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Showing 1-25 of 34 results
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Yann Tiersen!
Blog: Half - 3 November 2009
Bah! I love my job!! About three weeks ago, my boss called me to ask if I could conduct a phone interview in French. I said yes, to which she replied, “Wonderful! I just gave Yann Tiersen your cell phone number. He’ll be calling you at 7pm.” Me – In my head: WHAT?!? Yann Tiersen?? The Yann [...]
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Sing-a-longs & Traffic Reports
Blog: Half - 30 October 2009
Normally when I take the bus to and from work every day, I bring along my iPod so I can listen to music or BBC Global News podcasts, to distract myself from the 1 hour+ journey. Or, if the mood strikes, I’ll listen to the bus radio, which normally blasts Arabic music the whole way [...]
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Channeling Chinatown
Blog: Half - 25 October 2009
Okay, someone please explain this to me. Apparently, here in Beirut, nose jobs have become so popular that those who cannot afford them, or don’t even actually need them, can still opt to wear bandages across their nose…to fake a nose job. Yup. The newest trend to hit the Beirut fashion scene is the post-op nose [...]
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NEW New Plan!
Blog: Half - 23 October 2009
Okay, so where to begin…Almost exactly 1 year ago the economic crisis stole my life. I was living it up in Madrid with amazing friends, teaching English, tour guiding for Sandeman’s New Madrid and working as the Program’s Coordinator for Club Ivy, helping Spanish students apply to study abroad in English speaking countries. Life was [...]
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A Guide to a Lad’s Weekend in Beirut
Blog: An Englishman in Dubai - 27 September 2009
It had been a long hot dusty Ramadan this summer and there was palpable excitement in Dubai as the Eid holiday approached. Nearly everyone I spoke to had some plans for going away or spending it with their families and the mood was really upbeat. Me and some of the lads took advantage of the new [...]
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French Nails…Lebanese style
Blog: Half - 23 September 2009
“My new social environment in Beirut demanded that I be more feminine-looking. It demanded that girls look like girls and boys like boys. It demanded that I style my hair weekly at the hairdresser. Adorn my fingernails with bright polish. Speak softly and giggle often. Wear clothes that hugged my body, [...]
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Beirut, how I love thee. Let me count the ways…
Blog: Half - 9 September 2009
About a week ago, my flatmate Cagil (pronounced ‘Chill’) and I were sitting out on her balcony, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes and listening to Fairuz belt out ‘Le Beirut.’ Complete bliss. As we sat there in our white plastic chairs, our feet propped up on the rusty steel railing, red wine dribbling down our chins [...]
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Broccoli and Beers
Blog: Half - 28 August 2009
Today, it was 31 degrees Celsius, 86 Fahrenheit – HOT and HUMID. But whatever, I’m in a good mood! It’s Friday! My internship with ‘Time Out Beirut’ is going really well and I may have found a new apartment (they’re tearing down our beautiful building to build a parking lot – sucks.). Right now, I’m reading [...]
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I’m baaaack!
Blog: Half - 15 August 2009
Ha! I’m alive again my friends! Yesterday was my first Friday night out in 3 weeks! I have beaten the flu, finally eradicated all signs of food poisoning from my system and slept off the insane post-sickness fatigue inspired by both. Now to make up for lost time! Yesterday, I began the night by having a [...]
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The Son of a Duck is a Floater…and other Arab proverbs
Blog: Half - 14 August 2009
Today was Omar’s last day in Arabic class. Ya haram! Quelle domage! Yet like me, he has fallen hopelessly in love with Beirut and is planning to come back in a month’s time. But also like me, he’s a free spirit whose plans change on a daily basis. So I’m crossing my fingers that he [...]
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Burqini Fever!
Blog: Half - 13 August 2009
In my post on Sour, I included a photo of a young Muslim girl going swimming, covered and veiled – a concept completely foreign and interesting to me. And you know how sometimes when you learn something new, it somehow seems to pop up everywhere??? So here’s what I’ve found out about Muslim swimwear, which [...]
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Arabic Lessons & Taxi Rides
Blog: Half - 6 August 2009
This morning I woke up at 9am. Shit. Late for class. Did the sniff test to see which of my clothes emitted the least detectable odor. Settled on jeans and a rumpled pink shirt. I need to do laundry… Decided to be an extra five minutes late and stopped at my favorite roadside stand for a [...]
