of high. I really think that I could make a career out of planning and hosting events. I just love everything about it. And Lebanon is definitely the place to do it – the social atmosphere is great here! I will definitely post all the pictures from the event…and for all our dear friends and family, we will be thinking of you during our Thanksgiving Dinner, because we could not be with you this year!


Although I mentioned that the organization I work for was hosting Swedish journalists for a week, I did not get around to the best part! At the end of the week they hosted a sightseeing trip to the Ksara Winery, Baalbek and Anjar.

Our first stop was Ksara. We arrived there at ten in the morning, and we were given a tour of the winery. We were able to see the fields, and their legendary caves dating back to the Roman period. They are not sure what the caves were used for, but they uncovered an extensive underground network of tunnels.

The caves are now used to store wine during their fermentation process and to store sealed bottles that are either being aged, or just kept for historical reference for the winery. The best part, of course, was the wine tasting. We tasted seven different wines, and then had a chance to buy from their store. They also gifted us each a bottle of wine, which happened to be my favorite from the tasting.

So after a little wine tasting at eleven in the morning, we all took naps on the way to Baalbek. Baalbek is a site of Roman ruins, including the only surviving temple of Jupiter. The site, for being through an earthquake and centuries of weather, was in relatively good condition. You could really see the beauty of the architecture. It was surprising that there was little guarding of the site and people were able to just pick things up, or write on the structures. But, it was still a very cool site to see.

And our last stop was Anjar. It’s an Armenian town close to the Syrian border, and it was full of good restaurants. We ate at a restaurant right on a little lake, where they actually got the fish people ordered. The food was really good, and it was the first time I ate a fish that wasn’t filleted for me.

As for our trip this past weekend, it is definitely going to be one of my best memories during our stay in Beirut. We definitely achieved what we set out to do, and that was to get away from Beirut and all aspects of city life.

We stayed in a small ski lodge called Chbat, in the village Becharre and the owner Wadih was great! He made sure that we had a safe trip there, and everything was perfect for us! It may have been because we were their only customers at the time, due to the unstable political situation, but nevertheless it was an amazing experience.

The first day we were there we just walked around the town and visited a museum dedicated to Gibril Jibron, a famous author and poet. The town was really quiet and the weather was chilly, in fact the first layer of snow fell on the mountains only a few days before we got there.

The second day was the highlight of the trip. We went on a half day hike of the Qadisha Valley, also called the Valley of the Saints. On one side of the valley there is a village called Dimone, and it is where the Maronite patriarch stays for the summer. Also in the valley there are numerous monasteries and hermitages, some of which date back to the first century. Given that I have not hiked many mountainous regions, the valley was one of the most beautiful regions I have ever visited. Every kilometer offered a beautiful view – each one very different from the other. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the hike.

http://picasaweb.google.com/alexander.m.adrian/QadishaValleyValleyOfTheSaints

On our last day, we visited the town of Dimone and another town known as the highest village in the Middle East. Also we went to see the Cedars. Although the Cedar tree is on Lebanon’s flag, they are no longer prevalent in the country. Now it is illegal to cut them down and they have small parks dedicated to preserving them. We happened to go to one such park, which was disappointingly small. The trees looked old, and were very pretty. Everyone told us that we had to visit while we are here, because it is what Lebanon is know for…so I’m glad we went.

The weekend was a huge success, and we didn’t want to come back to Beirut on Sunday. We had a chance to sip hot chocolate around a fireplace and just talk about life. We also had a chance to go to a Maronite mass. We went to a short version of mass, but it was much like a Catholic mass except it was in Arabic. Overall, it was nice to get away from the car horns and away from work.

To wrap up I want to update everyone on the political situation. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud’s term ended at midnight on Friday, but the election was postponed for the fourth time until this coming Friday. Lebanon, therefore, is currently presidentless. As stipulated in the constitution, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and his government (his cabinet, that is) took over presidential powers for the time being.

For the past few months there have been worries that Siniora would not be allowed to take over in case of no election, because the president and opposition parties (including Hizbullah) sees the government as illegitimate. This is due to all of Lebanon’s Shiite ministers pulling out of the government, claiming to not be represented fairly.

However, power transferred without any objections or violence/rioting. Thus far the political temperature has remained steady, although there are fears that if there is not an agreement soon things may change for the worse. We feel pretty safe right now, and we are just taking it day by day.