Ahla! So I am almost a week into classes and I feel I can now give an adequate explanation of each class. My schedule is as follows:

Monday & Wednesday: Intermediate Lebanese Arabic 2-4 pm

Tuesday & Thursday: Comparative Politics 8-9:15 am; Arab Culture & Society 9:30-10:45 am; Formal Arabic IV 2-4 pm

Friday: Intermediate Lebanese Arabic 2-3 pm; Formal Arabic IV 3-4 pm

So basically what we have here is a doo doo schedule. I was hoping for Mondays or Fridays off and I was certainly neverrrr planning on taking another 8am after freshman year’s Calculus encounter. Big mistake. BIG.

Alas, I have realized I am here to learn sooo I bit the bullet and signed up for the classes I both need and should take when in Beirut.

What’s really nice about Politics, Arab Culture, and Formal Arabic IV is that by taking these classes I will have completed my Arabic and International Affairs minors. Yay! I have a feeling senior Hayley will really appreciate this thoughtful junior Hayley deed.  And then there’s Lebanese Arabic. Really hard, but I am in Lebanon and feel it would be a total waste to not take this course. Plus, it came so highly recommended! Thanks, Alli!

Comparative Politics – This is the last class needed to fulfill my International Affairs minor. I thought it would be boring because it’s the sort of intro type of class they offer at universities far and wide, but the first few classes have been pretty exciting. It’s so interesting to be in a class of Lebanese students (aside from me, one other American girl, and an Italian boy – a molto cute Italian boy btw) and hear opinions about political systems and governments. Today, our professor told us how Lebanon would never have mass protest like the other Arab countries and this made many of the students upset. “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, SIR??” and “I HAVE NUMBERS TO PROVE TO YOU WE COULD DO IT, SIR!” No matter how much the students disagreed or clearly thought the professor was out of his mind, they were always polite enough to add a “sir” at the end as if that negated any disrespect. “THAT IS COMPLETE AND UTTER BULLSHIT, SIR!” Well, that last one hasn’t happened, but we’ve only had two days of this class so far.

Even though America certainly has it’s own problems (i.e. unemployment, hefty deficit, Lindsay Lohan), I feel really proud to be an American when in this class. The professor is always talking about our sturdy political system. On a side note, it’s weird stepping back and thinking about living in a place with no government. No head leader. Yet, everyone goes about their business. It’s a strange thing. People just want to lead normal lives, politics aside.

Arab Culture & Society – Yay! Another requirement fulfiller! This class is actually an anthropology class which requires we take field notes while in eating in cafes, taking cabs, etc. to really learn about Arab culture. I am really excited to be here taking this requirement because I think it will be so much more effective than taking it at Northeastern for obvious reasons.

Intermediate Lebanese Arabic – This class is going to be a challenge. The professor is both warm and kind, yet regimented. She has expectations, but promises a 200% improvement in our speaking skills by the end of the semester. I thought about not taking this course, but I’ve heard such wonderful things about the professor and the course that I could not resist. Plus, I thought it rude to avoid learning the language of the country I now inhabit. For God’s sake, they don’t have a government to unify them, but they do have a language and as God is my witness, I will struggle to speak that language!

Formal Arabic IV – This fulfills my final requirement for my Arabic minor, inshallah! Completing Arabic I-III at Northeastern has been no picnic in the park so I am quite frightened for this next level. It is going to be a lot a lot of work and studying, but if I can pull it off it will be so worth the work.

All in all, classes here seem to be much more rigorous than classes at Northeastern. They really expect a lot in terms of reading, self-study, participation, and ambition. It’s both inspiring and panic attack-inducing. So I’ve bid ado to my dreams of an easy semester abroad coupled nightly bar crawls and new countries every weekend. Still, this semester has already proven to be an amazing experience. I guess I’ll just have to except it as educational as well. Gee whiz.

