Sometimes it is just that. I was with some friends at a
beach down south. Apparently not many people are in beach mode right now,
because it was pretty empty. We had all the waiters to ourselves, the kids
owned the pool and the beach.
The few people that were there all left early, but we stayed on. The kitchen closed, the staff left, but it was lovely on the beach.
And as the sun set, we were practically on our own. It got so bad that the valet parking guys went looking for us; they wanted to go home but they still had our car keys in their pockets.
The few people that were there all left early, but we stayed on. The kitchen closed, the staff left, but it was lovely on the beach.
And as the sun set, we were practically on our own. It got so bad that the valet parking guys went looking for us; they wanted to go home but they still had our car keys in their pockets.
You run around |
And we spoke about some of the perks of life here. Nobody
washes his own car. No lawn to mow. Someone who cooks and cleans for you, home
delivery for just about anything you can think of (including pharmaceuticals,
Burger King and dry-cleaning), valet parking, nail bars, making doctor’s
appointments for the next day instead of the next month, people tell will run
after you when you forget your phone at the table in a café, friends that
always have time, the weather, proximity of ski slopes, beaches, hospitals,
airports and universities, and spontaneous dinners organized 24 hours in
advance.
You dig a hole |
Sure, there are drawbacks. It's a religiously segregated society, but so was Holland some 60 years ago, while religion has become a non-issue these days. One of the worst is probably
the price at which it all comes. How social mobility
is basically non-existent here. The rich
marry each other, and if you’re born poor, you stay poor. With beginning
salaries of $800 for an AUB graduate, you’ll be 55 by the time you have
finished paying off your study loan. The only way out of that economic loop is
by going abroad. And that is what most of the young men are doing. Lack of leadership, and leadership with a vision that encompasses all its citizens , forces them out.
You bury your friends and give them boobies (and a belly button) |
We all have to work hard. But heck, if you can make it here, it’s like holiday 365
days a year. A friend explained why she wasn’t living in Holland. “I live here in
my own hotel! Why would I go back?”
And so yes, sometimes, life is a beach.
And you play with the camera |
6 comments:
:)
One of my most faithful readers! Good to see you, you also make my day!! :)
Hello Sietske, interesting blog of yours...
Thanks
I think you it the nail on the head, lack of leadership, rather national leadership, is the source of most of our troubles. Of course, there is some sort of leadership, it's just very feudal and clannish. For someone like me, a Lebanese who lived abroad most of his life, its impossible to bear, but then there are the perks for those who can afford them.
good life for the 2% and the warlords
This is hard to explain to people-friends back home but equally, adults who live here. Even those who are fairly well off...
Post a Comment