Lebanese Diet

So, I have been trying to adhere to the promise I made (mostly to myself) not to eat any processed sugars. So far I have been successful, with the exception of drinking a little soda and coffee when they are offered to me as a visitor (it is very rude in Arabic culture to turn down something when it is put in front of you...and people usually don't ask if you want something, they just do it). I've also lessened my white flour intake, except for flat bread which is pretty much unavoidable seeings that if you don't eat the flat bread you have no eating utensils...Anyway, about half of my diet right now is consisting of fruit and yogurt. There is so much fruit right now in the market places...you Alaskans would go nuts (just like me). a pound of bananas - 25 cents; a pound of apples - 40 cents; a pound of grapes - 50 cents; other fruits like guava, nectarine, pears, figs, and pomegranates range from 50 cents to a dollar a pound...and its all fresh. Half of the fruit I don't even buy, friends just give it to me. A week ago I had such a stock pile I was eating fruit like mad just so I wouldn't throw it away. Some I had to throw away, but I justified by putting it into my experimental Bio-gas generator. Oh, and the other very important thing: my blender, what an awesome tool!
OK, so that is an inside look into my dietary life. By the way a couple weeks back there was a baptism in brother Issa's church and we had a fellowship, so I baked pies (also from fruit). There was an american family who came, and all their kids came up and told me that I was their special friend haha. I told them to thank my mom for teaching me...Thanks mom.
Until the next time. Peace out

...and Back Again

There
I know it has been a long time since I posted, so I will try to do my best to catch up. I left Alaska on Sept. 14th, after a really amazing visit. I got to spend lots of time with friends and family, as well as do a couple small adventures that reminded my Alaska is such a phenomenal place to live. Nevertheless, by the end I could feel that it was time to go. As much as I love my friends, family, and the land I used to call home, it simply is not home anymore...
A couple night before I left we got a road kill moose, and I made sure I got some pictures. All my friends in Lebanon respond to the idea (and the pictures) with a mix of confusion and disgust. They just don't get why a big dead animal could be such an important part of life...I piety them, I really do haha


Also, here is a picture of the three women I love most in my life. I miss you mom, Hannah, and Devynn
The Journey
On my way back to Lebanon, I had a 12 hour lay-over in Istanbul, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. I knew I was coming before I left Lebanon, so a friend of mine gave me a list of places I should go see and maps of how to get there. Istanbul, aka Constantinople, is considered one of the most majestic and important cities in the world. It was very interesting, especially with all the history behind it. It was also very pretty, but I still think Prague was more majestic. Anyway, here are some pictures (as promised :)


One of the coolest things about Istanbul is that it sits right on the Med. Half of the city is in Asia, the other half of it is in Europe.
Istanbul is famous for it's mosques. This one is called the Blue Mosque, and it is absolutely huge, though not the biggest in the city.

The history of the city, as a major city at least, dates way back to the days of the early Romans. You can see anciet aqueducts and roman ruins, in addition to this ancient underground cistern. It is huge, and really quite incredible. There is still water in the cistern, though it is home to a population of fish (also very cool).

Back Again
It has been an exceedingly fast couple of weeks back in the Middle East. I got back to Lebanon, and things were more of less how I left them. I spent the first few days taking care of necessary evils like getting car insurance as well as trying to readjust to the time and climate difference. My sleep schedule finally got back on track after about four days...I guess these things happen when you have been traveling for almost 3 full days (I had some really long lay-overs/connections). After getting life back to normal (as though there is such a thing in this part of the world) I went up and spent a few hours with the kids from the orphanage. When I arrived there they were eating lunch, and as soon as they saw me a couple of the smaller kids jumped out of their seats ran, jumped, and latched onto neck. It was really sweet to see them again. After that I spent a couple days down in Tyre and some of the southern villages of Lebanon. One of the villages we were in was a border village with Israel. We were about 15 feet away at one point...it is still crazy for me to think that invisible lines like that are so important. That is an Alaskan's point of view on world politics.

Well, until next time, as my niece would say, Peace Out

More Alaska Pics

OK, so I have been enjoying my break from the panicky madhouse that the world calls the Middle East, and have been relaxing in the great state of Alaska. It has really surprised me to realize just how easy and laid back life in Alaska is. Something about living in an unstable third world country with constant upheaval makes you really appreciate the land where you grew up.

