Beirut was Beautiful

So, we had a short vacation for school and I went to Beirut and visited Will. I had a wonderful time and it was so nice to spend time with him and take a break from Lucknow. The city was beautiful and reminded me a lot of European cities with beautiful buildings, narrow streets, and lovely cafes. I also saw two beautiful mosques in the downtown area - which was suprisingly alive with people eating in cafe verandas, children playing on bicycles, and window shoppers. (at the risk of sounding shallow) The shopping in Beirut was wonderful and it was nice to be somewhere that I could were jeans and a t-shirt without harassment.

Beirut is also a very old city and ancient records of its existence go back to the 14th century BC. One of the coolest things I think I have ever seen was the archeological sites that are located almost in the center of the downtown. Because the city has been building in the same area for so long, in this below picture (I think) one can see 4 stages of history. The first is the modern buildings built after the Civil War, the second is from a reconstruction ca. 1840, the third is from the late Medieval Period (1000 - 1700 A.D.), and the last from the Roman Hellenistic to Byzantine Period (300 B.C.- 600 A.D.). I find this overlapping of time periods in a relatively small space (and its existence in the present) to be quite fascinating.

Beirut also has the added luxury of being situated on the Mediterranean. The ocean was beautiful and the sunsets over it were spectacular sites. Every day, Will and I took a walk along the ocean, which had a nicely paved sidewalk and nice places to stop and grab a bite to eat or cup of (delicious) coffee. I left Beirut nicely overstuffed on baklava (a sweet), zatar bread (pita bread with spices and, if I was lucky, fresh vegetables), and good quality expresso.

Along with satisfying my food obsession, a walk along the Mediterranean allowed a view of some very awe-inspiring rock formations that arise out of water. With the perfect temperature (70s) and sunny days, I really felt as though I was on a relaxing holiday away from the chaos of Lucknow.

3 Days until Diwali!

Saturday is Diwali, which is like New Year's for Hindus and tonight we went to the (country) club that the family I live with belongs too. We wore our fanciest clothes (note that I still really need to buy a sari), watched fireworks, had a drink, ate good food, and danced. I ate some roti (grilled wheat flour) and dal (lentils). Its kind of hard to be a vegan in India, everyone who is a vegetarian here eats a lot of milk and cheese. We also had our pictures taken by the news, so we'll probably be in the paper, again....

(some of my roomates, the couple I live with, and me)

(the dance floor. I had to climb onto the DJ's stage to take a picture, but they didn't seem to mind.)

As you can see, it was a lot of fun

I Can't Believe It!!!!!!

I think this is the happiest day of the year!

The TIGERS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!

This has been my dream since I was 6 years old (the last time they won the world series)........

Festivals, Festivals, Everywhere a Festival!

Oh my, I think it has been much too long since my last post and I am feeling mildly guilty for neglecting the blog.

I am feeling much better after the accident and seem to be almost done with the never-ending cycle of doctors visits, which is good because going to the doctor takes an obscenely large amount of time, is not cheap, and is usually mildly frustrating. In addition to seeing a doctor for my accident injuries, I was simultaneously seeing a specialist about my tummy (which has been a little gerber - Urdu for chaotic). The first attempt at seeing a doctor was quite interesting because I had to go to his office (in a hospital) at 8 pm at night. But there are no appointments or lines in India, so what the scene at the office looked like was about 40 people crowded around a closed and locked door. Occasionally, the door would open a crack, the patient who had just seen the doctor would leave, and whoever could squeeze into the door next would then go to see the doctor. After waiting for about 2 hours, I left without having seen the doctor. Feeling mildly out-of-sorts, I stopped at a very nice temple on my way home that had music and food (sweets!) and general fun. This little stop greatly improved my spirits. The next day, I went to the doctor's home and saw him there.

That same weekend was full of Hindu festivals. One of these was the Durga Puja, which is an important holiday for Bengalis. While I am living pretty far from Bengal, there are some Bengalis living in Lucknow and different groups of people constructed statues of the goddess Durga and performed puja (including drumming and incense burning) in front of the shrines. People came and watched the festivities late into the evening. Specifically, the festival was celebrating Durga killing a demon, Mahishasur. Here is a picture of one of the Durga shrines:


The Monday of the Durga Puja was Dussehra, a special day that seems to be celebrated by most Hindus in Lucknow. On this day, they celebrate the god Rama killing the demon Ravana. This is usually done by making a statue of Ravana, putting firecrackers in it, and lighting him on fire. We did this on the roof of the house I live in and I really enjoyed the spectacle. The daughter of the house made the statue herself. And the firecrackers were both loud and shot crazily over the roof - so it was really exciting. Here is a picture of our Ravana before his demise: