Back in Town



Last view of Holland. That rainbow was temporarily.

 

Not ever will I complain about in the heat in Lebanon ever again! Never ever again!!!  The last three weeks in Holland have amended that problem forever. August in Holland was apparently the coldest one on record since 1980 (source), while August 19^th was the coldest August 19^th since 1924 (source). It rained non-stop, it was cold, windy, wet, overcast and swampy. But it is always good to be reminded of why one left a country.



 

First view of Lebanon; early morning in the mountains above Beirut

 

And now I am back in town and back in business. Suitcases have been unpacked, work has started, school supplies have been bought (still got to find a way around a newly introduced dress code in my daughter’s school which requires “plain collared/T-shirts, without logos”), son’s been shipped off to college, and I love the heat and the sun.  It is good to be back.

Lots has happened since I left in July, one is the tragedy in Gaza. Another one is the apparent sudden rise of ISIS. The Lebanese who I have talked to seem to think this organization will have no foothold in this country, since nobody is in favor of this life style, so they will have to fight against the shia, the druze and the christians to start with, while the majority of the sunni will join those unlikely allies in their fight against the bearded barbarians. I beg to disagree; I think a great number of Lebanese are in favor of this type of living. Maybe not the majority, but with a gun, who needs a majority? They’re just hiding under stones. I remember way back in 1996 - when an Israeli bombardment on the surroundings of Saida forced the police and the army to go into shelter - we were stopped on the main road of Saida, by just such a bearded man, with a gun. I was in the passenger’s seat with my bare feet on the dashboard, and the driver was told “tell that one to put her feet down.”  “That one”.  I wasn’t even addressed. I was referred to as ‘that one’.

 

That was almost 20 years ago. Go check out Tripoli during Ramadan.  And you tell me the Lebanese will not accept that? You are accepting it right now.

 

The new dog, Moon, is the one in the middle

These ISIS people do not like dogs (they do not really like anything at all, that’s what you get from living a life under stones).  I wonder what they will think of my 3-dog household; Yep, you read that right. Hubbie, on his daily walks, picked up yet another stray. A mix between a huskie, a border collie and something small.

We’ll see what will happen in this country this year. I am not keeping my fingers crossed. Yet it is still good to be back.