Sarahilal's Blog

After 7 consecutive hours of nagging, I finally agreed to take my 14 years old brother, to watch the final basketball game of 9th Arab basketball tournament, Lebanon vs. Egypt. I picked up my friend Haitham, who himself isn’t a basketball fan, and headed to the Madina Riyadiya (where the game was held). We got there at the end of the 2nd quarter, but getting in wasn’t easy.

The army people at the door wouldn’t let us in, saying that it is full inside and no one can enter anymore, so I asked him if it is possible for my brother just to have a sneak preview, since he is leaving in a couple of days (its is true), after few minutes of non-stop talking, he finally let him in. Few minutes later, my brother goes up calling Haitham and I to follow him, and we ended up at the VIP section, that was packed as well. (zabat wasta ma3 el jayhsi )

So we get there and the first thing I hears is ” Allah w Nasrallah wel Dahyeh killa ” from one side, and “Allah w Hariri w Tari2 Jdideh”, from the other side, and off course there were a couple of Alis and Omars as well. I was shocked, we are here to watch the game while some others are only present to prove a certain irrelevant point, that makes completely no sense, I was disappointed.

That wasn’t it, some even reached the point to cuss the Egyptian president using the worst words you can imagine, I felt offended. Being there made me feel enraged, how can you people cheer for the same team yet you are cussing each other, how can you be so illiterate, uneducated, that you mix sports and politics. I wanted to shout at them, but they wouldn’t listen to me. It was like they came to watch this game just to prove a certain political point.

4th Quarter

These same persons didn’t mind dancing on the music that was played during halftimes, ” I wanna fly so high” made the audience stand up and dance, I believe some of them even took the advantage of this occasion to show some of their dancing abilities,ughhhhhhhhh…..”hayetiiii ma atyabooo” were also some of the words used by the crowds when a female reporter stood in the court to film her piece to cam, poor her :@

I decided to stand away from all the guys surrounding me, while Haitham was with my brother “taking care of him”. Because i was looking lonely and scared, one of the army guys called me up and asked me to stand next to him, at first i smiled and I said it is ok, but he insisted so i did go, finally a good view and now I was at the VVIP section, yeyyyy me: D

The VVIP section, where I was standing

Leaving all these “uncivilization” aside, it was a good game, even though it ended with the loss of Lebanon. It was nice to hear every now and then the crowd cheering for Lebanon, and screaming out loud when any of the Lebanese team members scores. People from all ages were there clapping, and shouting for their country, that was something not to be missed.

Here is a video I shot of the audience cheering for Lebanon

Today, Saturday the 11th, was the second day of the Hamra Festival! As usual I got there late, around 9:30, I saw a couple of stands here and there, one of them selling some handmade stuff, another with some food on it; cupcakes and so one…The first thing I did when I got there is signing up my name for the Nokia (X3 phone draw), and i only did that because I was dragged by my 14 years old brother who thought that its better to have 2 names in the draw, you know to increase his chance of winning, and he was right, I did win one of the 14 phones that were given away, and yes my brother took it

Anyway, it was such a pleasure to see Hamra main street full with people from all ages and classes, they were walking up and down the street with a smile on their faces enjoying the nice ambiance…All shops were open, and the cafes were loaded with those who chose to drink coffee or enjoy a muffin while the bands were playing!Some chose to sit on the side of the street and chat…

It felt like everyone was waiting for this festival to go out and enjoy their time…Hamra looked amazing today with all the lights, and the people roaming its street, it was joyful, a bit chaotic, yet security guys were present to make sure that there were no problem.  It is nice to see this street in particular car-free, I was able to walk all along without worrying about cars passing by, and kids were running all around and their parents had their peace of mind. When it was over, people didn’t leave right away, they chose to stay and enjoy to the maximum the street with no cars, they sat, chatted, laughed and sang!

Personally I enjoyed the most Ashekman, twin rappers who rapped for Beirut, and Amy Smack Daddy, a band that played some nice songs among which Beautiful Day by U2 and a Muse song.

I didn’t leave before buying 2eni ouheb al Hamra shirt

Tomorrow is another day, and Hamra’s festival last day, unfortunately I won’t be able to make it :s

I forgot my cam, so used my phone to take these pics which turned out to be bad

I <3 Hamra

Ashekman

Amy Smack Daddy

Our next stop was San Francisco; a city that never sleeps, a city that is full of life, a city that you can easily fall for. The streets don’t look like any other ones, each corner has its own story that is ready to share it with you if you spare some of your time and actually listen to it. It is not fake; everything seems natural and easy going! The people here seem different as well, they don’t seem to have the same worries as the rest; they tend to have their own unique problems.

In the morning, on your way out, you smell the nice smell of coffee, and your eyes enjoy the scene of fresh backed cupcakes of different colors. You take the cable car to go from one place to another, but you don’t get bored, the scenery makes you enter a world of fantasies where everything seems peaceful.

It is not like any other city! All along the streets you can watch different performers playing music or dancing, trying to earn a living! The shops on each side are always busy, while other people appear to enjoy a cup of hot coffee in the cafes!

