Beaufort Castle and Wadi Jezzine

This is our rooftop at sunset. 

The weather here right now is amazing. Mid 70s and mostly sunny! We are taking full advantage before the extreme heat moves in.

On Sunday we got the opportunity to travel for the day with our friends Andree and Eddie. We went to Southern Lebanon and had a great day. The weather was perfect and we saw some really, really beautiful things.  We drove through Saida which is known to have escalations in violence but we just drove right through and didn't stop so we had no problems. Most of the time though Saida can is safe, it just is not a very vibrant or intriguing city. Whenever I ask cab drivers or locals about Saida I get a very mixed review, some people say it is a most see and others say there is no reason to go. I have to say just seeing it from the car, I agree with the latter but that might not be fair.

 On the way through Saida a man had these pelicans out. Andree and I said they were real but Eddie and Michael didn't believe us because they are not found here, so we turned around and went back for a second look. Our assumption is that the man is selling them. They seemed to be friends and were very affectionate!

Andree, Eddie, and Me next to the Beaufort Castle

The Israelis' lived in this castle because it is on a high bluff and they can see anyone coming. They built look out rooms out front of the castle. The castle is mostly in ruins now but you can still see a few rooms and hallways.  It is very close to the Israeli border so we went through many check points and were turned around once because they do not let Americans too close to the border encase they are spies for Israel. I will have to remember on the next trip to bring my work permit and maybe a copy of my passport because I had no real ID to show the military and when they come to your car with their automatic weapons and long knives, I would like to be prepared. Nevertheless, the military and the locals we met on this road trip could not have been nicer and more helpful.

I believe this is a crusader castle.

 At one point during our visit we saw a animal that we did not recognize and then a few minutes later we heard a loud gun shot ring out. I think a local man took out our mystery animal..haha.  I don't think I have ever been so close to a real rifle being shot.  It other places it would be illegal to randomly fire your gun next to a public tourist spot, but ahh This is Lebanon and he had no bad intentions.

 This is a cathedral in Jezzine. It is a small town in Lebanon and it is beautiful. This is where Michael and I found our first Lebanese waterfall. All of the next few pictures are Jezzine!

We had such a great day and it was so nice to see a new side of Lebanon. Beirut is the opposite of green and open. The road signs are terrible and mostly in Arabic so we got really lucky that Eddie drove us around and handled all the directions for us, this would have been a very expensive trip with a taxi or an impossible trip alone.  We ate lunch at a restaurant over looking the waterfall. One wish I have  for Lebanon is that it would start a clean-up/environment campaign because all the beauty was slightly distorted with trash. There was a huge pile of garbage under the waterfall and leading up to it. I am not sure what can be done about it, but it definitely makes me think twice about my own affects on the environment. I am not sure when Lebanon got this attitude of just drop it on the ground but if something isn't done about it soon, Lebanon will lose even more of its natural beauty.  Overall, though it was one of the prettiest places I have seen and getting out of the city is always a special treat. It helps remind me when I am homesick or lonely, I am one lucky girl.

Birthday Week

Even though we were back to school after Spring Break for my birthday, I had a really fantastic week! It ended up being much more exciting than anticipated, mostly thanks to Michael and my friend Andree. Of course, everyone I know here and back home made it special but Andree ended up having a friend in town and I tagged along on their adventures.

On the Wednesday before my birthday. I went with Andree on a Rocche Rock boat trip. There are two giant rocks off the coast near our house and you can take a very small boat and drive through them. The whole thing lasted about 5 minutes, I think we got the American trip instead of the local trip.  I was unsure if the boat would stay afloat and the man kept encouraging us to move around our body weight, I ended up the only one on one side of the boat between the 4 of us and I tried not to take it personally..=) I am sure he just felt that I was more stable than the other girls..

Here is a picture of our boat that a 13 year old walked us to.  As we walked down to the boat, several locals hanging out on the Corniche were quite proud of the 13 year old for wrangling up a couple of American women. One man was kind enough to tell me he loved me! We walked down a "cliff" that is a bit of an extreme word but I don't know a better one right now, I guess a hill but that doesn't really do it justice either, that had no steps just a slight trail to find our boat. It was an adventure all by itself.

The water felt warm and was so blue, we went inside one small tunnel/cave and then through the rocks. Here is a view from the boat.

After the boat trip we went to Zeituny Bay, I think I misspelled it but it means olive in Arabic for a drink. It was beautiful there and I am going to push Michael to spend more time there. It is a boat dock for really expensive boats, as well as a strip of fancy restaurants and shops. It also has a pool in the summer. A few of the restaurants are affordable enough for us and we can just go for drinks and to be in a quieter spot.

