Yesterday Josh, Marika and I took a stroll around our neighborhood for a few hours to soak in the gorgeous weather and images of Beirut before leaving today. The night before we had gone out to celebrate the fact that the 3 of us matched to one of our choices for residency and didn't have to spend our last night in Beirut on the phone trying to scramble for an unfilled spot somewhere undesirable. We find out exactly where we match around midnight in Thailand (our flight leaves this afternoon for the next stage of our adventure). So "mabrouk" to us for getting a spot!!!!!!!
We started off at the local organic farmers market near our place where we ate some freshly made Sage with greens, goat cheese, tomato, olives, and olive oil wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla type thing...yum. I bought a jar of local honey, which is basically going to feel like a brick in my suitcase, but i can't resist the light molasses-consistency goodness...especially on a fresh piece of pita.
I had to include a shot of our favorite ice cream place, conveniently at the bottom of our apartment building, or maybe not so conveniently since all our jeans are fitting a little tighter than when we arrived a month ago. There's also a tiny espresso booth where Ahmad sells 30-cent espresso (can't beat that after a late nght of salsa dancing before heading to work). It's an extremely busy intersection where we live, taxis passing by ALL day and night, honking non-stop, cursing out the window at other maniac drivers. What's cool about Ahmad's shop is that he knows so many people from working here on this corner, that cabbies will pass by and without even telling him what they want, he knows their usual order and runs out to the street to give them their desired brand of cancer sticks in exchange for the Lira he's owed. Our first day here we stayed and chatted with him a while and he gave us our first espresso on the house, telling us he had the best coffee in Beirut, and even better - that they're open 24 hrs. We'll miss his giant smile :)
We decided to walk down to the waterfront since the sun was shining brightly, and on the way we passed walls that were covered with all kinds of graffiti and posters, mostly political in nature, and some more blunt than others! There's such a sense of political awareness and frustration with the state of things around the AUB campus, yet at the same time there are Syrian children trying to make a living selling roses on the street at night. This city is so full of contrasts.
The wind really kicked up when we were at the water, and Josh had fun playing chicken with the waves as they crashed against the walls (we actually had quite a bit of fun watching him too), some of them went as high as about 50 feet!
It's really common to find fresh-squeezed juice of all kinds (even with avocado, carrot, etc) on every street corner here. Another contradiction with people wanting fresh healthy fruit juice along with their 3 packs a day. But this guy was irresistible with his orange-grapefruit combo, the juice sparkling in the afternoon sun, and it was as refreshing as it looked. Near the juice man was two crowds of old curmudgeon-y types huddled around backgammon tables. Their focus was so intense, and few words were exchanged between them, however the ones hovering around who were just observing waved me over and I couldn't not take their photo. It reminded me of the giant chess set in the park downtown in Sarajevo that would be occupied by old men each afternoon in a quiet escape from their other obligations.
I want to thank all the new friends I've made here, Benoit, Nizar, Roudy, Mo, Michael, Sam, Salwa, and my old buddy Vladan, for making this such an incredible month and making it so hard for me to leave (only the thought of the beaches in Thailand make it a little easier...). I hope to see all you guys again sometime soon, either here in Beirut or in some far off land!
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