Eau du ASHTRAY.

Ok, so maybe I’m part of the less than 1% of the population who doesn’t smoke here in Lebanon.  But jeeeeze, I wish that just for once I could go out with out smelling like an ashtray at the end of the night – is that so much to ask?

Apparently it is.

I was reading a couple of local blogs, and there was an anti-smoking initiative organized by the Rotaract club of Beirut called “Ain’t No Smoking Tonight” on October 28th of last year.  That’s right, only for ONE night.  Out of the 35 pubs in Gemmazyeh (a very popular area for bar hopping) that agreed to partake in the initiative, only a few actually stuck to it! Many of them just used the opportunity for free publicity, and allowed people to smoke anyway..

This picture sums up what the Lebanese thought of “Ain’t No Smoking Tonight”

What a mockery!

This is what local blogger and illustrator, Maya Zankoul, had to say about the night.  She designed the poster above..the images below were taken from her blog.

taken from http://www.mayazankoul.com

taken from http://www.mayazankoul.com

My new scent – Eau du Ashtray.

How attractive.

This. Is. Lebanon.

For two months now, I have been living in a country whose name is synonymous with war, yet I myself, have never been more at peace.  A country where people speak three different languages (Arabic, French, and English) in one sentence, where family values still exist, and where eating is not something you do – it’s a way of life.  A country where there are six women for every one man, where little girls ride their bicycles past armed men without a flinch, and where making $1,200 a month is considered a decent living.  A country where you can drive from the beach to the mountains in the space of an hour, where mosques stand right next to churches, and where honking your horn is a national past time.

A country where people who come, never want to leave.

This. Is. Lebanon.

 

Roman ruins in downtown...

Typical Lebanese lunch at Bayrock Cafe Rouche

The Blue Mosque in downtown

Inside Palais nightclub Beirut

Scenes from Beirut - more Roman Ruins

Moi.

I’m a 23 year old from Miami living and working in Beirut, Lebanon. I’ve climbed The Great Wall of China, volunteered at an orphanage in Bangkok, seen a bull fight in Madrid, and been to a coffee shop in Amsterdam. I’ve had high tea at the Burj al Arab in Dubai, paid 4 euros for a waffle in Belgium, and eaten jerk chicken in Jamaica. I’ve been to the rain forest in Costa Rica, Ground Zero in New York, and The Opera House in Sydney. I’ve experienced Chicago in January, Trinidad during carnival, and the nightlife in Beirut. I’ve seen the Alps of Switzerland, used an outhouse in Kentucky, and had a margarita in Key West.

These are my stories.