Faraya, classes, and cats

"They ski like they drive." This is what my guidebook warned of when I looked at its section on skiing in Lebanon. Despite this warning, I went skiing at Faraya Mountain on Tuesday. Unfortunately conditions weren't great, and only the bunny slopes were open. However, it was still worth the experience. My book did not lie. The Lebanese are crazy skiers. I think a lot of it is that skiing is much more of a social activity than a sport and people don't take the time to learn. A fair amount of the people crowding around the chairlift were in jeans, uggs, and fancy puffy coats with fur hoods. They posed for a few pictures, watched one of their friends get onto the lift, and then took more pictures. I'd say there were more people sledding than skiing. There isn't much to be said for those skiing. They cut you off and ski straight down the mountain; there were more wipeouts than a combined total of ones I've seen in the States. What's more, the lift lines were a nightmare. Just like they are on the road, the Lebanese couldn't care less about cutting you in line. There was no order whatsoever and the lift attendants just stood idly by smoking cigarettes. You'd get these little kids who would push their way to the front of the line, and then stand there blocking the entrance to the lift as they waited for their parents to join them. It was mayhem. That being said, I still had a really great time. Also, skiing in Lebanon (ski rental, clothing rental, helmet, lift ticket) is still less than a lift ticket in Vermont.

I started classes yesterday. It seems like everybody at AUB studies science or economics. There are hardly any Lebanese or Arab students in my political science classes. Both my political science classes, Politics & Government in the Middle East and Palestinian & Israeli Politics seem interesting. The professors definitely are not of the same caliber as the ones at Hamilton, but that is just my first impression. My Arabic classes are fantastic. The Lebanese professor is top-notch and although it's going to be a lot of work I think I am going to learn a ton.

I really just can't get over the cats at AUB. There are cat feeding stations set up around campus and the cats have a social life unto themselves. There are literally hundreds running around. They beg students for food and come next to you whenever you sit down. Just to give a little sense of the popularity of cats, the AUB website has a photo gallery under their "About Us" section, and there is a cat album.

Back tracking a bit, but on Monday I went to the memorial service for Rafic Hariri. Everything was in Arabic, so I didn't understand much, but what I gathered was that it was a very patriotic service where numerous politicians belonging to the March 14 group (supporters of Saad Hariri, the most recent, former prime minister) reaffirmed the autonomy of Lebanon against foreign countries like Syria and Israel and threw their full weight behind the Special Tribunal to Lebanon (investigating the assassination of Rafic Hariri, likely to indict members of Hezbollah). It was obviously a very emotional day for all political parties. I didn't get to see Saad Hariri speak because the room where I was watching a televised version of the speeches had a little disturbance. During one man's speech, many people in the live audience and in my room began booing. I honestly have no idea what he said, but after a bit people started shouting at each other and eventually someone threw a chair so I was out of there. My first impression of the events were highly critical. Why couldn't the Lebanese just sit tight and listen to a speech without fighting? My friends echoed those sentiments. But as my mother pointed out, if a political party in America were to arrange for the assassination of Obama (and here I hope that my blog doesn't get flagged by the FBI for using "assassination" and "Obama" in the same sentence), people would be pretty ticked off and apt to fight. So politics in Lebanon may be a bit more emotionally charged than what we're used to in the States, but it's not because of different values or a tendency for belligerence.

I've still mostly been spending my time with the international students who are doing study abroad at AUB for one semester like myself. There are a few kids from Arab countries who go to school in the States. One of the things I find most interesting is talking to kids who are Palestinian. When you ask them where they're from, they say Palestine, no hesitation. Generally I ask them where in Palestine, thinking I may know the place. After a bit of prying, it usually turns out that they've never been to Palestine, or they were born in a neighboring Arab country and are the grandchildren of '48 refugees. I guess I didn't expect the connection to Palestine to be so strong in younger students who grew up in America. Talking to these kids made me see that no matter how far negotiations go, there will never be a resolution to the Palestinian issue if the refugee issue isn't dealt with first. Something's got to be done, and I don't envy the person who has to decide who, if anyone, can go back to Palestine.

Sorry there are no pictures this time, my camera battery died when we were skiing. I may investigate a farmer's market in downtown Beirut on Saturday, so expect pictures from that!

Baalbek and Exploring Beirut (pictures included)

It's funny to think that I've been in Beirut for an entire week and still won't start classes until Wednesday. In the meantime, I've been able to explore Hamra, the district of Beirut where AUB is. It's very much like a college town. There are many tiny, fast food restaurants, clothing stores, and bars. After searching around for a few days I found a great little restaurant that serves home-cooked Lebanese food. The woman who runs it promised to speak Arabic to me if I came back!

I've been to downtown Beirut as well. My guidebook warned me that downtown lacked a certain character, so I was aware of this when I ventured down there, but it is definitely true. Downtown was split between east and west Beirut during the Civil War, and Beirut has also suffered from an Israeli attack in 2006, so all of downtown is brand new. There is a clock tower with streets full of restaurants extending out. Nearby is a shopping mall that is the equivalent of Fifth Ave in New York. Everything is too clean and there really isn't any charm. I did find a very nice art gallery just outside of downtown that is currently housing an exhibit of a Lebanese artist's work from after the Civil War. The influence of the Civil War is very apparent in his work, especially one concrete piece that is the remnants of a sitting room with body parts strewn about. I mentioned this earlier, but it is very interesting to see the influence of the Civil War in Beirut. Whether it's through new building projects, art exhibits, or restaurants that have signs like "Around since 1983," it is hard to avoid noticing the impact of the war.

