So, we’re about a month into our stay here. I know this for certain because our cellphone suddenly stopped working yesterday, meaning that we need to recharge our Clic card. Anyhow, I thought I’d post a list of some observations I’ve made and the varying degrees to which they came as a surprise. I apologize in advance if any of the following seems arrogant or chauvinistic.
Things That Shouldn’t Have Surprised Me, But Did
- As previously (and frequently) mentioned, the abyssmal state of telecom in this country. I knew before coming that internet was slow and unreliable and that cellphone service was nearly unaffordable yet entirely necessary because getting a landline is even more unreasonable. Still, I’m surprised at how this detail has kicked my ass repeatedly.
- Voter apathy in Beirut. After all the protests and the posters and the hubbub, the voter turnout was under 25%. For the first Syria-free election in 30 years, I wouldn’t have thought that. The reason why it shouldn’t have surprised me, however, is that this could also be seen as a 30-year period of erosion of “consumer confidence” in the election process.
- How easy it was to break the habit of flushing toilet paper. Due to skinny pipes, low water pressure, and numerous other factors, flushing toilet paper or any other detritus down the toilet is a death-sentence for your plumbing. I wouldn’t have thought this would be a hard habit to break, because I tend to be closed-minded and intellectually the idea of throwing soiled TP in the wastebasket seems gross. However, I was surprised with how much ease I adapted (and I shouldn’t have been…I guess because I’m adaptable?).
- Racism. I’ve been kind of bowled over by how much racism there is in Lebanon. There’s an entirely condoned class system based on race. Some friends of ours have told of having difficulties with certain people visiting their home because the visitors happen to be Asian and therefore aren’t let in the building. The Lebanese have a famous love of children. It is not uncommon for someone to come up to a stranger’s child and tousle their hair or kiss them on the face. However, this affectionate treatment is not applied to the ethnic Palestinian children who panhandle in the street. When I’ve been working at Starbucks (on their wifi, not wrangling lattes), I have repeatedly seen such children shoved, hit, and have garbage thrown at them. On the one hand, I in no way mean to say that every Lebanese I’ve met is a racist or anything of the sort. On the other hand, these are just two among a great many examples. Given oft-heard statements of a new Lebanon in which everybody gets along and is treated equally, I find this particularly surprising. But I suppose I shouldn’t, because unfortunately the Lebanese seem to be able to polarize themselves on any issue, even ones far less subtle than race.
Things That Should Have Surprised Me, But Didn’t
- Car bomb in Achrafieh. This event happened a couple of weeks into our stay. I do not want to seem callous or to belittle the tragic nature of this event, but on a strictly personal level, I was neither surprised nor distressed by it.
And this concludes my 30-day analysis.