From Gemaizeh to Hamra

I had been staying at a hotel in Gemaizeh (the predominately Christian neighborhood) for the first few days here. I literally had to walk straight from my hotel to get to work, and you get tell when you were in Gemaizeh because of bumper stickers on windows saying "I [heart] Gemaizeh." Beirut is interesting - everyone speaks in French, Arabic or English, and if you don't know all three, you're behind. And Gemaizeh is incredible in itself - you can find small electronic stores, grocery stores, little resteraunts, a small hospital...but the street is also peppered with posh lounges called "Spoon" or "Mystique" or "Rehab". There are a lot of French resteraunts too - not surprising. It's the place to be - everyone comes out at night. It's probably like walking through Adams Morgan, or Telegraph, or Times Square (??).

The Daily Star is tucked away in one of the cross-streets near the end of Gemaizeh, probably a few blocks in from the edge. Getting out of the Gemaizeh is interesting. There's a huge street/highway where cars speed past and generally don't take into account the stop lights too much unless there is a policeman there. E. and I discovered that if you want to cross the road, you have to not care about whether you live or die because the cars will just learn to swerve around you. It would be fun to ride a vespa here, but given the craziness of the traffic here, I doubt I'd get very far. I'm amazed at their abilities to drive - and more impressed that none of my taxis haven't gotten into an accident yet. Beyond the murderous highway is the Hariri mosque - absolutely gorgeous. I accidentally wandered near it when I got lost, and it's definitely worth seeing (haven't been inside yet though). Although people are a bit obsessed with him - next to the mosque is a huge tent with large posters of his face, and a clock that counts the days since his death.

Beyond the mosque is downtown, and I have gotten as far as Saifi village. From there you can see the Mediterranean, but the site isnt so beautiful because they're doing construction and developing the area. The entire endeavor was financed by Hariri, and so far it feels like being in a mini fifth avenue. Pictures will come soon. E. had a capoeira performance in Saifi village, which was followed by a fashion show...while watching I momentarily forgot where I was. It's interesting to see some of the remnants of war there, however. One of the streets I came upon was lined with elegant stores but one of the buildings in the middle had not been rebuilt, was charred and broken. A part of the staircase leading to my hotel was completely demolished...and I wouldn't be surprised if it was there from the war.

I'm going off on tangents - there is a lot to explain about politics, which will come soon. But the second part of my post should be dedicated to Hamra, which is where I have currently moved to in a two-bedroom apartment. Hamra is the college town of Beirut - AUB is nearby and the area is crowded with college students (and summer interns). I think all of the DS intern staff is living in Hamra with the exception of one. The apartment is nice - every apartment has a balcony, something I wish was true for nyc as well. There are still some things to get used to but am enjoying it so far.

Just a quick note, have been munching on hummus and pita and tabouleh and fettoush but still have not had an amazing Lebanese meal yet. That's because alot of places end up serving american or french style dishes. But this weekend should be promising. I'm also on a mission to try every different type of mango juice I can find. So far, it's been two.