Congratulations for shopping!

I’ve been wondering about this for a while now, but I only thought to ask about it yesterday when I went shopping with a friend of mine.  I never understood why, after you buy something here, the cashier always says “Mabrouk!” like you just accomplished something worthy of praise..

So, I asked my friend, “Doesn’t mabrouk mean congratulations?  Why would people tell you “congratulations” after you bought something?  I just don’t get it..?”

“It’s just one of those sayings in Arabic,” my friend said, “a lot like sahtein and na3iman. I suppose we just like to recognize whenever a person eats, gets a hair cut, and goes shopping!”

(For my non Arabic speakers out there, “sahtein” is equivalent to “bon appetit” and “nai3man” is what people say to recognize when another person has just taken a shower or gotten a hair cut..in english, “nai3man” could be translated to “you look refreshed” or “nice hair cut” or “may you be refreshed” Please please please correct me if any of these translations are wrong!)

“Hmm..” I said, “Sahtein and na3iman both roughly translate into sayings we have in English, but congratulations/mabrouk for buying something new?  That’s one I’ll have to get used to.”

Do you ever question some of the Arabic sayings that you use on a day to day basis?

The Arabic language is really so fascinating!

 

Mabrouk! Enjoy your new purchases!

 

Gnomes at BHV!

Went to BHV this past weekend to buy some things for my new apartment.  It’s amazing how quickly my salary disappears here..A couple of towels, sheets, a fan..and voila!  Half of it is gone..

there goes my salary..but at least I have sheets!

Aside from the fact that BHV’s visual merchandisers don’t know what they’re doing..take this example below..

Displays at BHV City Mall..are those GNOMES?

..I have never met such unpleasant sales people in my life..who make no effort to hide the fact that they really hate their job.  Take the sales lady in beddings for example..I made sure to have my friend inform her that I was “shopping on a budget,” yet she took us around for 20 minutes, without so much as a smile, tossing the most expensive items into the cart.. making sure to put a little sticker bearing her name on each item. “Tfadal,” she would say, “Tfadal.” You tfadal me lady!!

beware of the little stickers!

I started to see the cart piling up..and decided to whip out my Iphone to get a sense of how much I would be dishing out..

“$600,000!! This is insane!  Put it all back,,all of it!” I said to my friend.  Does the concept of shopping ON A BUDGET not exist in Lebanon?”

The sales woman could see I was visibly upset..and as I stormed off, with as much of the merchandise I could carry, my friend went around the aisles..trying to find cheaper options for all of the things I needed.  In the end I was able to get the bill down significantly, although I will have to live without some conveniences, like AC, for quite some time…. from here on out, BHV will be my last resort when shopping for things for my apartment..

Some people really need to get the hell out of Sales!!

Plush it Baby, Plush it Good.

So..I was walking in Hamra, when I noticed that literally..after every few feet.. there are yellow signs advertising a new Lebanese blog.  Yellow being my favorite color and all, I decided to snap this shot so I could remember the address later..

http://www.plushbeirut.blogspot.com

The poster reminded me of Ivy’s poster encouraging single Lebanese ladies to “make their move” on Valentines day..

Make your move! http://www.Ivysays.com

Anyway, I decided to check out the blog, almost positive that it was yet another superficial blog about being fashionably fabulous..and was pleasantly surprised when I read their “About Us” section:

We don’t dress up for the gym.  We don’t drive the most expensive cars.  We take public transportation.  We sit at the bar.  We don’t pop champagne.  We aren’t daddy’s super rich girls.  We shop from outlets and regular store…And no we don’t go on a sprees in London, Paris, New York..We are College Students.  We design our clothes, or try at least.  We love the arts.  We love to party.  We be PLUSHIN’ Beirut Town – Hail PLUSH*

This blog is about those effortlessly chic people we love to hate..those people who manage to throw together just about anything and make it work…but mostly, this blog is about being yourself.

Just wanted to give a shout out to Plush, and tell them I like their stuff..check out their blog by clicking here.

I mean, just check out their photos!

Love her! http://www.plushbeirut.blogspot.com

Yeah...you got it. http://www.plushbeirut.blogspot.com

Happiness. True Happiness. http://www.plushbeirut.blogspot.com

Keep on keeping on!

Ice Ice Baby

I got a gift this week.  A yellow Ice watch, like the one below..

Ice Watch

I didn’t really know what to say to my friend who gave it to me..You see, I don’t really DO yellow, or big watches for that matter.  Favoring a more minimalist, classic approach to fashion, I’ve always been one of those whose wardrobe consists of black, white, and grey, or some version of the three…. Oh, I also don’t do patterns, or stripes..

Yup. I’m boring, and out of style.

But, then again, I’ve started wearing bright Coral nail polish on my hands, a practice I was vehemently opposed to prior to my arrival in Lebanon..my reason being that colored nail polish was only meant for the feet, and that any other usage was..well..just TOO much.

I decided to do a little bit of research on the brand and was surprised to find out that the unisex Ice Watch is designed in Belgium, manufactured in Shenzhen and distributed via Hong Kong in more than 27 countries in Europe, Asia and the US and through more than 500 sales outlets worldwide.

Only some of the many colors the Ice Watch is available in..

All I need now is a pair of Ray Bans, a Neverfull Louis Vuitton bag..and my transformation into a Beiruti woman will be complete!