Then we were off to our Lebanese 101 cooking class. We went to a place called Tawla (again I think) It was featured on Anthony Bourdains visit to Beirut. Everyday they have a different woman come and she creates a buffet for lunch. It is only open for about 4 hours everyday. They have 26 women chefs in all that take turns. So, you eat that day whatever she has prepared. It is pricey but a very nice space. So, we took a cooking class from one of the rotating chefs. We made Tabbouleh (which is a type of salad) everything has to be chopped very finely and it takes a lot of time. It is not my favorite dish here in Lebanon but was quite good this time.  Then we made hummus and kebbe in laban.  Kebbe is something I think Michael has blogged about and finally found the answer to but this Kebbe is a football shaped meat-filled treat. The outside (the football) is meat and some other ingredients and then you sautee meat and onions and spices and stuff it inside then bake them and then put in Laban. (Laban is a yogurt based food).
Everything was so delicious and the class was really fun. How much of it I re-create at home will be a different question.

On my actual birthday, I had to go to a guest speaker allllll day! But then I got to go to a delicious Armenian dinner with Michael at a new place we had not tried yet. Armenian food is a lot like Lebanese but spicier. We ate Chee Kufta/Kibbeh Nayyeh-which is  a raw meat dish, a lot like steak tartar. Then we had spicy fried potatoes, and quail eggs with meat on toast. We had a couple other dishes but those didn't make the picture. Everything was amazing!! Mom, I can see you scrunching up your face as you read this.

Then the Friday after my birthday again with Andree, I went on my first mini-bus experience.  Which ended up much better than expected. There is no public transportation in Beirut, so there are vans you can read in for about a dollar that stop and pick up and drop off people along the way. I think they go anywhere. So, we got on one and rode to Jabiel/Byblos which is an amazing coastal town. As we rode along, we picked up 4 guys from the military and 2 other random men. The bus had seats for 8 or 9 but I think would have taken more if there were people waiting.  Andree can speak really good Arabic and French, so she had a good time talking and translating for all of us.  It was quite an experience.  I am always very aware of how little I know in Arabic when I am in a situation with fluent, non-english speakers of Arabic. I get very few words. Thankfully, Arabic classes started up again this week.

 These pictures are all Byblos with our new camera!!

Finally, on Saturday we had a building and friends BBQ on our rooftop and it was perfect. The weather was a little cool but it is going to be so hot soon we are enjoying it while we can. So, it was a great simple evening with good people. I really appreciate everyone being so sweet to me in a new place on the big 30.  I am totally fine with turning 30, I actually feel like I have a lot to be proud of and have accomplished quite a bit and probably more than some people thought I would in my 30 years. I was just having a hard time reaching a milestone with the people I know best and longest. But, my friends here really rallied around me and made my 30th birthday perfect. I am so grateful for my Fadllalah second family! Here are some pictures from the BBQ..

The rooftop

Jen, Muay, and I

Tyson and the man that lives in our lobby Kamal

Carla my one Lebanese friend fromt Preschool

My building friends

Weird Sky

Spring Break

I just got back from Prague and Budapest yesterday and had a hard time returning.  Prague and Budapest were so, so, so cold, so I was looking forward to coming home to warm weather. But both countries were also so, so, so peaceful and beautiful.  I know Beirut has its own charms and beauty but it is not around every corner like in the countries we visited.

We went to Budapest first and it was gorgeous and cold..did I mention that already?..We spent a lot of time just walking the city.  We saw Parlament and the House of Terror.  I did not realize before going to Hungry what a challenging time the country had.  The Nazis and the Soviets set-up headquarters in one building, now the House of Terror and while there they enforced laws that terrorized the people of the city.  Everyone turned on each other and everyone was under suspicion, thousands of people died.  Yet, through all of this sadness the country is filled with great beauty. We had heard before the trip that the Hungarians are a subdued culture and we found that to be true, but also very nice.  While there I discovered Ruin Pubs, were are bars built into the old abandon buildings and they can be re-decorated but not renovated.  So, we found a really cool one by our house and had a great time at it. It was super cheap to eat and drink in Hungry.


We did the same things in Prague, wandered the city and went into a few museums.  Both cities were so full of charm and I would highly recommend them. I think a summer trip would give you a whole new perspective on both cities because beer gardens would open and it would be sunny instead of snowing.

I wish I had funny stories to tell of our great adventures but it was just a nice peaceful, fun trip.

