Bedouin Bliss

This past weekend I went on a bit of an excursion with a diverse group of new friends I met here in Lebanon. There were four of us, an American/Syrian, an Australian-born Chinese, a Swiss-born Brit, and myself. My roots are definitely the most boring of the bunch, I’m as American as you can get without being a direct descendant of Squanto.

On with the story…the final destination of our trip was Damascus, Syria, but we made a pit stop for the night at the house of the family of Brent (the half-Syrian). Brent’s family is Bedouin, meaning they are come from a lineage of migratory shepherds (like Abraham). The way the world works today, with its country boundaries, border crossings, and modern technologies, has driven most Bedouin from their traditional lifestyle and into a more stationary existence, but many of the traditions are still strongly held. This particular family lives in a group of houses that consists of the father who has 2 wives, one of which is Brent’s aunt, and 15 children, several of which are now married and have their own kids.

The visit began with a round of rousing greetings which continued throughout the night as more relatives made their way to the house. We then lounged on cushions on the living room floor with tea, followed by coffee and a few tasty puffs on the argili (traditional water pipe) on cushions in the back yard while the kids ran circles around us, this preceded yet another round of tea in a different room, on different cushions (notice the theme?). Finally, dinner was served Bedouin-style sitting back on cushions that lined the walls of the family room, with an array of local delicacies to choose from placed on the floor in the middle of the circle. We finished the night off with last round of tea, coffee, and argili, before making our way to the same cushions we had lounged on earlier in the night that would act as our beds.

As the title of this post suggests, my time with the Bedouin was one of bliss. I am Christian, they are Muslims, my country is an adamant supporter of their most hated enemies, we speak different languages, and come from vastly different backgrounds and traditions, but for one night, we were one--one harmonious group of new friends eating, drinking, sharing, and laughing together. I am not naïve to the fact that life for these friends can be difficult. There are struggles in adapting to modernity, education is costly (the family is soon to have their first high-school graduate), and traditions that have defined their culture for thousands of years are having to be left behind. These issues, however, do little to hinder the deep bond they share as a family, they also did little to stop them from opening their doors, arms, and hearts to me, a rich, Christian, American.

This little excursion allowed me the privilege to catch just a brief glimpse into the lives of a family Lebanese, Muslim, Bedouin, and I came away impressed and convicted.

Making peace in the Middle East

Our lounging, tea drinking, and sleeping quarters

Reflections on Beirut

My first experience in Beirut was a trip at 4 am from the airport to the Kids Alive orphanage that will be my home for the next 5 weeks. The quiet, almost serene, early morning streets tell a different story than what is found during the day. Beirut is a magnificent city. A bustling metropolis built in, on, and around mountains that nudge up against the Mediterranean. As you drive through the busy streets, however, remnants of past and present conflicts are evident. There are the destroyed buildings from the car bomb that killed the president 3 years ago, the rebuilding projects from the Israeli attacks a few years back, tanks guarding busy intersections, a few more soldiers than I’m used to seeing, and a Hezbollah stronghold here or there. It is, however, truly a lovely city, better than I expected…and I’d heard good things.

I’m staying at the Kids Alive children’s home with 2 friends who work here. The accommodations are nice and the weather has been beautiful, so I have no complaints. The children’s home is located in a suburb of Beirut, but I’ve managed to get around the city a bit. I always tend to feel more at home in areas of poverty, so I was happy to visit a care center that Kids Alive runs in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Beirut and see how the needs of kids from the area are being met.

Arabic studies are going well. I can now proudly say that I know about ¼ of the alphabet. In a few more weeks I’ll have the alphabet knocked out and can really begin grasping more how the language works. My plan is mostly just to study and try to experience as much of the country as possible with the rest of my time. The kids at the children’s home are gone for 2 weeks, so there won’t be much going on around the campus, which is probably a good thing as I’ll have a pleasant, quiet learning environment…I’m easily distracted.

All is well and life is good (and I had schwarma today, so I am doubly satisfied). Someday I’ll take pictures and post them, but those of you who know me can testify that documenting my travels through photographs is not my strongest quality.

