Life in Beirut is fascinating for me. I love this area, Hamra, where I live; close to everything I need. The traffic noise on the one way street below can become chaotic; honking, loud music or voices, but overall, I love it. I love hearing different languages, and enjoy using my simple Arabic vocabulary. "La Shokran" (No thanks!) to the taxis that offer me a ride. "Afwan" (Excuse me!) to the man standing in the doorway I need to enter. "Baddii awaii" (I want coffee) to the shopkeeper, who grinds up the blend I ask for. The hard part is passing sidewalk women, babies on their laps, begging for hand outs. Young 4 to 8 year old children squat on the sidewalk, springing to their feet and asking for a hand out as I walk past. These are hard things to see. Sometimes I give. I've also learned how to say No: avoid eye contact and walk by briskly. I hear their words, begging me to have pity, to stop, to give. I passed 4 such people on my way to the bank today. I had no cash, so it wasn't a choice, a justification? It gets easier to ignore... but what does that really mean?
Ran my usual errands this morning; Hummos man for my fresh hummos addiction. There is nothing like it, anywhere. He serves up a half kilo carton and adds a tray of veggies (fresh tomato, olives, pickle, onion, radish, and fresh mint sprigs) along with a platter sized pita and spoon, in case you can't wait to get home; All for $3.
The green grocer is next to the hummos guy, where I bought avocados, tomatoes, bananas, salad greens, kiwis and oranges, all for $8. EVERYTHING is grown locally, and oh so good.
Just a short way down the road is the Bourgeois Grocer where the Madame sells homemade trays of food you can reheat at home. I lived on her food the first 3 months I was here. Still enjoy going in on Saturday where the Monsieur pulls out the big while plastic chair and hands me a pastry and demi tasse of his ground coffee. First we sit and visit. Then it's time to step over to the case to select the week's fare. No matter what you choose, Madame always throws in an extra something; dessert, salad, or side dish. They are adorable, and the high point of my shopping Saturday.
My least favorite trip was to the bank... another snafu. It was a standing joke for us (newbie teachers Lucy, Charlene and me) that we made weekly Saturday walks to the bank for the first two to three months after our arrival here. It was all about...setting up accounts, payroll deposit, internet bill payments, getting cash, sending cash, unraveling ATM and credit card problems... You just can't believe all the little mishaps that cropped up those first months. The first thing about banking here, it's not computerized to the extent we are accustomed to in the States. When you open a credit card account, you sign, sign, sign. Then you wait. You're told to come back the next week, and when you do, they're not ready. So you set up a regular bank trip, and find out that another piece of information is missing. Get that done, return the next Saturday to see what's happened since the week before. It was an exciting day when we got our ATM cards, end of September. A very exciting day when the credit cards were issued in mid- November.
My bank trip today was about recovering an ATM card. I was out of lira last Sunday and went to the ATM. My card went in, everything seemed usual, until my card wouldn't come out again, nor did the requested cash. Reason given? Address update needed. WHAT? Luckily I had a cupboard full of food and a few $20 dollar bills in my travel folder. You want to be ready for surprises like this, and I got through the week just fine. Today I found out the machine ate my card because it had "been in the ATM machine too long"... HUH?? Well, I have my card and lira now, and can once again patronize the hummos and green grocer stands; back to fresh foods!
So yes, there are inconveniences. There are surprises. The infrastructure we take for granted at home isn't the same here. You learn right away NOT to make ATM withdrawals during the last days of any month. Cash machines run out of cash and show a debit from your account, even though you didn't get any cash. That's another trip to the bank! You have internet and electricity, but outages, though common and usually brief, are enough to end your Skype call. There is also the 3 hour rotating outage every day, which is softened by the building generator that automatically kicks in, but also ends your Skype call. These problems are just part of everyday life, and as you live here, you adjust and don't even blink. When the power would go off in my classroom back on Whidbey Island, all the kids would jump off their chairs with anticipation! Here, the power goes out and there isn't a reaction; classroom life just goes on. And trash? That could have a chapter all to itself...
As I said earlier, life here is different, but fascinating. I wouldn't trade where I'm living now for anything else. Why? Life in Beirut is a sensual feast that knocks me over from time to time. It's the intrigue that captivates and won't let go.
Ran my usual errands this morning; Hummos man for my fresh hummos addiction. There is nothing like it, anywhere. He serves up a half kilo carton and adds a tray of veggies (fresh tomato, olives, pickle, onion, radish, and fresh mint sprigs) along with a platter sized pita and spoon, in case you can't wait to get home; All for $3.
The green grocer is next to the hummos guy, where I bought avocados, tomatoes, bananas, salad greens, kiwis and oranges, all for $8. EVERYTHING is grown locally, and oh so good.
Just a short way down the road is the Bourgeois Grocer where the Madame sells homemade trays of food you can reheat at home. I lived on her food the first 3 months I was here. Still enjoy going in on Saturday where the Monsieur pulls out the big while plastic chair and hands me a pastry and demi tasse of his ground coffee. First we sit and visit. Then it's time to step over to the case to select the week's fare. No matter what you choose, Madame always throws in an extra something; dessert, salad, or side dish. They are adorable, and the high point of my shopping Saturday.
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| Darling owners of the Bourgeois Grocery; fresh food take out for reheat at home |
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| Making Zatar bread; delicious! |
My bank trip today was about recovering an ATM card. I was out of lira last Sunday and went to the ATM. My card went in, everything seemed usual, until my card wouldn't come out again, nor did the requested cash. Reason given? Address update needed. WHAT? Luckily I had a cupboard full of food and a few $20 dollar bills in my travel folder. You want to be ready for surprises like this, and I got through the week just fine. Today I found out the machine ate my card because it had "been in the ATM machine too long"... HUH?? Well, I have my card and lira now, and can once again patronize the hummos and green grocer stands; back to fresh foods!
So yes, there are inconveniences. There are surprises. The infrastructure we take for granted at home isn't the same here. You learn right away NOT to make ATM withdrawals during the last days of any month. Cash machines run out of cash and show a debit from your account, even though you didn't get any cash. That's another trip to the bank! You have internet and electricity, but outages, though common and usually brief, are enough to end your Skype call. There is also the 3 hour rotating outage every day, which is softened by the building generator that automatically kicks in, but also ends your Skype call. These problems are just part of everyday life, and as you live here, you adjust and don't even blink. When the power would go off in my classroom back on Whidbey Island, all the kids would jump off their chairs with anticipation! Here, the power goes out and there isn't a reaction; classroom life just goes on. And trash? That could have a chapter all to itself...
As I said earlier, life here is different, but fascinating. I wouldn't trade where I'm living now for anything else. Why? Life in Beirut is a sensual feast that knocks me over from time to time. It's the intrigue that captivates and won't let go.
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| Beirut's downtown Blue Mosque, where you are welcome to visit. |
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