Ce-dars the way of life

So there has been quite the press attention for Lebanon lately. "Clashes in Beirut" and "Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria", etc. So really, to the world, it looks like a disaster and it seems as if the fighting that is going on is right outside my doorstep. The world media has a way of twisting the story, as they do with many other subjects and places. Yes, there was protesting in Beirut over the last few days because of things (in)directly related to Syria, but the thing the world doesn't understand is that the fighting isn't happening everywhere. I am not sure if that is comforting to know or not, but that is how it is. Not everywhere is violent with deadly intentions. Daily life goes on just as it does at home or in Europe. We go to work and we go home and people are still seen walking around outside, the traffic just becomes a lot lighter the day after. 

This is a beautiful country with wonderful people and a wonderful culture. People are quick to judge this region when they haven't experienced what it has to offer. I have only been here a little over two weeks, but this is an extraordinary place. I went to the Cedars of Lebanon and it was breathtaking. The drive was two hours through mountains speckled with green and orange tiled roofs and deep gorges and valleys that steeped so low you could hardly see the bottom.  The Cedars themselves are so majestic and peaceful. I haven't seen anything like it in my life.

The other really big adventure I've taken since I've been here has been to Harissa, the Virgin Lady of Lebanon. On top of a hill overlooking the entirety of Beirut, you can't help but appreciate what this small country has to offer. You have beautiful huge trees that lead to the city and then beyond is the sea. Gorgeous blues and greens as you gaze below you, taking in this amazingly unique city.

Beirut has everything to offer. They get all types of American brands, like Heinz and Cheetos and McD's, and they have all kinds of shopping with H&M, Mango, Promod, and they have absolutely delicious local foods that I am still learning how to pronounce; good thing I have family tour guides! Lebanon, and Beirut more specifically, is a misunderstood place that deserves more respect for its way of life. Not everyone here is looking for a fight, although the honking in traffic might suggest otherwise. Yet, this is all part of the charm of Beirut. It is a culture that has a lot to offer and teach the world, I just wished more people wanted to know it better. 

I was just in Bulgaria and I learned a lot about living there and what they consider important and how their culture operates. They are still getting over their post-communism ways after decades of being caught in a puppet act, and people are very serious and outwardly reserved. They like to drink a lot and love to people watch in the middle of the day at cafes. The food everywhere is mainly the same options and after a while you just rely on ham and cheese toast to get you through life (well that is what I did at the end of the semester, partially because I knew I wouldn't be getting it again, even though it's a panini-ed ham and cheese. Nostalgia was kicking in, alright?!). Lebanon is completely different and I am still getting used to the generosity and friendliness of everyone here, and I am learning that they love family and huge get togethers and being loud and having fun. It's inherent here, which is something I am coming to love more and more each day. The food is delectable and healthy and there are so many certain Lebanese dishes that I have tried and still need to try. 

Life is about experiencing the world God gave us and taking what you learn and using that in your life. Learning certain things more fully from different people and different cultures and becoming a meld of all that you have been through. I guarantee that you will come away changed forever. How could you not? The best advice I could give from all that I have seen and experienced is to be open. Don't close yourself to a custom because you haven't done it before. Be open to new perspectives in the people you meet because chances are you will come across something extraordinary. Always try something at least once, that way if you don't like it, you know you don't like it instead of just snubbing your nose at it. Plus, the people you are with will appreciate your enthusiasm and desire to get to know their culture.

It's hard to step outside the box that you have gotten yourself into, but do it. Take the risk. No souvenir could possibly impact you more than getting out and doing it yourself. The memories you'll gain and the friendships made will make your life that much richer and more meaningful. I watched the movie the Way, about a father who walks the Camino de Santiago in Spain after his son died starting it. In a scene where the father is taking his son to the airport, he says, "It may not seem like much but this is the life I've chosen," and his son replies, "You don't choose a life. You live one."  Go, live life, and appreciate whatever comes your way, good or bad, because in the end, it makes you who you are.

You know you're in Beirut when...

So if you haven't noticed, the title of my blog has changed because I am no longer in Eastern Europe enjoying my surrogate home, but have now ventured to a new, exciting and completely different place: Beirut, Lebanon.  I am staying with family and while I've only been here roughly five days, here are some observations:

1.  the Lebanese are very hospitable. Whether it's food, a drink, a bed, or just a warm welcome, they are willing to give you the shirt off their back if that is what it takes to make you comfortable.

2.  it's smoggy.  It gives San Fran a run for its money except it's pollution and not just fog.

3.  driving is ridiculous. Only the brave venture out and even then it's scary to ride; it's a LOT of honking, cutting people off, getting inches away from each other, not following lines, running red lights. It makes for a racing heart and a thank you to the Lord for getting me to point B safely. (parents, it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be...).

