“Vivarium”

I was walking down Abdel Aziz with my friend Samantha on the way home from the new Younes and noticed there was an art opening at a gallery. We popped in and had a glass of wine and checked out the paintings of Omar Fakhoury. We enjoyed it a lot.

Let’s Give ‘Em Something To Talk About

Earlier this week Mustapha (@Beirutspring)  posted an article on Twitter from the New York Times about how Starbucks has recently raised its price of a tall coffee to $1.85 in NYC causing the post tax price to reach $2.01 and sending some Manhattanites into a tizzy over having to now carry coins to pay the penny instead of getting back change from their two dollars. (It’s quite silly. Really, go have a read if you missed it).

I was talking to my Lebanese colleague about the article and wondering aloud how many people even cared about the penny to warrant an article on it. If you think about it, this penny situation could really only affect a small group of men because, 1) women tend to have purses or wallets with coin purses to hold change so that basically rules out all the women, 2) a good portion of the men must pay with a credit card, 3) of those men that don’t, some must buy a coffee + something else so the penny isn’t an issue, 4) still others of those that don’t pay with plastic buy a different size altogether, and 5) some just probably aren’t opposed to actually having some change in their pockets. So how many could possibly affected, a handful??

As I was going through my argument for the silliness of the article my friend laughed and said her daughter was just asking her the other day what they talk about on the news in countries where there isn’t constant threat of war, political instability, and the like. I said, “Well, there you go. We get upset over having to pay $2 plus a penny for our coffee.”

Fanstastic Sunday in Beirut

Today was a fantastic Sunday in Beirut. My day started bright and early (6:45am) with a 9.5 mile run. The weather was spectacular and at the end of my run I was greeted by a view of the snow-capped mountains rising above the Mediterranean and not a cloud in the sky. As I ran the last mile or so of my run I just admired the view and thought about how lucky I am to be living in Beirut with such gorgeous views and such pleasant weather in December.

The view of the mountains today. (Taken later in the day.)

After my run (and a nice cup of French Press coffee at home) I got ready and met my girlfriends for brunch at Casablanca to celebrate my birthday. I opted this year for brunch with a few friends rather than a big night out and it was such a great idea. We all enjoyed the food at Casablanca and it was great to catch up with friends in a nice environment rather than a loud, smoky bar.

The view from Casablanca.

Bloody Marys all around!

After brunch a few of us walked to BIEL to check out the exhibition “Art in Iraq Today” which was quite nice.

On the way we noticed that the view of the mountains was almost the exact view printed on a barrier just below it. It was a meta moment that we found quite amusing.

The Beirut Exhibition Center where the art exhibition was held.

I spent the rest of the day walking around downtown with my friend Samantha window shopping, drinking coffee, eating dessert, and just soaking up all of the sunshine. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer Sunday or a nicer way to celebrate my birthday.

Tribute to Rafik Hariri downtown.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Beirut

But before I tell you about that, let me take a step back and tell you about Thanksgiving first. (I’m a little behind in the blogging department.)

Unlike last year, I only celebrated Thanksgiving once this year. (Without my partner in crime Kim to help out on the Thanksgiving preparations, I didn’t have the energy to cook my own Thanksgiving meal at my apartment). Instead I focused all of my energy on getting the stuffing right. When I found Italian sausage at one of the fancy grocery stores (even though it was $40 for 12 links!!) I knew it was on. I hunted down some celery ($6 per bunch) and the rest of the ingredients on several different shopping trips. It may have ended up being the most expensive side dish ever but it did not disappoint. I think I have some new converts to the stuffing recipe, too.

This year Thanksgiving was celebrated at our school president’s house on campus and it was quite the fancy affair. While it was still a potluck, there was a chef to cook the turkey and a team of people to serve and clean up. We ended the night with a White Elephant gift exchange.

The day after Thanksgiving I was in the Christmas spirit and so instead of going “Black Friday” shopping like so many Americans, I headed downtown with my friend Samantha to see the Christmas lights. I love the festive atmosphere downtown. Makes me excited to get home and see my family for the holidays.