I turn 30 in a few days and am not sure how I feel about it. I am mostly ok with it but it is sad to spend it without any family except Michael.  Oh well, a birthday in Beirut will definitely be something to talk about in years to come.  And my school loves me so much they scheduled a guest speaker to lecture at our school on my birthday til 6:30 at night. Yay!  It will be interesting to see how the Lebanese teachers do in a long lecture. They are not quiet ever, even when our director is speaking so a 4 hour long lecture will be really trying for some. My plan is to wear a t-shirt that says I am American and I am being quiet. So, I don't offend the speaker..=)

                                                                         BUDAPEST!

                                                                      PRAGUE!

Teachers Day!

On Friday was teacher's day. It is like Teacher Appreciation week but you get the day off and some teachers get way better presents. Teacher's appreciation week usaully boils down to a much of stuff you don't really want from kids or nothing at all, which is fine!  At least, it always ways for me, maybe it is just me..=)
Teacher's Day this year was a weird situation because of the strikes. At first teachers were not supposed to expect gifts because the parents had been complaining about them and how little school we were having. That idea quickly went out the door. Several of the elementary school teachers ended up with ipad mini's.
I even got a gift from my KGII kids. The moms all went in together and got me something. I couldn't believe it. The mom that came to drop it off for me had to ask who and where I was because we had never met and they gave me a real gold bracelet. I have never had anything real gold and a bunch of strangers gave it to me as a gift. Crazy!  I think its real gold anyways, I am going to return it to the store and we will see what happens!

We also get the day off on Friday for teachers day which is really nice because Thursday they had a huge celebratory dinner.  I was warned that there would be a receiving line when we got to the hotel dining room and I was dreading it.  The Lebanese do three kisses instead of two and it is so awkward. I always mess it up, sometimes I am too close to the other person, sometimes too far, sometimes we bump heads, it is really a dreadful experience for me and I avoid it at all costs. Thankfully, we got to the banquet a little early and missed most of the receiving line, at one point there were at least 15 people in line, that is a shit ton of kisses, I can't do the math but I am sure its a lot!  I also decided to play the American card and just shook most peoples hands. I am was worried about people being offended but then everyone just got super drunk so no one remembered. Score 1 Tracy, Lebanon kisses 0.  Michael had to give a bunch..sucker!

At the dinner there were a bunch of speeches and awards given out and then we ate from a buffet and then music started which means the Lebanese have to dance!  A Lebanese dance party is always a good time and everyone is usually quite good.  So, I joined in with my preschool teacher friends and our assistant and head director, who both scare me to death.  They are both wonderful women and great at their jobs but they are no holds bar and when you make them mad, look out! Thankfully, I have not done that yet! I wore a really cute grey dress from a Portland boutique, boots, and I got my hair curled and I was under dressed.  Tight and short seemed to be the theme of the evening.  The women teachers here spend all day getting ready, hair, nail, make-up, it is a riot. This is not the night to slack off on your looks!

We ended the night at a local bar just a few of us and had a great time. I have been lucky enough to have been befriended by a woman at my school.  All of the teachers talk to me when they see me and are very nice but she is the only one that invites me out after school and is including me with her friends.  It is weird to be in that place again of learning how to make friends and not being too forward since I  have so few other friends here. But, she is really great and I am very fortunate.

This Thursday we are going to see our first live music show besides the rap battle  and I am really excited. I read about him in a magazine and is music is on youtube, I have not decided if I like his music or not yet, but I am excited to go somewhere new and do something different and support a local artist.  It is late on a Thursday night and I am already dreading the early wake up but itll be worth it in the long run!

We leave for Budapest and Prague in two weeks and I am soo excited!  They are both most to be amazing places to see.
Sorry no pictures this week, the ones from teacher's dinner did not really turn out.

Preschool Interviews and Hamra Street

These last few weeks have gotten by me without even realizing it.  We only have 4 months of school left and it is hard to fathom.  I am 5 months away from having lived in Beirut for a year. Holy Shit! Who does that? and then who comes back for a 2nd year?  There are people in our building working on their 3rd and 4th years.  I still wake up morning and am amazed that I live here.  I am sure I have said that a hundred times but too bad..=)

Last weekend I had to work on Saturday because it was Preschool Interview day!  I knew it was coming but no one mentioned that all the teachers worked it. I tend to get left out of the loop a lot, there seems to be a constant assumption that I already know whats happening or that I understand the plans made in Arabic.  Lots of meetings get scheduled and then people wonder why I am not at them.  I have learned to ask a 1000 times about meetings I know might be happening.

