Hamra &Al Mandaloun

As my final day in Lebanon draw near, yesterday I wanted to go to Hamra because I needed to finish up some gift buying and most importantly get my last absolutely amazing chicken shawarma from Barbar. They have the best shwarma's ever, ever,  it soooo simple but amazing, and of course followed by ice cream. If I had to describe Arabic Ice Cream it would be  cross between traditional US ice cream and gelato. soooo good, definitely going to be missing those two things.

At my night my Aunt Wajiha, her friend and myself went to a restaurant called Al Mandaloun they were having a live band. It was defiantly a fun night. 

One side note: I have been missing my friend Tanqueray, no one has it, just Bombay. yucky.

this man's suit was straight up shimmer. ha

this women was my favorite. Here set was pretty awesome, it was "Zombies" by Cranberries, "Can't take my eyes off of you" by Frankie Valli. But all I could think of was Heath Ledger  :(   and "It's raining men" by Weather Girls. haha. Love it

I just had to take a picture of this guy

cutie pie

this guy was straight up BLING, maybe a little too much. He has bling head to toe, his sunglasses, his jacket and even his nike shoes.

Beirut, Lebanon

Today, my Teta and I went to  Coucou's (my father's mother) house in Beirut. I havent been there since was 9 years old, on my first visit to Lebanon. So it was nice to see the place again and it was crazy how much of the place I remembered.  

the view from the balcony

look at my handsome daddy (far right), very james dean 

my Teta <3

my Coucou<3

I still cannot believe I have less then two weeks in Beirut,  the time went by so fast.

Ashrafia, Lebanon

So today, I lets say explored the city. I wanted to go to a cafe, so I could just get out of the house and get some free wifi, because my internet plug in is at the shop for the second time. The cafe  I go to is in Ashrafia about a 15-20 minute walk from my teta's. But it is like all uphill, like crazy almost vertical uphil. So I thought maybe ill try a different way, I have seen signs before when walking to school I can get to Ashrafia different way. Yeah, so I was right. I could get there another way however a 15-20 minute walk became a 40 minute walk. 

So sometimes short cuts are not such. But I did improve my mental map.

29 days....

One Month

So day I went to the beach with my aunt and my uncle, I am totally brown today. When I look at my tan lines, I am always like there is nooo way I was this white, but then sadly I was know I was. 

Its September 25th, which means 13 days until my Birthday, 16 days until Paris, and last but certainly not least 30 days until I am home!!

 That seriously blows my mind, that my trip is coming to a close, I am so grateful for my blog because honestly I do not know where all the time has gone. I cannot wait to come home, but at the same time I will be heartbroken leaving this place I have called home for almost four months. And the question that is in the back of my head, when I will I return? 

Ashrafia & Sky Bar

So yesterday my Teta and I went to the A,B,C Mall to get some coffee and a change of scenery. We ordered expressos, and I had to take a picture because it was the most delightful/sensible way to drink an expresso. 

For dinner, I met up with my cousins and their friends from France and went to dinner with my uncles to a French Restaurant called L'Avenue. The food was both plentiful and amazing. I have notice while in Lebanon, is when you think all courses are served , they are not, there is always more food coming.  

After dinner, we went to SkyBar(minus the uncles), the name is quite fitting because it is a club on the roof of a building. The scenery is amazing because you are overlooking the water and the mountains. 

It was a fun night, filled with margaritas, fire torches and sick dance moves haha.  

wish night pictures came out better, an attempt of the view

<3.... oh mike with the photo bomb

Gemmayze & Shugun

On Saturday my cousin Celia and her friend Elisa came from Paris to Beirut for the week, so last night we went out to dinner and then out to a bar. 

We went out to a restaurant called Leila's Cafe, it was a Lebanese restaurant with super cute decore, that made it look like it was inside someone's house. I love places like it.

 After dinner we went to a pub called, I think, Behind the Green Door, the DJ definitely killed the mood. He was like a 12 year old at his first gag wanting to play all these different songs with different beats, that diffidently did not go together.  So long way of saying the music sucked big time and killed the night. haha.

Last night, I realized how music in a place truly set the mood for how long the night will be. But of course, we all still had fun besides. 

Tonight, my aunt is taking us out for sushi, so that should be a good time as well.

