From Beirut (Beyrouth) to LA

Barbars. One of the many late night places in Hamra.

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:03:30 +0300

Barbars. One of the many late night places in Hamra.

Instagram collection from the rooftops in Beirut.

Sun, 12 May 2013 22:02:16 +0300

Instagram collection from the rooftops in Beirut.

Street art from Beirut, Lebanon.

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:24:00 +0300

Alleyway

AUB Hospital

Close to Hamra

On the street of Joan D'arc

Hamra

Zaytun

AUB Hospital

Joan D'arc street

AUB Hospital

Gayamaze

Street art from Beirut, Lebanon.

Street art in Gayamaze.

Sat, 11 May 2013 23:03:27 +0300

Street art in Gayamaze.

Favorite fruits from Sidon.

Sat, 11 May 2013 21:41:21 +0300

Favorite fruits from Sidon.

Leaving so soon... Are you sad to go?

Sat, 11 May 2013 18:35:00 +0300

Ah. I really hate this question. Because honestly, I am in the middle with this one.

Will I be sad to leave behind my awesome roommate, floor mates, and wonderful friends here?
Obviously yes. They are awesome, lovely, amazing, and beautiful people. I will be making an absurd amount of care packages when I get home so that they know that I miss them and love them like crazy.

What about finishing courses at AUB?
I loved them. So I’m sad to say masalama to them (well, okay, not that heart broken). I learned a lot and that was one of my goals so yay for that.

Will I be sad to leave behind tubs of Lebneh and jenbna and tabbulah and kebbeh and manousha and pita bread?
No amount of pita bread will soothe my aching heart of leaving behind such wonderful food items… (I mean, really, now I’m going to have to drive all over the California and Colorado state to find the best pita breads).

Will I be sad to leave behind the constructions and power outages?
Nope. Not even a little bit.

Am I excited about the summer?
You can’t even imagine. I get to visit both of my home towns (yup, one of those who has multiple ‘homes’) and travel around before I start my awesome internship. Plus, I get to learn more about webdesign and running wordpress thanks to my new job on campus next year. PLUS wonderful friends are coming into Colorado and I’m so stoked for that!

Am I excited about senior year of COLLEGE?
YES! I am unbelievably excited to be an RA next year. I love my co-RA to death, I’m going to be in an awesome dorm, I’m going to be taking great classes, ALL of my friends from study abroad will be back, and so much more. PLUS, there will be an additional member to the family and am so excited for that. Though thesis and job searching and fellowship applications are probably going to be the worst…

Really, I’m going from one awesome thing to another.

From the CAMES building at AUB.

Sat, 11 May 2013 18:12:17 +0300

From the CAMES building at AUB.

Hamra on a Friday night.

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:24:29 +0300

Hamra on a Friday night.

I could have taken this final semester of Arabic pass/fail, but I didn't...

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:30:39 +0300

arabicproblems:

Sounds about right.

Just noticed this while walking to school.

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:37:44 +0300

Just noticed this while walking to school.

Lebanon Top 3 News Digest | 5/3/13

Sat, 04 May 2013 09:30:22 +0300

lebanonmessages-digest:

Your daily Lebanon roundup of the top 3 news stories in the country.

1) Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya collects funds to arm Syria’s rebels

SIDON, Lebanon: Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya collected funds Friday in the coastal city of Sidon to help arm rebels fighting the regime in Syria.

Some 120 members at 30 mosques around the city carrying boxes and holding scarves, asked people to donate “to support the free rebels” in Syria.

Standing outside Zaatari Mosque, one man called on worshippers departing after Friday prayers to fight the regime of President Bashar Assad and held a banner that read: “Pay for one bullet that kills a criminal.”

Preachers in various mosques spoke about “crimes committed by Bashar Assad against his people” with one sheikh recalling the Hama massacre during the reign of Bashar’s father, former President Hafez Assad.

Why it matters: Disassociation policy is dead and it’s open season on backing a side in Syria. Hezbollah has made that clear, and more mainstream forces from the other side of the political divide will take it to heart as well. It’s easy to see Lebanon becoming a huge double barreled pipeline into both sides of the conflict (more so than it is already).

