It is hard to believe that I have been here for a month already. It has really flown by. To start off with, this weekend I went to Tripoli, which is in the north of the country, about 85 km from Beirut. I took the bus and it was good because they all came by and I waited for the one that said: طرابلس "Trablus" in Arabic, which is the Arabic name for Tripoli. Yet another instance where literacy really paid off.
It was about an hour and 15 minutes to get there and I got off the bus and just walked in the direction of the signs saying "Centre Ville". Another instance where my limited French really paid off. I found a big open square with a clock tower in it, so I figured that must be one of the landmarks. Anyways, I walked in the direction which I thought the "Souq" was in because there was also a sign that said "Ville historique" or something to that effect. So I found the old part of the city with narrow cobblestone streets with no cars. That is where the souq is. I walked through all the shops with food and clothing and brick a brack. I ended up walking out of the old part and stumbling upon this big stone building with no windows. An old building, like a fort. There were tanks and soldiers all around, so I didn't know if I could go in, but it turns out it was the "citadel", another landmark, and it's, I don't know, 500 years old or what ever. It's an old castle. Since it's in the guidebook, I think you can go in and look around, but I didn't. At that point I was feeling a little overwhelmed because I couldn't quite get my bearings. I decided to walk back to the clock tower and figure it out from there.
So... I did. The guide book has maps in it, so I used it to figure out where I was in relation to everything else. I walked around the newer part of the city, which was nice. Just like any city. I then decided to walk towards the big cemetery. And as I was at the front gate an older guy and a young women were walking out. The guy said hello, so I said hello and he said where are you from? England? Ireland? And I said, the United States. People often mistake me for English or Irish by looks, and you know I like that. Anyways, he asked if I was a tourist and all that and he asked if I needed a guide. I said no, thanks and then he said, ok, well let me give you my card. And he did, and lo and behold, he was actually a guide in Tripoli! Not just a guy who wanted me to pay him to show me around. (Which happened constantly in Morocco). Then I said thanks and he told me how to get to some of the landmarks in Tripoli, which was really nice. I followed his directions and got to see some cool Mosques. Then I wandered through the souq again.
As I was walking back in the direction where the buses were, a guy said to me: Parlez vous Francais? And I said no. He said where are you from? Do you speak English? I said yes, I'm from the United States. He then told me he was an English teacher and that he speaks lots of languages. And so we chatted about Lebanese migration. He told me that the Lebanese have friends and family all over the world and that makes it easier to live and work abroad. And he told me about how Lebanon is very multicultural and so forth.
Then, my friends, he told me about his love life. He said that he was in love with French women. That he divorced his Lebanese wife in order to be with this French women, Emmylou, and move to France with her. However, he hadn't declared his love for her yet. So, he said, tomorrow I am going to have her to my home and make a nice meal and tell her that I love her and want to marry her and move to France. And then, he showed me the poem he wrote for her. It was in French so he translated it for me. It went like, you know, your hair shines like the moon, your eyes are beautiful, etc. The most striking line, and the final line of the poem however, went like this: "The Jews crucified Jesus Christ on the cross. And you, have crucified me on the cross of love." (He was a Maronite Christian). Very romantic, n'est pas?
So after that I went to a little place to get something to drink and relax. I had fresh squeezed orange juice and watched the end of the Brazil vs. Portugal game. It was a tie. After that I took a taxi van home and sat in the front seat next to a Lebanese soldier.
Anyways, that was the weekend, and this week I worked and started the Arabic courses. They seem good so far. The teachers are good, and it is nice to be studying it again. The kids in the class are nice too, there's only 7 total. Later I'm going to watch one of the world cup games with a couple guys from my class.
Work is going well and on Wednesday a group of Americans of Lebanese origin came to visit NDU and LERC did a presentation for them, which I got write up for the website. And today I met with Dr. Sensenig about all the information I have been researching.