Blackout Beirut

Apparently for the last few weeks Beirut has been experiencing more power outages than usual. Normally we have 3 hours per day where the electricity goes out in various sections of the city. (There’s even an iPhone app to keep track of when the outages will occur in your area as they change weekly). Living in the international school bubble that I do, I never really have to experience that. We have a reliable generator in our faculty housing (and school buildings) that kick on immediately after a power outage so we only have a moment of inconvenience rather than hours. Unlike other people I know in Beirut I don’t have to plan when I get showered and dressed based on having enough light, or when I’ll go grocery shopping based on when I’ll be able to use the elevator to get my groceries up to the 7th floor.

This week though there have been blackouts that have been so frequent and long that even the generators around the city can’t keep up. A colleague of mine said it had to do with workers striking in the power plant. I did a little research and came up with this.

Tonight I was out with some friends when the electricity went out in the bar we were at for almost a half hour. It was completely black inside the bar until the waiters came around and put candles on all the tables. Without the music and lights it was really a cozy atmosphere. We left the bar just as the generator came on but as we walked down Makdissi Street most of the other bars were still without power. It was kind of surreal to walk down the busy sidewalk with the street completely dark, and to see all the patrons inside the bars drinking by candlelight. I suppose this must be something like what it was during war time.

So you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?

If you take “services” (shared taxis) in Beirut then you are used to rejection. Any time you want to go somewhere in a service you have to give your destination to drivers countless times before one finally agrees to take you where you want to go.

Sometimes I think it’s understandable; there are other people in the car and they’re probably not going my way. But other times it seems ridiculous; I just want to go from Hamra to downtown, which isn’t that far, and the car is empty and already headed in that direction. Occasionally I will be rejected so many times that I finally give in and pay double price even though I KNOW I can usually get there at the regular price.

So yeah, taking services in Beirut you get to know rejection.

Well, today was different. For once I rejected a service. A couple of cars had pulled up to me, one after another, as I stood on the side of the road, and each time I said “downtown” the driver gave that barely discernible head nod (meaning “no”) and drove off. Then, a service pulled up which was truly disgusting. You know the old cars that are so beat up they have holes in the seats, are being held together literally by duct tape, and really have no business being on the road? Well, it was one of those. And I decided I didn’t want to get in that car. (I was once in a similar looking service that ended up being a shared ride with a cockroach. Yes indeed, after that ride I decided it was my right to not get into a car that should have long ago been taken to the dump, if I so chose.) So this car pulls up to me and I wave my hand to say “no thanks.” But the driver had seen me trying to get a ride with a service just in front of him. I kept shaking my hand “no” but he insisted, “Why yes for the other car, but no for me?” I tried to brush him off but he kept asking. So I said, “I don’t like your car.”

“You don’t like my car? Are you going to buy it?”

“No,” I said, “but no thank you.”

“If it were raining, you would like my car. Where do you want to go?”

“Yes,” I had to agree, but no, I wasn’t getting in that car. Not to mention, once I said downtown he was probably going to reject me anyway. After much insistence he finally drove off. I negotiated with a few more drivers and finally got my ride downtown for the acceptable price of 2,000LL.

But I have to say, if the taxi drivers of Beirut are going to reject us passengers left and right, they should learn to take a little rejection themselves.

 

Beirut By Segway?

Last night I was in a cab downtown on my way back to Hamra and I saw a group of people on Segways drive (ride?) by. That was that first time I’d seen that. Apparently the store in Beirut opened sometime this year. Who’s idea was this? I mean really. The last thing the streets of Beirut need are more lawless vehicles.

What do you think? Is Beirut by Segway a good thing for the city of Beirut?