The weather was cold, yet we enjoyed each second freezing! We roamed the city streets, discovering the different pubs, (where we weren’t allowed in because some of us didn’t have an ID), and learning about its different aspects. The guys were able to spot a shisha café; you can imagine that a lot of our time was spent there, due to the strong request of some participants!

Pier 39 a place that you shouldn’t miss! I believe that it is the place where you can encounter the different traditions of this city and enjoy a delightful meal of fish and chips: D ( all the food tasted good in SF.) I bought some bead bracelets to always remind me of the beauty of the city!

In addition to that we went to Wikipedia where we met its lovely staff, the San Francisco Chronicles, Twitter and Google We enjoyed every moment, and I believe that i learned some new issues about the discussed topics related to new media.

Whatever I say, I wont be able to express my love to this city. {I (heart) SF}, I wanted to buy a shirt to express my love, but unfortunately all shops were closed. A city that reflects the thoughts of its residents, a city that gives you hope, that draws a smile on your face, and that makes you fall in love….

Our next stop…Washington DC

San Francisco by Hanibaael Naim

At the Twitter office in SF

At Google HQ in SF

I am in love...

When i say Disney, probably the first thing that comes to your mind is Mickey Mouse, or any other cartoon character…

Being in California, we had the chance to go and pay Disney Land a visit yeyyy us. We spent the whole day going around the huge city, getting “amazed” by all what we see! I, specifically, was looking for Mickey Mouse to take a picture with him , but unfortunately he was busy taking pictures with tens of other kids so i decided to go and do more useful things! At a certain point, i felt like a kid, going from one place to another, trying all games, looking for Disney characters and holding cotton candy in my hand! I was in a group of 8, Nada, Tala, Dany, Shaden, Mariam, Rand and Lina, we went around shoppig, taking pictures and most of all enjoying the scary rides! The roller coaster, Twilight Terror Tower, and many more, in other words i can say that we experienced Disney from all its sides. Mariam, a Lebanese participant, said that it reminds her a lot of Habtoor, “bas Habtoor arkhas w ahla”she said.

We all went home happy, and I was very tired but i didn’t forget to buy the Minnie ears and wear them in the bus on our way to UCLA hhehehehe

The next day in class we had a discussion about it and we watched a documentary about Disney, and no its not fun, happy as anything related to Disney should be, on the contrary i felt that it was aimed to demolish all the pretty annotations that come along the word Disney :s The documentary tried to show how this whole imaginary world is based on discrimination and racism, the bad guys are always Mexican or Arabs, and the good ones are always “white” , and how the Aladdin song diminishes the Arabs, ( it talks about Arabs coming from the desert…), and how women are always represented as week, dependent and waiting got their prince charming to save them out of misery.

After the discussion was over (during which i didnt say much because i was in shock of what i was hearing) I felt that this is a strong trial to destroy Disney world, i grew up watching Tom and Jerry all the time and I assure you, that didn’t affect my peronality, ot behavior. I didn’t grow up to be a woman who is looking for prince charming to rescue her, nor do i look at any other nation with disrespect. I believe that Mickey Mouse is a character that should be present at every household and not banned. Disney might contain some hidden messages, but let us not forget the good and joyful moments he brings to the kids hearts!

I might be a  little 2 biased to that fantasy world, but I spend many years of my childhood watching these characters and loving them. When i watched that documentary, I felt that a big period of my life has been distorted, I would love to see my kids, nieces and nephews watch Disney and enjoyed it as much as i did.

The question remains, shall we love Disney or get convinced by all negative thoughts and let go of it ?

I love it

Again this is only my personal opinion..

A part of the program is allowing us to discover how an American family spends its day, and that is why on Saturday, every 2 or 3 persons went to a different American household, expecting to learn something new.

The funny thing that all families were Mormons , so practically we just learned about one small side of the American society. Mahmoud and I spent the day with a woman, her 2 children, her brother’s wife and her three kids. We all went to the beach, and on our way back to the university we had lunch. The lady was really nice, and asked us so many questions about the Middle East, and was really surprised that we can speak more than 2 languages each . Obviously, she had no idea about where Lebanon or Palestine are located, their mother tongue or what religion the people practice there, and every time we tell her something new she would be surprised! The big difference that I noticed among the middle east and the US, and after the other participants shared their experience of the day, is that in the ME people are more concerned with welcoming their guests, and making him/her feel comfortable in any possible way, while in the US, they act normal and don’t try hard, not out of disrespect, but because it is all related to their background, that is much more simple that the middle eastern people.

Another thing that you should experience in LA is shopping in a mall, well it is a bit different because it is full of outlets stores, for the first few seconds you will be happy with what you are seeing, but then later on you will find out, unfortunately, that none of these actually fit you and when you ask for your size, well no one can help you! It is not only about malls, but it also involves beaches! They are neat, cleaned, the sand is white, the water is clean and it is for FREE!

Other then our morning visit, we went to the beach to enjoy the night

You get your chairs and food, you lay down and enjoy the sun, and NO ONE  will be staring at you!