This weekend I think I'm going to go to the Jeita Grotto, which has the world's largest stalactite. And maybe I'll go to another town in Mount Lebanon.
(I meant to post this last night but I forgot.)
It was about an hour and 15 minutes to get there and I got off the bus and just walked in the direction of the signs saying "Centre Ville". Another instance where my limited French really paid off. I found a big open square with a clock tower in it, so I figured that must be one of the landmarks. Anyways, I walked in the direction which I thought the "Souq" was in because there was also a sign that said "Ville historique" or something to that effect. So I found the old part of the city with narrow cobblestone streets with no cars. That is where the souq is. I walked through all the shops with food and clothing and brick a brack. I ended up walking out of the old part and stumbling upon this big stone building with no windows. An old building, like a fort. There were tanks and soldiers all around, so I didn't know if I could go in, but it turns out it was the "citadel", another landmark, and it's, I don't know, 500 years old or what ever. It's an old castle. Since it's in the guidebook, I think you can go in and look around, but I didn't. At that point I was feeling a little overwhelmed because I couldn't quite get my bearings. I decided to walk back to the clock tower and figure it out from there.
So... I did. The guide book has maps in it, so I used it to figure out where I was in relation to everything else. I walked around the newer part of the city, which was nice. Just like any city. I then decided to walk towards the big cemetery. And as I was at the front gate an older guy and a young women were walking out. The guy said hello, so I said hello and he said where are you from? England? Ireland? And I said, the United States. People often mistake me for English or Irish by looks, and you know I like that. Anyways, he asked if I was a tourist and all that and he asked if I needed a guide. I said no, thanks and then he said, ok, well let me give you my card. And he did, and lo and behold, he was actually a guide in Tripoli! Not just a guy who wanted me to pay him to show me around. (Which happened constantly in Morocco). Then I said thanks and he told me how to get to some of the landmarks in Tripoli, which was really nice. I followed his directions and got to see some cool Mosques. Then I wandered through the souq again.
As I was walking back in the direction where the buses were, a guy said to me: Parlez vous Francais? And I said no. He said where are you from? Do you speak English? I said yes, I'm from the United States. He then told me he was an English teacher and that he speaks lots of languages. And so we chatted about Lebanese migration. He told me that the Lebanese have friends and family all over the world and that makes it easier to live and work abroad. And he told me about how Lebanon is very multicultural and so forth.
Then, my friends, he told me about his love life. He said that he was in love with French women. That he divorced his Lebanese wife in order to be with this French women, Emmylou, and move to France with her. However, he hadn't declared his love for her yet. So, he said, tomorrow I am going to have her to my home and make a nice meal and tell her that I love her and want to marry her and move to France. And then, he showed me the poem he wrote for her. It was in French so he translated it for me. It went like, you know, your hair shines like the moon, your eyes are beautiful, etc. The most striking line, and the final line of the poem however, went like this: "The Jews crucified Jesus Christ on the cross. And you, have crucified me on the cross of love." (He was a Maronite Christian). Very romantic, n'est pas?
So after that I went to a little place to get something to drink and relax. I had fresh squeezed orange juice and watched the end of the Brazil vs. Portugal game. It was a tie. After that I took a taxi van home and sat in the front seat next to a Lebanese soldier.
Anyways, that was the weekend, and this week I worked and started the Arabic courses. They seem good so far. The teachers are good, and it is nice to be studying it again. The kids in the class are nice too, there's only 7 total. Later I'm going to watch one of the world cup games with a couple guys from my class.
Work is going well and on Wednesday a group of Americans of Lebanese origin came to visit NDU and LERC did a presentation for them, which I got write up for the website. And today I met with Dr. Sensenig about all the information I have been researching.
This weekend I think I'm going to go to the Jeita Grotto, which has the world's largest stalactite. And maybe I'll go to another town in Mount Lebanon.
(I meant to post this last night but I forgot.)
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