2) Hezbollah steps up rhetoric against Islamist rebels

BEIRUT: Hezbollah stepped up its rhetoric against radical Islamist groups Friday, saying their war on Syrian President Bashar Assad is also against Lebanon’s resistance.

“Those targeting the resistance and preventing supplies reaching it are practicing an act of aggression against Lebanon, based on the view of Takfiri terrorism which complements Zionist schemes aimed at provoking sectarian strife,” the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc Mohammad Raad said in a remarks that referred to the Islamists as apostates.

He was apparently referring to Islamist opposition groups including Jabhat al-Nusra, the radical lslamist Syrian rebel group which has repeatedly warned Lebanon over Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syria civil war.

Why it matters: The rhetoric here is markedly stronger than the norm over the past years. “Takfiri” an apostate of the Islamic faith, was used by S.H. Nasrallah and Raad uses it again here. It takes a step into vitriolic name calling that shows the Islamists have entered the ranks of Hezbollah’s forever foes and reveals the enmity that underlies the fighting.

3) Pope calls for ‘greater aid’ for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis called Friday for greater humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and surrounding countries, after meeting with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman at the Vatican.

“The huge number of Syrian refugees who have sought refuge in Lebanon and the neighbouring countries gives rise to particular concern,” the Vatican said following the talks.

“Greater humanitarian aid is called for, for the refugees and the suffering population, with the support of the international community,” it said.

The United Nations in mid-April said that Lebanon was housing 400,000 Syrians who have fled the conflict now in its third year which has killed more than 70,000 people.

Those fleeing war-ravaged Syria included a quarter of a million children, the Vatican noted.

Why it matters: There are now over 450,000 Syrian refugees getting aid from the UN in Lebanon, and the situation could easily be classified as the worst and potentially most dangerous in the region. Aid needs to pour in by the bag full to hold off more cuts to U.N. aid services and having help from Christian charities will certainly help, Islamic charities dominate the non-government aid donors here.

Photo by Mohammed Zaatari

arabbara: scheiinwelt: arabbara: Everyone stands before the engine is even turned off like you’ll...

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:45:23 +0300

arabbara:

scheiinwelt:

arabbara:

Everyone stands before the engine is even turned off like you’ll get off the plane earlier and then clap for the captain chanting “bravo capteen”… gotta love arabs!

Omg they still do this

Haha yes they do! its hilarous! :D

It’s fun… And then you realize that they’re clapping for the successful landing of the plane and not, “yay! Lebanon!”

I’ve had scary incidents when no one clapped since the landing was baddd.

Sit criss-cross applesauce it's storytime

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 11:27:43 +0300

hellomynameismaddy:

rubyredgingerbread:

So i went to this margarita party at the engineering college near mine this afternoon, and i really wasn’t expecting much. but when we got there they had stolen sand from the volleyball courts and got kiddy pools and 10000s of lemons from the countryside!?! And in the process of picking lemons and limes they got pulled over for “agricultural theft” but one cars of lemons escaped so there were drinks and then we limbo’ed under a palm tree branch. I swear these kids.

and this is why, even when i’m having a blast gallivanting around europe, i still miss claremont.

Oh Mudd <3. How I miss the insanity of the Claremont Colleges.

Pretend that I’m frolicking outside instead of studying...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:24:09 +0300

Pretend that I’m frolicking outside instead of studying inside.

My favorite cat visited me during my 8am Arabic class.

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:30:00 +0300

My favorite cat visited me during my 8am Arabic class.

Overview of AUB. Hello sea!

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 03:01:55 +0300

Overview of AUB. Hello sea!

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:28:26 +0300

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

― John Hughes, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Robot and flowers.

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:01:46 +0300

Robot and flowers.

View from my building.

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:02:18 +0300

View from my building.

This cat literally chilled on the heating pipes for the entire...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:27:30 +0300

This cat literally chilled on the heating pipes for the entire day. I can’t tell if it is genius or stupid.