Zurich Tourism Ad Targets Expats Living in the Middle East

Tonight I saw a commercial on CNN from the Zurich Tourism Board targeting expats living in the Middle East. As I was listening to it I just kept thinking wow, are they really saying that? The voice over mentions all the fantastic things about Zurich (and I agree, Zurich is fantastic) but after the opening line of “Life in the Middle East as an expat can be tough,” the connotation is that all of these fantastic things about Zurich are the exact opposite of the Middle East. I mean, it’s all true, but to put it in an commercial? Seems a bit cheeky to me.

Here is the text of the commercial and the TV spot.

Life in the Middle East as an expat can be tough. That’s why I like taking my family to Zurich. Things work here. Getting around is easy. Everything’s clean and safe. Zurich’s great for family fun. To me it’s like a breath of fresh air.

Zürich_Tourismus_Expat from Reto Caffi on Vimeo.

That is not a parking spot!

In honor of my return to Beirut, I thought I’d do a little post to show all the ways one should not park a car. I thought it would take me at least two trips in various neighborhoods to document all of the crazy ways that Lebanese drivers park, but I was able to accomplish the task quite easily walking around Hamra for an hour.

Without further ado, here are some examples of places that are NOT parking spots (yet are used as such all too frequently in this city).

1) Obstruction of sidewalks is a big issue here! For a city that is small enough to be so easily walkable, the parking adds an unnecessary challenge.

Don’t worry, I can squeeze between the car and scooters.

Look how many obstacles there are just to cross this driveway.

Hey, don’t worry Crown Plaza Hotel, you can keep two taxis parked at all times on one of the most crowded sidewalks in all of Beirut.

Delivery scooters blocking the sidewalk on Bliss Street.

While this taxi is safely tucked into this “parking spot” the pedestrians have to go out into the road to get around it. (And then of course get honked at by the cars trying to DRIVE down the street. Hey cars, if you stay off my sidewalk, I’ll stay out of your road. Deal?)

I could continue with infinite examples of sidewalk obstruction, but let’s move on. Shall we?

2) Double Parking! Traffic in the city would move along a LOT better if cars weren’t always having to avoid the double parkers!

What could easily be a two-lane road bottle necks down to one because of this idiot. Look, he’s not even worried about being way out in the middle of the road.

Hopefully nothing bigger than a scooter plans on driving down this street.

3) Parking on the corners. Most of the streets in Beirut are quite narrow. All the space around the corners is needed so people can turn yet that doesn’t stop most drivers from parking (or even DOUBLE parking) on the corners.

Exhibit A:

A major cluster of cars jammed on the corner. How do you even get out of a mess like this?

4) And this last one’s in a category all its own. I need two pictures to show you just how awful it is.

The road in the picture below splits into two, one lane going to the right of the blue building, the other lane going to the left. Cars love to park in the “V” shape that naturally forms there. Here, the black car is kind of at the point of the V.

But when you look at it from the side view you can see that this car is essentially parked in the middle of the road! It’s not near to any curb or other car, just flat out parked in the middle of nowhere!

Walking and driving in Beirut would be a much more pleasurable experience if Lebanese drivers would learn how to park!

**Note, I took all of these photos on a quiet Saturday afternoon, so while some of the streets may look empty and traffic may not seem to be a problem, it’s actually quite the opposite most of the time.

Hurricane Irene: The Morning Before

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a hurricane on it’s way to NYC. We’ve been getting ready since Friday and now all there is to do is wait.

This morning I got up and took a walk around the neighborhood to see what was happening– not to mention, to get out of the apartment before I’m stuck inside for two days.

Lots of people walked to the Brooklyn Promenade to get a glimpse of the city pre-storm.

Lots of “Because of the hurricane . . .” signs around. Most places closed until Tuesday.

As of noon today, no public transportation in the city.

Hope this is enough to keep the garbage cans from flying around.

24 hour flower shop closed down as of Friday night. Guess no one needs floral arrangements before or during a hurricane.

People that got caught without an umbrella today were quite amusing. Really? You didn’t know it was going to rain today?

Many New Yorkers’ hurricane prep was alcohol related.

And some preparations were a bit more traditional.

Hurricane Irene, we’re ready.