Until next time…

Let the travels begin

The beginning of my traveling adventures began yesterday…New York City. A friend from the area who let me stay at her house picked me up at the airport and we took a train into the city. I’d never been out of the airport in New York so I was happy to have a day to spend seeing the sites. What did I think of our nation’s marquee city? Big buildings, people, expensive shopping, restaurants and subways…lots of all of these things. We visited the popular tourist spots, kept an eye out for celebrities, wandered the foreign streets of Chinatown, and had coffee in a pleasant little park and pizza in Little Italy. I found some amazing deals at Saks 5^th Avenue. It’s really incredible how much you can save from a sale on a $1500 blouse or a $700 wallet. Personally I couldn’t resist the deals and bought 2 t-shirts and a pair of socks on a 30% off rack and saved over 1000 bucks. How could anyone resist such a deal (that’s a joke…I make $300 a month)

Anyway, I’m at JFK airport now, waiting to check in. Next on the list is a 13 hour flight to Abu Dhabi, where I might be stuck for a few days. As of now, the flight I was hoping to catch from Abu Dhabi to Beirut is overbooked by 15 people. No complaints from me on the standby tickets though, an angelic friend who works for an airline got me the tickets for 10% of the total cost, which means I could spend a week in Abu Dhabi or Dubai and still come out ahead on the price.

Eventually I’ll end up in Beirut and there are plans for a short trip to Damascus, Syria the following week-end. So, I’m managing to visit New York City, Abu Dhabi, maybe Dubai, Beirut, and Damascus, all within a 10 day period. There are some perks to my job, you know? Once I’m in Beirut, though, aside from the trip to Damascus, it’s down to business. I’ve got 1 month to cram lots of Arabic into what little space is left in my brain. Then it’s off to Sudan where the real work begins, along with continued Arabic studies.

couch surfing

I am currently sitting in one of my favorite buy a cheap cup of coffee and sit for hours of internet usage joints, Panera. Grace's Cafe (those of you from the Cape G. area know of it) is my preferred internet option, but I'm afraid to wear out my welcome in one particular place, so I spread the joy of my presence around a bit. This juggling of coffee/internet locals is made necessary due to the ancient dial-up connection at my parent's house that I should probably get used to as I don't plan on living in any place that is known for it's technological advancement. Nonetheless, here I sit. My agenda of the day is to set the itinerary for my long-awaited journey to Beirut, then Khartoum. At the moment, I am researching potential lodging options and activities during what could be a long layover in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The deal is that I have an amazing friend who works for Etihad Airways and has managed to get me tickets for 10% of the original costs (I fly from New York to Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi to Beirut, Beirut back to Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi to Khartoum all for $200). These tickets, however, are standby, and nearly every flight from Abu Dhabi into Beirut is booked full, so it could be a long wait in what is one of the richest cities in the world. Unfortunately, lodging in this city that consists of 80% expats (mostly business folk), is quite expensive, so I'm checking into alternative solutions. The most promising option is to crash on a strangers couch. This may appear to be an odd solution, but this website, www.couchsurfing.com, has a community of people around the world who are willing to give up their couch for a random traveler, such as myself.

Maybe I'm crazy for considering it, but I consider meeting a new person who can show me around city and let me crash for free a considerably better option than paying $200 for a hotel room. If you have any better ideas, feel free to let me know.

blogging

I don't particularly enjoying blogging and have already had one failed attempt at enticing, entertaining, and informing the masses with my morsels of literary imperfection, but at the urging of not a small amount of friends and family, I am back in the blogging saddle. I don't promise to be consistent in my postings, but I'll give it a shot.

A quick review of where I've been and what I'm doing now...I lived the past 2 and a half years in the Dominican Republic, working in schools and orphanages. Now, I am on my way to Sudan to continue in the same type of work, with a temporary stop in Beirut to try to learn a bit of Arabic.

A life of this sort appears quite exciting to the average individual, and sometimes mine lives up to it's billing. These are the times when keeping up with this blogging thing is quite easy. Unfortunately, and much to the chagrin of my faithful readers, there are often weeks and even months that go by in which nothing happens that I deem worthy of sharing with the world. It's during these times that I will struggle to satisfy the demanding masses, but I strive to fare better than my previous unsuccessful attempt at regular posting.