Hello from the Homeland!

Ahla w sahla! (that means 'welcome' in Arabic -___-)

Hello everyone! It's certainly been awhile. But I've been very busy. If you didn't know, I've been in Lebanon since the end of May, and will be here until mid-July. I just left Ain Aar in Mont Liban, where I was staying with my beautiful cousin Léa and her wonderful family. I'm now in Tyr in the South visiting my awesome friend Dany and his family. So far, everything has been amazing. And I've got the pictures to prove it.

The day after I arrived, jetlag hit and I woke up at 4AM. I saw the sunrise, which was beautiful, and then spent most of my time on the internet for the next 6 hours until Léa woke up. I managed to snap this picture though.

This is the view from their house in Ain Aar. It's breathtakingly gorgeous, as you can see.

After everyone else woke up, Léa and her mom and I went to Harissa to pray, as it was the last month of the Virgin Mary. We took the cable car up (and suffered a bit of vertigo) and I recalled having been there ten years ago! It was a very spiritual and emotional experience to pray there. So many people were at Harissa because it was the last day to pray.

That night, we went clubbing with Léa's brother and his friends that were visiting from Europe. It was an '80s night, and so many songs from Léa's and my 'Get Psyched' mix played. Needless to say....we got psyched.

The next night, we went barhopping and made friends with the bartender, who for some reason decided to put on a wig that resembled the hair of one of the guys from LMFAO. We also went barhopping the next night and saw Dany who was visiting from Tyr! Jesus I look white.

Free drinks are always welcome

Saturday we saw Dany again. We met at a beach resort called Lazy-B in Jiyeh, about 30 minutes away from Beirut. It was such a gorgeous day. We drank margaritas, tanned, and Léa and Dany even got me to jump into the sea!

My hat got blown off several times that day.

Loulou et Nounou 

Dandoun et Carroun

Hammock swinging

Needless to say, it was a wonderful day.

Another highlight of the trip: a cooking class Léa and my other cousin Dana and I took at Tawlet, a very cool Lebanese restaurant. Every day, there is a new chef that comes in to make their specialty. The menu is never exactly the same! They have a cooking class every Wednesday, and we and 6 others learned how to make tabbouleh, mtabbal betanjan (babaghanouj), and kibbet batata (potato kibbeh). The chef's name was Nada and she was really sweet. It was lots of fun and of course, the food was delicious. I wrote down the recipes too, so expect to see those up at some point!

Me, Léa, and Nada in front of the kibbet batata.

Okay now I really want some of that food. Right now, Frosties aren't really doing it for me. And still so long until lunch!

Léa left for Barcelona for the summer on Saturday night, so on Friday night, her friends and I went out barhopping in Gemmayzeh (Gaston and Bulldog, I think). I was exhausted though and fell asleep at the last pub we were at :p

Je t'aime petite cousine!

After she left, I headed down to Tyr to stay with Dany and his family, who have been so kind and generous during my stay! Dany and I cooked for his parents that night and made Baingan Bharta and Chole Palak (miss you, Ellen!).

Obviously we made margaritas, too.

I'm currently sitting outside on the porch in the garden smoking arghile and updating this blog, and will be watching Community in a bit (Léa and I became obsessed). The view is gorgeous and I'm super excited cause we're going to the beach this afternoon! Maybe then I'll get a bit of color -____-
Anyway, here's a picture of the sunset in Tyr that I took last night. Enjoy and more updates soon!

Song of the Day-- Trabak ya Lubnan by Tania Kassis. She's a great Lebanese singer, and this is one of my favorite songs by her.
Recovery Quote of the Day-- "Believe you can, and you will."

Smokingly,
Carina