Sorry for this exceptionally boring post. Life can’t be all fun and games STEP OFF

Deep down, I really really want to post something spectacularly intriguing tonight. But I just don’t see it happening. I’m feeling quite lazy and in need of some shut-eye. However, I WILL put up some pictures of the amazing AUB campus and my dorm/apartment/habitat. Keep in mind my camera does not do these scenes justice.

Enjoy!

AUB’s football field.

Picturesque study spot.

I realize this a poorly taken picture, but here is main gate to the left, admissions to the right, and the cafeteria straight ahead.

Tennis courts.

Our lovely living room plus balcony. Perfect for entertaining our many admirers.

Did I mention men-folk can only hang out in the lobby…9 floors down? Eh, it’s better that way. Boys tend to carry so much drama with them. 11 floors of girls only is the key to drama-free living! Right?

Bedroom. Cozy!

We also have a bathroom, but it’s quite bathroom-ey and not terribly blog worthy. However, if enough people request it I would consider posting a picture. (Please, don’t request it though. That’s strange.)

Tryin’ reeeeaaal hard to keep up with these posts and so far I am pretty proud of myself if I do say. Either I’ve become a more disciplined person or I have way too much time on my hands. Certainly doesn’t feel like the latter.

Today was the first official day of classes. I went to bed by midnight in anticipation for my first day. Then I woke up and realized I didn’t have class until 2pm. This is okay though! Finally got my laptop configured, AUB student ID, and mail key! Not surprisingly my mailbox was lacking mail. Get on that people! So what if everyone sends e-mails these days? Sometimes a good ol’ fashioned hand written letter is a nice treat with a good ol’ fashioned hand written check sandwiched inside. This girl knows how to appreciate the simple things in life.

The campus was so much more crowded than I had become accustomed to. The regulars were back and, suddenly, Gucci bags and perfectly adjusted long brown locks cluttered AUB’s walkways in a sea of AUB umbrellas. All the girls are cookie cutter images of high class Lebanese society and the boys, well I barely noticed the boys because the girls stand out so much more. It’s hard not to want to see what shoes they are wearing and jeans they are catwalking down the halls in. It’s a little intimidating, but I worked my jeggings, motorcycle boots, and v-neck as best I could. Tryna be fierce like Tyra taught me.

My one class today was Intermediate Lebanese Arabic. As opposed to the three semesters of formal modern standard Arabic I have taken at Northeastern, this class will focus on the actual spoken colloquial Arabic. You know, Arabic I can actually use. It seems pretty hard, but definitely interesting and beneficial if taken properly. It will be a challenge that I am positive will pay off. I have heard only wonderful things about the professor and am really looking forward to getting some use out of mah Arabic skillz.

After class, we had a brief dorm meeting which was surprisingly interesting not because the dorm supervisor had anything particularly interesting to tell us about our residence hall, but to my surprise there was no shortage of resident complaints. Well, to be specific, the 4 or 5 visiting international students (like me) had no complaints. In fact, I think this dorm is beyond nice. Free cleaning service whenever we want! Everyday if we like. Seriously? I thought this only existed in high school in mother form. Hi mom! Here is an example of one of several complaint:

Complaint: “Um…the other dorms have vending machines? Why don’t we??”

Response: “Well, because the other dorms are very far from stores and restaurants and we have so many just down or across the street.”

Rebuttal: “Yeah, but if I’m in my PJs then I don’t want to go across the street. Can we please get a vending machine??”

Everyone: “Yeah! Seriously! We need it!”

Another voice: “Oh, and a lot of us have never done laundry. And no one has showed us here. Can someone like show us or something?”

I mean seriously though. Girl’s got a point. I’m not paying all this money just to walk across the street to buy a candy bar. I want a goddamn vending machine. Not in the lobby either. In my room. Next to my bed. Positioned so the slot can conveniently slip the candy bar into my mouth. Oh but, the candy bar will have to be pre-crushed because after a certain point in the night I am just too tired to chew. Plus, if it’s past 8 my nails will be wet making it impossible to peel back the wrapper.