So, I knew our school was one of the top schools in Beirut and that it was highly desirable and prestiguous but to what I extent I was not even close.  250 kids applied to go to IC, you can apply to the English or the French side, the french side is more competitive because it is more bragging rights and sounds better when you tell your friends (no joking) but only 140 get in.  I got assigned to monitor the waiting rooms because last year parents had destroyed them, leaving behind dirty tissues and toys everywhere (another Lebanese symptom of having a nanny/housekeeper). So, I got to see all the parents stew in their anxiety.  Some came in and thought the interview happened right then and there, so they were very formal and polite, others made excuses for their kids (he was sick this week, and now he is tired, can you take that into consideration) little did they know that the white, american girl could not have had less to do with the decision making process. I walked back and forth between two rooms checking on things and as soon as I walked in a room the vibe changed. Parents starting playing with their kids and quizzing them "what shape is this? what about this?" I wish I had had a clipboard to take fake notes on and add to the excitement.  I then ended the day with a parent whose child a long enough hair it could sit like a bun on top of his head and since I am a professional foot eater, I said I think the form has the wrong paper because this is a picture of a boy. Of course, it was a boy who was interviewing, Mom corrected me and said "i have all boys and I wanted one to have long hair." REALLY, i am sure looking back on this baby pictures with a future girlfriend he will show a lot of appreciation.
Back to the interviews, one by one the parents and child are called into a room with a teacher and asked to perform a series of tasks.  They are also categorized by how strong their affiliation with IC is. Are their parents alumni? Do they have siblings there? Do they have a WASTA connection ( i still don't know exactly what that means and at this point I am embarrassed to ask because everyone else seems to know).  Then there is the dreaded category 5, I was not supposed to know what the categories meant but my mentor accidentally slipped and told me.  Category 5 means you are an outsider, you have no affiliation with IC and you are screwed.  1 maybe 2 of the category 5 outsiders will get into IC and you have to basically be a 3 year old genius. I really wanted to warn these nervous parents "psst hey, you have no chance stop worrying and think about heading home early for lunch."  I wish I had kept better notes of who I saw because I want to check up on all of them next year to see who did or did not make it.  There was one little boy that went up to random kids and aggressively hugged and screamed them, shockingly he was not popular.  He was also a dreaded category 5 outsider, so farewell my strange friends, but thanks for helping me uncover the mystery behind category 5.
It was also fun to see what Lebanese parents considered appropriate preschool interview attire.  One Mom came in with her freshly bandged nose job, this might seem weird to Americans, but a nose job is a badge of honor here, it is celebrated and congratulated by most. A) you can afford one, which makes you better and B) people just like having it done!
Some Moms felt short shorts and 5 inch high heels was the dress for success method and some just went for the good old jeans and a cute top!  Lebanon has such a fascinating mix of people and ideas. It is fun to spend a few hours watching them all come to you and you just get to watch!


Now to Hamra Street.  Michael and I have both posted a lot of pictures from Hamra. It is the main street by where we live. Everyone knows it. It has a lot of clothing shops and a lot of restaurants and almost anything else you need. Every restaurant on it delivers as well. Even Hardees!  Hamra can be a very overwhelming place. It is always busy.  There is always bumper to bumper traffic, except Sunday mornings, which is a great time to walk it and remember why you like it.  On Friday and Saturday nights, if you call a cab and say you live on the end of Hamra, they just drive away. None of them want to sit in the bumper to bumper traffic for a mere 10,000 cab ride. That is $6.  Cabs here also let you put as many people into a car as you see fit, so when there are 8 of us in a 5 person Honda Civic and you are stuck in traffic, we often just climb out and walk the rest of the way.  There are numerous roads that run parallel to Hamra and have no traffic but cabs never want to take them. It is insanely frustrating and makes zero sense.  But, back to the topic, when we first moved to Beirut and spent time on Hamra we would occassionally be asked for money or to buy gum from local kids.  But, as things in Syria have continued to be dangerous and unstable, we are experiencing more and more Syrian refugees on Hamra. Which means we are experiencing more and more begging and asking for money. Adults drop their kids off on Hamra with gum or flowers and then pick them up several hours later hoping to have turned a profit.  A woman outside of Michael's drycleaner asked me for money in Arabic, at least I think that is what she wanted..=) and I walked inside of the dry cleaner and instead of going away, she just stood in the door and blocked the exit, I did an excellent job of cornering myself for her. haha.  My point of talking about this is simply to show the changes since we moved.  The war in Syria is affecting all parts of the Middle East and so little is being done about it.  Lebanon is not a stable enough country to be able to sustain the migration of Syrian refugees and keep out the fighting. Lebanon already has too few jobs for its lower-class and this influx on new people is a recipe for disaster.  A country that is already known for being dangerous (although that is horribly dramatized in the media, at least the day to day), does not need even more poeple trying to make ends meet by any means possible.

Just for fun this is a cat heading a chicken head on the sidewalk. A lady on our way to work throws them out for the cats, I got the pleasure a few weeks ago of walking by while she threw them. They make a very distant splat/thud on the sidewalk..yummy!