1<3family

So for Dinner we went to Shugun, in Beirut. It is a Japanese & Chinese Restaurant, the food  (as always) is amazing.

this picture made me laugh uncontrollably, so I thought I had to share. I do not remember making this face. I do not know why I chose to smile like a horse. haha

So at the second try, I was so scared to smile, and it looks like I am in pain. haha

Baalbek Ruins & Nabi Chit

Today, I went to Northern Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley to Nabi Chit, where my Aunt Wajiha has a beautiful house there and she was having a huge lunch at the house.

But, before it started, my Uncle Jamil, Hussein, and I went to the Baalbek Ruins. The Ruins date over 9,000 years! It is the setting of Jupiter's Temple (Zeus aka in Greek), The Round Temple of Venus (Aphrodite aka in Greek) and the Temple of Mercury (Hermes aka in Greek).  I so was geeking out.

A little google info:  Baalbek, known as Heliopolis (the ‘Sun City’), was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Roman Empire. It holds the largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, and among the best preserved. Baalbek is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the wonders of the world. The town is located in the Bekaa Valley, about 85 km north east of Beirut, at an altitude of 1,170 metres. The historic settlement in the area of Baalbek dates back 9000 years. After Alexander the Great conquered the Near East in 334 BC, the town was named Heliopolis. Starting in the first century BC, the Romans built a temple complex in Baalbek. The monumental temples in Baalbek proclaimed the power of Imperial Rome. Among the gods worshipped here were Jupiter, Bacchus, Venus and Mercury. In 637 AD a Muslim army captured Baalbek after defeating the Byzantine army at Battle of Yarmouk. It became a bone of contention between the various Syrian dynasties and the caliphs of Damascus and Egypt

  

I went in Baalbek alone, so it will explain all the myspace/facebook head shots... haha 

:)

So I was approached by one of the men working at the Ruins, and he offered to take some pictures for me. However, he kept on suggesting these odd posses, and I was like okay (weirdo), until I looked at the pictures and he was setting me up for some force perspective shots. They turned out pretty cool.

Then the man asked if I wanted to follow him and get some coffee, that was my cue to peace out, because it was getting weird. Haha and I was alone. and in my mind I was thinking (in a chris griffin vocie) "I need an adult, I need an adult" haha

CAMEL! 

thats a stereotype in a picture

Lunch, was of course, amazing. The food was incredible

The gorgeous view

Walking Around Downtown Again

These past couple of days have been pretty routine, filled with Arabic Classes. 

But now, I am done, so YAY! So now I have the next three weeks to myself, my only set plan is to further work on my Arabic, so speaking is more natural. Other than that, I got nothing. ha :)   

So today I went to downtown Beirut, window shopped and of course went to a cafe for some coffee. 

So downtown Beirut, in the middle of all the high riser and construction there are Roman ruins. Pretty cool

tried to get a shot of a old against new backdrop.

40 days until I am home.

 Everyday is a different day, some days are harder than others. 

<3 and miss everyone. xoxo

I've Been Sick

For  the past two days, I have been sick so my bed has pretty much been my scenery. 

Other than on Sunday, I went up to the mountains to say bye to my uncle & cousin for a few hours. Again not too much fun saying good bye.

But it does kinda suck being sick and not being home, but im a big girl, I am toughing it out. ha

My mind has gone through a whirlwind these past couple of days because my parents gave me the offer of leaving early, several times now. But I have been thinking about it, but I worry I will regret it later. Because I have no idea when I am going to be able to come again . I dont want to look back and wished I stayed the extra three weeks. The reason why this came up was because my arabic lesson end on Friday and I do not leave Lebanon to Paris, until three weeks after on October 11th. So without a daily route what will I do, but I think I can manage. I want to make the best of it and finish what I start, the way I intended to.

