It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....

A couple of weeks ago on a Sunday Derek and I were both working when we heard someone yelling for help. It turned out that the old woman from across the street had locked herself out of her apartment and was caught between her front door and the security gate. She was a frail woman, probably in her 70's, shivering in her bathrobe yelling for help. Luckily we heard her. Kamal, the security guard from our building, helped us find a locksmith to come and let her in. We waited with her for the locksmith. Derek brought her hot tea and a blanket. Anne from across the street was curious when she saw us from her balcony so she came over to offer help, too. It was a pretty traumatic episode for this woman and we were just glad that we got there before it got worse. Derek, always the resourceful one, took this opportunity to take a couple pictures of the neighborhood. These are taken from the 5th floor balcony across the street from where we live. This is our street.



This is Fadlallah Building- our home! We are the third apartment from the bottom on the left. That's the little garden that was completely brown and dying when we moved in. It still has a long way to go but at least it's green again.

The Beirut Mar-a-thon!

Every year about 30,000 people turn out to run the Beirut Marathon. It's quite the event! The city prepares for it all year. They divide the race into 3 lengths keeping it open to everyone. There is a 5k, 10k, and of course, the 42k Marathon. The funny thing is when people talk about it they don't distinguish. They just say "I'm running the marathon", which really means you're running 10k, not the marathon. Minor details. I hadn't planned on participating but Phoebe was going to walk with some of her students from school so I decided last minute to join them.
This picture above is the Corniche (pronounced corn-eesh) and is a highway/ boulevard that circumvents the city along the coast. It actually used to be part of the sea. About 5 years ago they literally pushed the coastline out and constructed this road. It's great for walking and people watching, but I have to say I'd vote for traffic over building into the sea.

So the 10k portion of the race began on the corniche (this is the starting crowd in the shot above.) We walked past my school and then weaved up into the Hamra neighborhood. We actually walked right past our apartment at which point I tried unsuccessfully to get Derek to join us.
I know this picture is dark but I thought it very cool that someone was walking the 10k on stilts. There were a lot of people dressed in costumes. This is a total social event for people and families of Beirut. Most of the people that walk it are walking for a cause like Cancer organizations, Human Rights Watch, Don't do Drugs, etc. and they all wear matching t-shirts. Of course there are chants and songs. It's really quite festive. Along the route there were bands playing various music. Going up the hill there was a radio dj playing techno to pump people up for the hike up the hill. I also thought it was funny that so many people were stopping along the way for a bite to eat! That's the Lebanese for you.

We made it to the finish line! There were so many people walking on the narrow streets of Beirut that it was hard to keep a fast pace. It took us a little under 2 hours to walk just 10k! But we had a lot of fun along the way. The race ended downtown by the Hariri mosque (see below). There were so many people in the crowd it was utter chaos. But luckily Phoebe and I maneuvered our way free and found refuge in the closest bar.

Thanksgiving in Beirut

Derek and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The Lebanese insist on working on Thanksgiving! We had about 14 Americans and Canadians to our place and everyone chipped in by bringing a dish of their liking. It wasn't the most traditional Thanksgiving- we had Thai noodles, and Lebanese eggplant- but we did have a Turkey, and even a football!! After dinner Derek led the crowd in a game of music trivia. It was a hit! Everyone had a great time. Who doesn't love a casual Thanksgiving dinner 3 days after the holiday?

Here's Tony catching the football!

And here is the feast!
Check out the picture hanging on the wall. That's the "Tree of Thanks" that my kids made for Thanksgiving. They thought I should hang it in my house to decorate for Thanksgiving.

This is our across the hall neighbor, Phoebe, who just so happens to be from Cambridge!