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!