However, I do of course miss everyone home and would love to see everyone but I feel I should do this, please understand ...xooxoxoxoxoxxo

But the one thing that would make my last three weeks completely unforgettable would be if my parents would sent my sister to share this experience with me. So I could still have a little part of home with me. Tina is getting her bar results in exactly ONE WEEK, (good luck T) and yes she would need to find a job. HOWEVER, two weeks would not set her back, her license will not go void if she does not find a job immediately. Honestly if you think about it if my sister does not come to Lebanon now she would ever be able until a long time. (cough cough mom,dad cough) its now or never. I want my sister.
 and one more thing mom and dad: I will ask for any birthday and christmas gifts if you send Tina. Thank you and please think over my offer. :) <3

Exploring Beirut

This Saturday I did not go to the mountains, so I decided to have an adventure around Beirut. I decided to walk to the ABC Mall in Achrafieh. I walked their once before with my uncle Jamil, but that was like in July. So I was just hoping my sense of direction would be strong. But to my surprise, I remembered it like it was yesterday, I am really finally getting to know my way around Lebanon, yay. It differently feels more like home that way. But let me just say the walk only took 20 minutes, HOWEVER, that does by no mean meant it was an easy walk. It is 3/4 of the way on a ridiculous incline. Defiantly nothing short of a workout. ha 

But it was really nice being able to walk around the mall by myself, at my own pace seeing what I want to see, for how long I want to see it; very relaxing.  I bought some more books, got a cappuccino from a cute little cafe, then windowed shopped and called it a day. :)

College Party Beirut Style

So I just came back from a college party tonight and it was quite interesting. 

Let's just say the night was filled with booby cakes, american top hits, fireworks, Lesbian couples, and some go old fashion American grinding. ha

Music/culture truly transcends borders and tonight was surely an example, from the type of dancing, to the music to the type of English that was being spoken. One thing that I truly loved the most was the openness of the gay lifestyle, that there is support in the new generation makes me hopeful for the years to come.

 It was also a night of understanding, that people should know no matter where people live, what religion (or lack there of) they practice, or even what language they speak everyone still wants the same thing...just to dance, and have fun. We are not as different as we think. I feel people, the media, just focuses on little things that are of differences and exploit them to the fullest. We try to see and focus on all the similarity we all have. It is all about opening our minds and stop the generalizations of a whole region.


<3 b7eb Liban

Two Months Away from Home

So today, I have officially been in Lebanon for two months. So the rest of my agenda goes as follows: 

- 30 days my 24th birthday

- 33 days leaving Lebanon, off to Paris :)))))

-and.... 47 days (back to reality) back to the US of A.

It's just insane to process all that, definitely going to be a whirlwind.

so random: I was bored after doing my homework, so I decided to walk downtown (again) to the Virgin Megastore because I wanted to find a book on Arabic Calligraphy. But as I started to walk down the street from my Teta's, literally in front of my eyes this car got T-BONED, within 10/15 feet of me. It was crazy, the car that got hit like slide across the road and hit a curb. Again, right in my face. haha wow. Driving here is dangerous/crazy/WTF, which walking can be just as insane. But I think walking to/from class 5x a week, I have mastered walking/crossing the Lebanese streets. haha. 

and I never found my book .. booo.

I love you ZDD miss you tons xoxo

A Big Fat Lebanese Wedding

Last night, my Uncle Nabil, Aunts Naada, Lelia and Baha went to a wedding of a neighbors daughter. It was a beautiful wedding and had a lot of tradition (Lebanese) wedding ceremonies, it was so very intriguing and splendid. 

Side note: The one thing I realized is nothing is too much in a Lebanese wedding. Meaning, I was going to wear some more jewelry but thought it would be a little too much.. yeah I was wrong, some women looked as if they were wearing every single piece of jewelry they own. So next time, I am gonna be blinged out. It's all about understanding the cultures. 

getting ready..

reception room 

ammo nabil & I

the bride & brooms couch

beautiful centerpiece

so the entrance for the bride & groom consisted of three different tradition dances (lasting 30 minutes)

looked in the far right....WTF. haha

First Dance equipped with fog

course one: Shrimp Cocktail layered with Guacamole then Couscous. yummy.. so making this later 

Tante singing

Course Two: Broccoli& Cheese Pastry Puff in a Cream sauce

Naada & Nabil dancing <3

Course Three?: Lemon Sherbet to cleanse the plate

Course Four:  Fish (wanna say mahi mahi) with vegetables

Course Five: Chocolate Truffle Cake

Course Six: Wedding Cake. White Cake with Raspberry Filling

Was truly a beautiful night. 

Not gunna lie, I took some notes. haha

<3