Some beaches have markets on the side, where you can buy some homemade items. It is weird, but you don’t feel like an outsider, no matter where you are; so far i have met few American people, and lot of people coming from Asia, there is a lot of diversity.

"sarkhet el sabet, el ahad "

Having fun in Westwood

One thing that would also like to share, is that so far I only heard car horns twice, and people give the priority to pedestrians, they don’t cuss you out or even ask you to move out-of -the way, they don’t need to do that, because initially everything is organized. I can’t stand that because i believe where there is a lot of order, something will go wrong one day…I miss Beirut, as messy as it is, I still believe that it is one of the most beautiful places I will ever see..I miss Hamra…and I miss driving..

Being involved in media, we visited the L.A Times, and were lucky to have a tour around, we learned how it functions, and we saw the amazing pictures that were taken along the years.

At L.A Times

L.A Times

And what is better then watching a movie, as a group activity, we all took the bus and head to the movies where we watched Inception, a pretty amazing, complicated movie. It allows you to think more about the simplest things in your life, as dreaming, and it lead me to wonder about many facts in my life…

It has only been a couple of weeks here and we already feel like we are home, on the other hand, we all miss home ….yet we are not ready to leave yet.  People ar so friendly and happy, that I started to wonder if they have any worries in their lives??? Off course they do, but again I believe it is something related to their simple background.

Day after day, our stay here seems to take its right path, we are getting more used to what life is here, its system, rules and regulations. But, somehow, it is still a bit hard for me to wake up at 6 am because breakfast is at 7, and our classes start at 8, but in order to get there on time, we have to leave our dormitory at 7:30 :S

Anyway enough with the complaining, and let us focus on more important issue:P It is still weird how, so far, I don’t feel that I am exploring a new life style, it pretty much resembles that one i have in Lebanon. Off course there are exceptions, there are very strict driving rules that no one can ignore, or less a fine will waiting for you, the people seem to be more friendly and helpful… It feels good that we can cross from on street to another dancing, and still no one would look at you…

Westwood Village, Rand, Hani and Nada crossing the street "with style."

To feel that we are closer to home, our coordinators decided to have a cooking day; some of the participants, who are interested to cooking, came together and prepared for us a lovely meal.

Preparing dinner

Waiting for dinner ot be served

"Men el ajwe2"

At night, Hani, Nada and I hit Hollywood street, We tried getting into a pub there, but we weren’t allowed in, because we were wearing flip flops, so anyone can  step on our toes(that was the excuse of the lady standing at thedoor), and that is when we decided not to go home, even though time was running late

What I liked the most so far, is the community service that we had to do, we went to Food Bank and helped packing food, for those who are in need.

At night, we went to Wetwood, to Gypsy cafe (and yes it serves Hubbly Bubbly), the places was good, but since i have no idea the waitress refused to give me a beer :S The music was loud, and off course there were many “arabic” people trying to be very, unusually nice in order to gain the boss’s attention (pathetic)

This is a very quick written post but I am so sleepy, i can’t open my eyes…

Even though it has been only four days that I have been in LA, it feels like it has been 4 months…It is a weird feeling…The classes are going well, some are more interesting then the others; while some, as I see it, lack any importance and focus more on the “greatness of this country”.

Wherever I go, people act in a very polite way, always smiling and saying thank you for the least thing, even when you move from their way on the sidewalk (inu come on :s)… I don’t know if this is how it really is, or maybe they are just trying to keep a perfect image for the US (all the people are nice, friendly…) The thing that i like the most is the passion that is found for everything, everywhere at anytime! People here are always excited and happy …(like Oprah’s audience).  They always look happy and with no worries or problems..I am not used to this, from where i come from, people push you on the sidewalk if they are in a hurry, cars don’t stop for the people crossing the streets(here they are obliged to stop), and cars driving in the opposite direction “shi 3ady”.

Today we visited the UCLA Lab School (which is a school for kids), I really enjoyed what i saw, 7 years old working on programing in a robotics class, while others are playing the guitar to the tunes of Micheal Jackson song “Beat it”. We stayed there for a couple of hours, all our time there, i didn’t hear a kid screaming, or cussing out,  i didn’t see any kid beating another one, all I saw is some really cute ones enjoying what they are doing, and they were even trying to engage us in their activities. A 10 years old showed me on the class MAC (each class has a least 2 MACs), how he programs a robot that he made it himself, I was really impressed…( inu minimum ). The school principal was explaining to us how concerned they are about “their kids” and how they try their best to improve the school ( it is a private one, so they get no funding from the government, it coasts 13000 dollars a kid). He also said that each year all the parents raise around a million dollars and help those who can’t afford going to UCLA Lab School to attend the school.

As for the rest of the day, every couple of persons, headed to a different location for the internship, Mariam and I were assigned to go to the Pancreatic Cancer Center where research is done, and help around; we did some filing. The people there were very “excited”a bout us doing some volunteer work Some of the participants were asked to go to help at a garage sale, they did, they spent 3 hours cleaning and washing in a garage the items that were on sale

note: It gets really cold at night, but it is always nice to lay down on the grass, stair at the sky and listen to some “good” music…

For pictures you can visit LA, day 4 and 5