Getting settled in

Yesterday was a big day here, we did it. We finally got WiFi. I can not believe how much I use the internet until I had no WiFi. But, we are good now. Also, a few people from another school were having a sale at their house since they are moving, so we stopped by to see what we could get for our place. We ended up having to take a taxi the four or five blocks home because of all the stuff we bought! Mainly just plants. We have four balconies, so I have really been wanting to put some plants out there, but they are expensive. We have great sun on the balconies so we can grow a lot. We ended up with a lot of empty pots, and dirt and a huge thing of pete moss, which Ryan was not thrilled about lugging around. We are planning on growing some veggies. Ryan, obviously the green thumb of us both, planted some tomatoes, and 2 kinds of basil. Next, we are going to look for some other veggies to grow. Ryan is looking for some ivy or other vines, I told him if it starts looking like Wrigley, I'll cut it down. :)

Last night we found a great place for gelato. It was close to the quality in Rome. I was very satisfied. I would have posted a pic if I hadn't eaten it so fast. They deliver too, we didn't deliver last night, but I imagine there will come a time....

On another note, we have obviously been paying close attention to the rhetoric about Syria. The school has been in contact with all sorts of institutions and they keep us posted. The area we are in is extremely wealthy and safe. There are a lot of police stations. The buildings are very new, and very nice, so the people there want to protect them. We have been talking to a lot of the locals, who know more about what is going on, and have been constantly assured we are in a safe neighborhood. This barber named Mike, who has been in the same store for 53 years provided a lot of insight for us. He is a great guy who cut hair in embassies all over the world. He wants us to come by for coffee some time soon.

That's all for now. Sorry no great pictures. Been in school all day. I could post pictures of all the cats that run around the school, because there are so many. I have been taking pictures of them to send to my nephew in Connecticut, Alex. It was the one thing that interested him when we facetimed the other day!

Hiking

Last night we went on a hike with some people from the school. I know I have tossed around words like amazing and incredible a lot on this blog, but I can't think of any other words to describe this hike. We left school at 3:30, and drove through the crazy Beirut traffic for around 2 hours. We arrived at the Cedar reserve and began the intense hike to the top. There were around 20-30 of us on the hike, some newbies and some veterans. The view the whole hike was incredible, it was nice to be out of the city and  back to nature, since like any big city Beirut is loud.  The hike took about an hour and we went up 2000 meters.

What happened at the top of the hike can almost not be explained besides with pictures. We got to the top and could look out over the Bekaa valley. This valley was once controlled by the Romans and used for agriculture. It still is an agriculture hub in Lebanon today. We were above the clouds and could see the mountain ranges that separate Lebanon and Syria. There, everyone broke out their snacks and wine and we had a great time hanging out with our new friends. The people here are so amazing with all of their different life experiences. 

After the most unbelievable sunset I have ever seen, we started the long hike down the steep trail in the dark. No wipeouts though! At the bottom when everyone got back, we sat down in a circle in the pitch black and looked at the stars. There were so many stars, with some people saying they saw shooting stars. We could see the Milky Way galaxy, and other constellations, so others told me, I have no idea. Then, someone took out there flute and played a beautiful song. After that our new friend Julianne, from Hawaii, and two kids that were with their parents, and go to ACS sang a Hawaiian song about granting wisdom. Truly, I was in awe. It was a great hike, with lots of time to get to know people better. Here are some pictures, enjoy! 

The hike up.  

Part of the group hiking. 

One quick stop. 

Bekaa Valley 

Wine Tasting above Byblos and Beyond

So I can't start to describe today without starting yesterday at 2:30 AM, no, let's start last weekend. After arriving in Beirut it has been a whirlwind ride though pub crawls, school events, job requirements, introductions, cell phone providers, and then last weekend a Beirut virus. Becky had it for basically an afternoon but it had me all week. We weren't sick, we just knew things weren't right and all week long it was tough to sleep, tough to eat, and basically tough to complete everyday tasks without feeling that you were in a haze.

So finally Friday night I started feeling better but thanks to the Mickey Mouse Fantasy football league that I am in, and a Friday night 6:30PM draft in Chicago, that's 2:30AM in Lebanon. So we made sure that we were in bed before 10 to get a couple hours sleep per draft, and with a recently installed Internet connection I was confident in a good draft. So alarm buzzes at 2:30 and since I still am not sleeping well I am up already, and I am not the last one ready for the draft, but I am the only one in a different country. Well after about ten minutes of face time with Joe, Jake, Justin, Pete, Kevin, Nicky's Barber, Jimmy FF, Bono, and Jason, my MB's ran out and I lost the connection forcing Jake to live text a seemingly hilarious draft. Fast forward to 6:00AM and I phone in my last 5 picks to kickers, defenders, and best available RB's, thank you Jake, and try to get a couple more hours sleep. 