Ok, but really all the girls I’ve met seem really nice. No one is outwardly spoiled. It’s just kind of funny to observe.

After the meeting, a few of us hoped to get in on a free yoga class at the gym, but in a typical AUB fashion the class had been cancelled when we got there because the instructor was sick. Instead, we grabbed some delicious homemade lentil soup from a nearby eatery and headed to a poetry reading at a local cafe. I tend to feel somewhat squeamish at poetry readings with all of those emotions flying around. But this, this was different. A woman named Tina performed a few of her poems and they were absolutely amazing. I wish I had secretly recorded them because they were truly incredible. So much truth and relevance. Hope I get to see her perform again.

Ok, I need to get some sleep. I have class in just 9 hours. And I’ve got a full day ahead of me too eeek. I will leave you with some pictures from the art museum a few of us visited yesterday. Just kidding, my internet is being finicky and doesn’t want to upload anymore tonight.

So I woke up on Friday after a long, fun night in Gemayze feeling rather sick. At first I said to myself, ”Hayley, you are hungover. Man up. You are Amurrrican.” But upon further examination I realized I was far sicker than a headache and nausea brought on by embarassing happenings of the night. Little did I now, I had the flu – bad. Well, not thaaat bad. But pretty bad.

Anywho, on Saturday we visited Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley in the north. Baalbeck is home to the largest Roman ruins site in the world. The two-hour drive was gorgeous. You could see all of Beirut and the mountains and the sea. We explored the ruins and had lunch and explored the surrounding area. We also stoped at Ksara Vineyard for a delicious wine tasting.

6 hours in, my flu put on its grumpypants. I was so weak, achey, tired, flushed, feverish, etc. I ended up sleeping on the bus ride home and basically for the next 36 hours which was unfortunate. But alas, I awoke Monday morning feeling much better!

Yesterday was the six-year anniversary of Rafik Hariri’s assasination (former Prime Minister whose son, Saad, was the most recent prime minister until his government was toppled by Hezbollah). A bunch of us went to the memorial at Biel in Downtown Beirut. Reports have said there were close to 10,000 people there. It was really exciting and suprisingly easy to get into. We had heard before that it was invitation only, but somehow security thought we were press because we were foreign and had cameras and we scooted right in. We were only ten rows away when Hariri spoke which was craaazzy. Lucky to have seen him speak! All the big Lebanese men around us were crying. It was pretty intense. We left early because we didn’t want to be stampeded at the end of his speech.

Hariri below.

And this brings me to today where I am preparing for my first day of classes tomorrow (just 5 weeks after NU started their classes hehe), snacking on hummus, and discussing bath mat color schemes for our bathroom with Johanne.

Salaams!

So in between bouts of registering, we were also able to do some exploring of our surroundings as well. I started small by exploring our absolutely beautiful campus (need to take pictures of it, but will post when I do). For now, all I have to offer is this picture of one of the numerous cat feeding station on campus. Human feeding stations on campus – 1. Cat feeding stations – 5+.

After AUB, I moved onto the neighborhood around AUB and where I live callled Hamra. Hamra is one of the main neighborhood I suppose in Beirut. It’s full of internationals, pubs, expensive boutiques, and again cheap 100% cellulite-inducing delights. All in all, a great area to live in.

We have ventured to Downtown Beirut many times as well. Downtown you can find: Gemayze (Ja-may-zee), a reaaallly long street packed with bars, clubs, students, fun; Place de l’Etoile, cobblestone streets lined with cafes and shopping all leading to a central clock tower; Al-Amin Mosque, an unbelievably beautiful HUGE mosque tucked in between unassuming ancient Roman ruins; and much more.

Here is the area by the Corniche right next to AUB.

Here is the clock tower in Place de l’Etoile.

And here is Al-Amin.

And here we are looking adorable in the Al-Amin.

Break. All this posting is really motivation to not wait a week each time to update this thing.