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Fashion Statements and Neon Polish
Blog: Half - 3 August 2009
I’m not what you would call a style-savy person. Part of me has always wanted to be one of those chill girls with a bright colored scarf wrapped around my head, baggy cargo pants, patchwork bag slung over my shoulder. Part of me wants to be the chic girl – like Julie Delpy in Before [...]
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Jbeil (aka Byblos)
Blog: Half - 1 August 2009
Yesterday, I was sick in bed all day with the flu. I guess that’s what I get for going on and on about how Friday is my lucky day. I jinxed myself. Damn. Knew it was too good to be true…But, don’t fret! I was feeling a bit more energized today and when Ozge and [...]
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Saturday Guest Post: Café Younes in Beirut
Blog: Atlas Parasite - 1 August 2009
Submitted by: Colette Cavanagh Beirut, Lebanon When I’m not in class or at the apartment, I’m usually at cafés here in Beirut, studying and working. Cousin Stephen introduced me to this great place, right around the corner from the apartment called Café Younes, and it’s quickly becoming my regular spot. The coffee is delicious and an iced latte [...]Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
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WELCOME! Dinner at ‘Le Chef’
Blog: Half - 29 July 2009
So with Rue Gouraud in my mind, when Ozge invited me out to dinner tonight at the popular restaurant on Gouraud, ‘Le Chef,’ I couldn’t resist. Well, that and I heard that the food was fantastic and I am NEVER one to turn down good food. Charles joined us and as we arrived outside the restaurant, [...]
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Gouraud: The Street and the General
Blog: Half - 28 July 2009
If you tell a taxi to take you to the Beirut neighborhood of Gemmazeh, they’ll drop you at the start of the Rue Gouraud – the main bar, restaurant and club packed street running through this noisy neighborhood, which somehow manages to be grungy and upscale chic at the same time. I love it! You [...]
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Beirut #1!!
Blog: Half - 27 July 2009
First off, sorry for the break in posting – my laptop died!! So until a new one arrives, I’ll be spending long afternoons at internet cafes around Beirut adding old and new entries. I’m actually at a cafe right now, and my alotted time is about to expire, but quickly, before I go, just wanted [...]
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Sour (aka Tyre)
Blog: Half - 25 July 2009
The alarm went off at 10:30am. Uuuuuuuuuuhhhhh. My eyes felt as though they were cemented shut, my entire body paralyzed. Somehow, I managed to animate my left hand and flopped it against the snooze button. What felt like a mili-second later that annoying MEEP! MEEP! MEEP! was going off in my ear again. That sound [...]
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And Friday I’m in love!
Blog: Half - 24 July 2009
I’m in love with Beirut!! Today was such a fantastic day! Dude. I think Friday is my lucky day. No joke. I mean, in general, it’s a brilliant day. If you work or have class, all day you can’t help smiling because you know the freedom of the weekend awaits. If you’re Muslim, it’s the [...]
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Mezze and Wine in the Bekaa Valley
Blog: Half - 19 July 2009
This morning, my Turkish friend Ozge (she’s in my Arabic class at ALPS) and I decided to meet up for a quick coffee before hopping on a mini-bus to the town of Zahlé in the Bekaa Valley. Mini-buses aren’t actually buses, but rather, large, white mini-vans. If you get on the bus at a transport hub, [...]
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By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
Blog: Half - 18 July 2009
Okay so first of all, Friday night was fantastic! My friend Lara, a former AUB student, introduced me to some of her friends here in Beirut who invited me out for the night. The first text came in the late afternoon from Lara’s friend, Jana, informing me that we were all meeting up at [...]
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But, Friday never hesitate!
Blog: Half - 17 July 2009
Up at 8:45am, wolfed down a bowl of cornflakes and threw some clothes on before sprinting out the door, late for class as usual. Luckily, my class is about a 5-minute, fast-paced walk from the apartment (I’m not good at the whole running thing), so I was only about 10 minutes late…still, oops. Arabic class until [...]
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Lebanese Vacation Barbie
Blog: Half - 16 July 2009
One thing you can’t help but notice in Beirut, is the number of women who have had plastic surgery. Walking down the corniche (the boardwalk that runs alongside the Mediterranean), you see women with tightly pulled faces, power-walking while sporting skin tight jogging outfits, with matching shoes, manicured nails, full makeup, perfectly coiffed hair, [...]
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New Plan
Blog: Half - 15 July 2009
I have a plan for the next 2 months! Can you believe it?? Me! who never has a plan for more than a couple weeks in advance! I’m still recovering from the shock… So I found out about a week ago that George is staying in the States until the end of August. And I’m [...]