4.  the food is delicious and above all, healthy. I eat veggies and fruit everyday and the meals are really nice. The lunch eating time is similar to that of the Spanish, especially on weekends.

5.  it feels as though everyone knows how to speak French, Arabic, and English and when talking they use them interchangeably, so in a two sentence span you could possibly hear three languages. It puts my lousy English to shame. I really need to get on this language learning thing real quick.

6.  they call light brown hair blond. It's a cultural thing, but light brown is still brown. I would know what blond is; the stares say it all. 

7.  plans are kind of sporadic and made on the fly, which fits me perfectly because I tend to just go with the flow. And it's similar to in the Bulgs in that people are fashionably late (that's what we will call it).  

You know you LOVE Bulgaria when…

1.     you will miss Skappy’s ham and cheese toast.

2.     Blago knows you are leaving so he gives you a going away gift of spotty internet. I think he's really trying to get me outside to spend time with my people. 

3.     you will not miss seeing men coming out of the woodwork in track suits when the weather turns nice.  

4.     you go somewhere else and you say da for yes, despite being fully aware that that isn’t the way they say yes.

5.     you read signs in English and you start to see Cyrillic instead. H=N. P=R. Oh now I’m confused.

6.     you miss seeing stray dogs. Where did Horny go?! I can't find Jumper! I miss them!

7.     you go out to dinner and you don’t get your food at scattered times. What do you mean I don’t have to wait an hour after my companions are done eating to get my food? And, you can hear the person you are talking to. Hold on, I don’t have to shout anymore?

8.     you will miss getting banitsa at 3:30 am after a long night of partying at Underground or Piano Bar.

9.     you can actually watch tv without it being dubbed.

10.  the first thing you mention about missing the Bulgs is how cheap it was. A 2L Shumesko for 2,69 leva, yep, that’s real.

11. you can sit outside for 8 hours on a blanket with friends, having nap time and a picnic, only for it to become a party with cake and alcohol. It’s the good life.

I will miss you Blago, your beautifully luscious, green trees, your sunny afternoons, the sound of the rushing river as I walk back to the Skaptos, your Raffy’s ice cream stands, chocolate soufflé, kebabs and banitsa, Macarios futbol matches, Shumensko and Zagorka, Lollita, Underground, Piano Bar. I will miss you Blago, for you were the perfect place to spend four months getting to know crazy amazing people (I mean we all had to be a little crazy to come to Bulgaria in the first place), for teaching me about myself and my strengths and weaknesses, for showing me what the world is really like (at least some of it anyway) and for getting me out of my American bubble. Thank you Blago, for being nicknamed Blago. Thank you for being awesome.

Bulgaria, you captured my heart and gave me the semester of my life. You are a beautiful treasure the world holds and it is a pity more people don’t see the real you. Thank you for your lovely mountains and your cheapness and your nightlife and for AUBG and for bringing me new and fantastic friends that have forever touched my heart and made it light. To all who I spent the semester with, thank you for the good times, the great memories, and love I felt when I was with you. I wish you all the best of luck on your next adventures and remember, ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE! Remember the times we had and smile because they couldn’t have gotten any better! Nasdrave, my friends to one hell of a semester. We did it right.

(Not so) Finally Finals

It's finals week. The week we all dread yet all love because it's the means to the end. After 15 weeks of classes, it all comes down to the last test, paper, or project to be completed before you are free for the glories of summer.  The weather is a siren, tempting you away from books and laptops to blankets on the grass and ice cream strolls. Instead though, you look out the window, hating yourself for studying instead of enjoying the goodness that Mother Nature has finally graced you with.  But this finals week is a little different, more bittersweet than the ones I've experienced in the past. It's my last week as an exchange student. And it's my last week with these people.

It makes me sad and if my friends knew I was writing this they would not be happy with me. We all live in denial at the moment, ignoring the fact that by the end of the week we will have to say see-you-laters (goodbyes have such a finality to them) and give last hugs before departing our separate ways. It looms above us, threatening to rain on our parade and yet, we have pulled out our umbrellas and wait for the downpour that will eventually, or very shortly, ensue. But I like rain. And I like playing in the rain and watching its beauty as the drops hit and make everything sparkly. There's a refreshing sense to the feeling of rain. 

So this is how I choose to look on this last week here in Blago (I decided this as I was writing this sentence).  We are going to give these last three days hell as we celebrate and enjoy our last days together. And as we part ways on Saturday I will look back, probably with glassy eyes and tear streaked cheeks, at all the things I learned and experienced and saw. But most of all, I will remember the fantastic times I spent with some really amazing friends (who I will love forever) and I will smile, because I am better for knowing them and blessed to have had them as companions through this journey here in Bulgaria. 

And the countdown continues... 

(more sap to come later)