I haven’t had much time these days to roam around Lebanon.
‘Roaming around’ this place is where I get my inspiration from, and I haven’t had much lately (inspiration, that is). First of all, there’s been just too much work. Secondly, my partners in crime, or fellow ‘roamers’ have all moved to other places this past year. My sis in-law, who is always ready for some retail therapy in obscure places, is heavily and heavenly pregnant, so we can’t drag her around too much anymore. And fourth, when I did have time to roam, I had visitors from outside, and then you sort of have to be the tourist guide to places you have already ‘out roamed’, so to speak. If I have to visit Jeita Grotto or Baalbeck one more time, I think I’m going to puke. So no roaming there.
The newspaper in Holland, for which I write now and then, hasn’t had any request either lately. They are always good for a trip to a Palestinian camp in the Beqaa, a Hezbollah base down south, some Sunni beards up in Dinnieh, a documentary on fishermen in Nakoury, or an insider’s guide to Ashoura, but none of that. I even missed the gay bus trip to the wineries in the Beqaa, and I feel sort of sorry for that, because nothing beats traveling around a place with a bunch of gays. I know this is has been a bit of an issue lately, the gay presence in Lebanon, and I would have loved to have been on that trip.
I’ve thought about joining one of the outdoor companies in town; they organize ‘off the beaten track’ hikes. But I’m afraid of scenes of people happily clapping to Arabic music. I have nothing against Arabic music, mind you, but every time I see a bus passing by on the highway, with everyone standing up, loud music, clapping, and the drums in the back, I am oh so happy that I am not on that bus.
So I’ve just been hanging around Beirut lately.
The newspaper in Holland, for which I write now and then, hasn’t had any request either lately. They are always good for a trip to a Palestinian camp in the Beqaa, a Hezbollah base down south, some Sunni beards up in Dinnieh, a documentary on fishermen in Nakoury, or an insider’s guide to Ashoura, but none of that. I even missed the gay bus trip to the wineries in the Beqaa, and I feel sort of sorry for that, because nothing beats traveling around a place with a bunch of gays. I know this is has been a bit of an issue lately, the gay presence in Lebanon, and I would have loved to have been on that trip.
I’ve thought about joining one of the outdoor companies in town; they organize ‘off the beaten track’ hikes. But I’m afraid of scenes of people happily clapping to Arabic music. I have nothing against Arabic music, mind you, but every time I see a bus passing by on the highway, with everyone standing up, loud music, clapping, and the drums in the back, I am oh so happy that I am not on that bus.
So I’ve just been hanging around Beirut lately.
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