What happens in Beirut stays in Beirut: Day Two

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Waking up in a room is such a nice feeling, especially when you can take a shower and eat a little French-ish breakfast on a beautiful morning out on a patio looking out to the Mediterranean. Its the little things in life that make it so sweet, like the green shutters on the building next door, or the taste of orange juice when you wake up thirsty, or the smile on a friend's face when you just made him laugh.

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Walking around the city it was like walking through different worlds, on this block I swear I was in France again and on the next I thought I was in Amman, and then the next you thing you know I would be in "Old San Juan." Roaming around we would stop and have a conversation that would pass through English, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Shawarma and French pastries with gellato and McDonalds. Worlds colliding. In academia we call it the "clash of civilizations," but in Beirut it is called life. Pick through any history of the country and civil war and strife are almost synonymous, and even my parents only envision violence. But where there are people with difference, those differences will lash out at one another until equilibrium is found again. I was lucky enough to be in this great city in a time of equilibrium (more or less), and I am still in awe of all that mess of difference jiving together on a daily basis.

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We walked around town and along the beach front. We passed through American University and Martyr's Square. Giant mosques and Orthodox churches dotted the streets together, such beautiful sacred places. There were Roman baths and ruins, with large gardens and modern business areas. Tourist districts with towering hotels and palm trees and night clubs blaring music and flashing lights. The World Cup filled every bar and restaurant and the streets were covered with flags from every country. Signs came in English, French, and Arabic, but the taxis only came in crazy. Every 10 minutes some ridiculous sports car would be spotted from Audi's to BMW's to Porches and one beautiful yellow Lamborghini. We went to the beach front and climbed over the rocks and swam in the Mediterranean and met a very nice Arab guy who told us a lot about Lebanon and the Middle East. We also went to the National Museum of Beirut that houses ancient artifacts from the area that cover everything from Coptic, to Latin, to Greek, to ancient Arabic. They also had remnants of their collection that had been destroyed and fused together during a bombing in the Lebanese Civil War, creating a whole new artifact of their history. We ate dinner at a traditional Lebanese restaurant which was sooo delicious! One of my favorite things was getting to sit at a cafe overlooking the sea and the large rock formations at sunset while we had coffee and shiisha. It was gorgeous and simple and such a wonderful time to learn more about my friends and engage in my favorite Middle Eastern hobby: laughing. We topped the night off by drinking in some bars and taking in some more World Cup. We met people from all over the world and became instant friends over yelling at sports and dancing to music. I got some free Arabic lessons and a huge dose of culture.

I loved my time in Lebanon, and I cannot wait until I go back!!