The streets of Beirut are lawless. I'm going to have a hard time adjusting back to crossing in the crosswalk or not beeping when I return to the States. People drive in a frantic, bipolar manner, all the while honking their horns. I haven't decided whether it's to let another car know that they're plowing down the road because they don't intend to stop or if it's a sort of friendly salutation. To cross the street you just have to step out onto the road, take a deep breath, and plunge. Hopefully the cars stop for you. Apart from cars, there are little motorcycles that follow rules of their own. They drive the wrong way down one-way streets, weave through traffic, and never seem to stop for pedestrians. Also, you don't hail cabs here, cabs hail you. They slow down and beep whenever they see someone looking just a tiny bit hesitant on the road. Most cabs act as "services" (pronounced like you're French) and will take you pretty much anywhere in the city for only 2000 LL (roughly $1.35). While it's pretty convenient, it also means that the streets are regularly swamped with cabs slowing down, pedestrians cutting off cars, and motorcycles disregarding all rules.

View from my room

Yesterday, the AUB Ambassadors took the new international students on a trip to Baalbek. First, however, we stopped at one of the two wineries in Lebanon (note, it was 10 am when we did the tasting). The winery has been around since the 1850s and was founded by Jesuits and sits atop caves where the wine is now stored. Production of wine continued during the Civil War. After the winery, we toured around Baalbek, a Roman ruin of colossal size in the Bekaa Valley. It was truly fantastic. Although the ruins have been damaged by numerous earthquakes, there are still several columns standing and the remains of most of one temple. Baalbek is Lebanon's finest Roman ruin and was one of the biggest cities in the Roman Empire. It was neat to stand there, with snow covered mountains on either side of me, and reflect on the different people to move through the region. My history of the area is shaky, but over the course of several millennia, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Germans, and French controlled the area. Now it is one of the places where Hezbollah has significant following. Both in the Bekaa Valley and in Palestine I noticed that large billboards of various Arab and Muslim leaders are very popular. I saw pictures of Nesrallah, Abbas, Ahmadinejad, Arafat, and many people I didn't recognize.

In Beirut there are posters of Rafik Hariri everywhere, many of them saying "Remember 14 February," which is tomorrow. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri in downtown Beirut. There is a rally scheduled for tomorrow, and I have heard mixed opinions of how things will unfold. Many people think that nothing will happen and few will attend, but there is always the fear that those opposed to the recent change of power will come out in large numbers. I think I'll either stay on campus or observe from afar.

I'm going to try to go skiing later this week, so look for pictures of that as well!

Finally, I noticed that AUB has censored several websites, whether they be political or just TV show streaming. Although I'm not quite bothered by it, it's an interesting thing to keep in mind as I go about my daily activities here.

From Paris to Beirut

As many of you know, I am spending the semester in Beirut, Lebanon studying at the American University of Beirut. I have mixed expectations of Beirut. Coming from Paris, I expected to find high fashion, lots of neat museums, and tons of old places of worship. Contrasted with this, my only experience in an Arab country was Palestine. I suppose I expected Beirut to be more like Bethlehem, but from what I can see it is a truly unique city. The downtown area is quite snazzy, and resembles Fifth Ave, while the rest of the city is mostly residential with smaller shops on the street. As a note of interest, cats are to Beirut as squirrels are to the suburbs or pigeons are to Manhattan. They are everywhere, including in all the restaurants, on campus, and all of them are strays. As many of you may know, I am not a cat fan. At all. So adjusting to hundreds of cats following me around is going to be rough.

Because of Beirut's destructive civil war, there is construction everywhere. Cranes and new apartments dot the skyline, while at the same time, decrepit, abandoned buildings with bullet holes in the concrete are a reminder of the past. Yesterday we walking along the Green Line in Beirut, which divided the city east-west during the Civil War. It wasn't anything remarkable, but there was one statue with hundreds of bullet holes in it but I didn't take a picture of it because there is a guard stationed there 24/7. No one seems too worried about the political situation. I think the Western media really latched on to the story of Hezbollah taking power, but here life continued as normal. Monday is the six year anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, but hopefully that will just come and pass. Also, let me promise now that this blog will be a lot less political than my previous blog about Palestine.

The food in Beirut is very different than I anticipated. Although some of it is still quite cheap, I have yet to find a traditional falafel vendor or the dishes I got used to in Palestine, and this is quite disappointing. The Lebanese students at AUB I've met have told me that their favorite foods are Italian and sushi. I guess this can be expected because for them traditional food is like eating macaroni and cheese or pizza in the US. I finally found my favorite spice (zatar) but it was rolled up in a pita-style crepe. The French definitely left their mark because there are many creperies lining the street just outside of AUB. Fortunately they all have Nutella. There are also a ton of chains. I've already seen four Starbucks, more McDonalds than I can count, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, etc. I'm sure as I explore the city more I'll find local hangouts for falafel and other mezze.

As for language, it seems like everyone here speaks English. And French. Not many people will speak in Arabic with me, but I'll keep trying. From the eavesdropping I've done, it seems like people speak a mixture of Arabic, French, and English. So you'll here someone say "yallah bye" or "bonjour habibi," which is quite confusing.

AUB itself is idyllic. There are palm trees, beautiful stone buildings, and the Mediterranean is always within view. I'd say there are around 50 new international students like myself. Many of them are from America and many study Middle Eastern politics, but there are also a lot of students from Scandinavia  and the rare science major. So far I'm registered for two Arabic classes, one formal and one Lebanese colloquial. I'm also taking a class titled Palestinian-Israeli Politics and I'm deciding between Politics & Government in the Middle East and Contemporary Arab Identity. Unlike Hamilton, classes here begin at 8 am, which should be so much fun. I move into my dorm tomorrow, which is located on campus. On Saturday there is an orientation trip to Baalbek, an exquisite Roman ruin in the Bekaa Valley. I'll post pictures after that.

Thanks for reading! Hope everyone's well in their respective states/countries!