Finally feeling 100% we head out to the bank because I was told be the representative that to finalize our new account we needed to be there after noon but before two. Well something was lost in the translation and the bank closed at noon and at 12:15 it was locked up and deserted.  So Becky and I continued to explore our new city and found some of favorite Italian pizza. Our new neighbor and Principal Fabio, introduced us to another new section of the city called Mono. It is a subsection of Ashrefieh (bad spelling), which I can only describe as similar to the neighborhoods of Chicago, some areas are lazy, laid back, and full of restaurant and pubs while others are a hectic mix of clubby bars, fashion boutiques, and cafés. 

After a great evening of soccer pubs and a three man Lebanese band that played everything from Tenacious D, to Oasis all with a flute, we woke up early and headed to Martyr's Square to meet the bus for our first excursion into the mountains of Lebanon. Two wine tastings, a foie gras farm, and a crusader castle later we are on a bus, fighting traffic back into Beirut and watching a beautiful sunset into the Mediterranean. Even better than the wine was the warm welcome of a Lebanese family while eating lunch next to them under an old tree, next to a small ancient church, using Roman columns as benches, offering tabbouleh salad, meat skewers, and their fire pit baked potatoes to a group of foreigners. As we drive into Beirut and the skyscrapers appear, the Ferraris, crotch rockets, and 70's Datsun's fly by, and the car horns blare, I am still tired from the lack of sleep but excited to spend the next two years having weekends like this.

Watching soccer at a great place.

Playing the hits with a guitar, drum machine, and a flute.

Wine tasting room?

Second winery, and best one. 

Completely green building and business reflected in the logo. The roots and the sun, good roots and lots of sun, makes good grapes.

Good reasons to be a vegetarian!

Lots of wine bottles.

Great lunch under a tree much bigger than this old olive tree.

Leaving the mountains and traffic in the city.

An amazing experience

Yesterday we spent the day outside Beirut in a northern part called Batroun. It is in northern Lebanon, but it is just a quick and gorgeous trip up the coast. One of the girls in my department told us about this trip earlier this week, so we decided to give it a shot. Gretchen from Wisconsin, her husband Mike from Michigan, and our HS principal Fabio from Canada, all went on the trip.  Also on this trip were a couple from Iraq, now living in Beirut, 3 college  age Spaniards, just finishing a summer working at a resort in Byblos, and their boss, a woman from St Louis, who has been in Lebanon for a long time, and a few Lebanese people.  This trip was incredible. First stop was this incredible village called Rachane. One family lives in this area. They are a family if sculptors, so all over this extremely beautiful property were incredible sculptures made from stone and metal. Next stop wine! We went to a wine tasting at a monastery, Adyar.  It was amazing. Then on to an ancient fortress with amazing views if the mountains and sea. After that, another winery, Ilixr, which is completely organic and green. Then was lunch under a tree where some other Lebanese families were eating. Let me tell you, the rumors of how gracious the Lebanese are are not wrong. These people were sharing all their food with us, taking pictures, and talking away with us. It was all really surreal. I found myself stepping back and thinking how incredible it all was and how lucky we are to have these experiences. Truly amazing. After that was a weird part, a stop to a duck farm to see how foie gras is made....weird. Then another monastery for more wine. Now we are in the bus ride home.

The whole time I kept saying to Ryan what a truly hidden gem this country is from the rest of the world. It reminded me of Tuscany at times, or Turkey, or Rio, and so many others, but it isn't. It is Lebanon, a truly unique place with great people. 

Today should also be great. We are taking a hike with a sunset view up in the mountains. What an amazing country. 

Here are some pictures.

A grape vine at a monastery. 

One of the sculptures in Ranacha. 

The whole group. 

A fortress 

Downtown Beirut

Monday night we took a trip to downtown Beirut and had the chance to go into some churches and mosques. It was incredible. The history here is fascinating. They are still uncovering more and more ruins every time someone wants to build something.  Then we all went to this amazing restaurant called El Balad. Talk about a feast. The food just kept coming out. We all thought it was over after the mezze, we were all severely mistaken. Even as vegetarians, there are endless options. We had two kinds of hummus, tzatzki, potatoes, veggies, tabouli, and so much more.

The past few days have been at school. Its awesome how much time we have to collaborate with our different teams, and set up our classes. I did have to throw out four or five boxes of junk that previous teachers have left in the room. My room is huge, and I have tables instead of desks which I love. The room is big enough for a couch and chairs in the back of the room even.

We got our cable hooked up yesterday, 200 channels, for 25,000 lbl a month, which is less than 20 bucks. There are American shows on there, but there is an issue with ESPN in Lebanon right now, we have heard rumors its coming back. There are a lot of other sports channels, Discovery, History, CNN, BBC etc.

 Here are some pictures.

The clock tower is a Rolex. Thats how we role. 

Blue Mosque at night

 Ryan's incredible picture

 From Martyr Square

 Inside a Mosque

 Under St George Church, found a few bodies

 Downtown Beirut, a lot of streets are shut off from traffic, which is really nice

 A wedding photo shoot

 Prayer times

 Ancient Roman Baths