Normal People

Went to the Hamra Festival this afternoon. What a breath of fresh air to see normal people. Normal as in, like me. ;)

 

Normal people

 

For some reason, when I get into town, I tend to be in places that have a homogenous group of citizens.

They’re either all down-and-out despondent refugees, all Hezbollah partisans, all botox inflated ladies, all disheveled teenagers, all athletes, all Filipino housekeepers or all grey-haired Frenchies from the Ahrafiyeh quarters, but for some reason all these different components of this very diverse Lebanese society do not really mingle effectively. And slthough each component in its own right is interesting and have a story to tell, it does get a little boring now and then, always these same faces and same looks.

  

Funky gear for sale

 

But today, on Hamra Street, I saw them all together! And they all mingled, quite nicely as well, and it looked good.

Morose teenagers in black with bad hair cuts and pimples, veiled muhajababes, grey-hair ladies that refuse to dye their hair, the alternative youngsters, the obviously well-to-do and the not-so-well-to-do, dadies in suits and daddies with kids on their necks, men pushing baby strollers, construction workers and housekeepers, bankers and bakers, ladies with short hair, ladies with tattoos and piercings and ladies with filled up lips and cheekbones, it all merged, and it had a very good feel to it. Just walking the street and seeing the crowd was a positive experience in itself. The street had good vibes, we'd say (but I do not know where you'd say that), it just sounded right.

Some good musicians

It was good to see some street musicians, and people selling their home made products, whether it was honey, cookies or woven bracelets. It was also good to see they served alcohol for a change. I feel it is often the heathens like I that have to constantly adapt to the mores of a more conservative society, but it was good to see that this does not always have to be the case.  I ran into several friends, all in the same mind set.

And so overall a good and mellow ‘jauw’, as we say in Arabic. The festival is still on until 11 tonight.

Be a Princess