Anyway, here are a few more pictures from Alaska:

Harbor in Homer, Alaska

A MOOOOOSE, a bull one at that

A little brown bear cub, probably not even a year old

The camp fire: An Alaskan summer MUST

I couldn't get through a post without a picture of my niece (and her mimi). She will actually say "peace out" when she says goodbye. she is so great

Around Alaska

Hey Everybody, I finally made it around to making a post. I have been busy back here in Alaska. I have had a good time visiting friends and family. It was pretty weird coming back to the US...It is SO different than Lebanon. It still amazes me just how easy everything is here, and how simple it is to get things done. It is like the complete opposite of Lebanon. I just came back from a quick 4-day visit down to the Pennisula to see my mom, sister, brother, niece, and grandfather. That is probably about the biggest family gathering I can remember. It was really nice, I got to play with my niece alot, talk to my family, and even get to see some really cool Alaskan things. Instead of talking about it all, I'll save us all time and just out the pictures and videos:

These two pictures are from the last trip I made in Lebanon. The lower picture is the valley we hiked through (called Wadi Qadisha). The upper pic is a 2000 year-old Roman bridge we found while trying to cross the creek running in the valley.

We tried to go dip-netting on one of the rivers and when we arrived at the fishing area we found this guy. He stayed around for over an hour and must have eaten 7 or 8 fish. The fish were all spawning out, so we decided he could keep them all. Nonetheless, pretty cool.


This is my super great niece, Devynn. She is so much fun. Here she was eating Salmon berries that we found on a hiking trail over in Seward.

These are just some pictures of Alaskan scenery. The mountain is Mt. Redoubt, taken from my mom's place in the caribou hills. The lower picture is Exit Glacier over in Seward.

All moved in and ready to leave

Things have been so busy the last month I don't even know where to start. About a month ago I had a big fight with my land lord, of which I had only been with for about 3 weeks. They wanted to start making all kind of crazy conditions and asking for more money, and threatening to throw me out if I didn't pay. As it turns out, they are con artists, and I am not the first one they have tried to cheat. Anyway, long story short is that I moved out and bit the bullet, losing my deposit. I could have fought it, but it wasn't worth it...this is just Lebanon. After three more weeks or searching (and being much more careful this time) I finally found a nice place in southern Beirut. The lady who owns it works for USAID, and said she was either going to sell it or rent it to foreigners, because she doesn't trust Lebanese. I got a pretty good deal. It is a fairly large apartment, at least for Middle East standards, about 900 sq. ft. It has two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, a living room, and a balcony. The neighborhood is decent, but kind of noisy since it full of traffic, but once again that is Beirut. You cannot escape the sound of cars. I also (the also referring to Aaron) recently went to the shops and dropped about 250$ on household items like a blender, iron, cutlery, etc. However, unlike Aaron I wasn't thinking that it would be nice to have a cute little doe around my arm (or a doh, since I already have one, and he isn't cute or little...plus he's kind of annoying if you live with him). I was actually thinking it would be nice to have someone who would just go and do the shopping for me...but then the problem is I don't really trust people to do my shopping for me.

This is the entry. The TV is purely for looks...I don't even have an antenna, and I intend to keep it that way.

This is the Dining room and the Sitting room. If you look close there is a can of A&W Root Beer. The other day I was in the store and found a place that sells Root Beer and Dr. Pepper. I have never found those before in the Middle East, so I bought some.

OK, enough of all that. While searching for the apartment I was living and helping out at the orphanage/shelter the majority of the time. I have gotten pretty attached to the kids, and I would like to think the feeling is mutual (for some of them I know it is). It will be pretty hard to leave them. Perhaps the Lord will allow me to stay involved with them in some way. I have sure learned alot about myself living with them and taking care of them. I've made a few trips to the south of lebanon to visit some people in the refugee camps and do some Distribution. There are so many things I wish I could do here, but don't have the time or energy. My back is feeling better, in general, but if I push it too hard the pain starts to come back. My back is very sore and the muscles are very tight. I started going to Physical Therapy, but it required too much time, so I quit...we'll see what happens.
My flight back to Alaska is in 10 days...I can't believe it. How did it get here so fast?? Whats worse is that I know that my time there will go by even faster, despite the midnight sun. I will be glad to be back in Alaska to visit. I definetly miss it, and all my friends there. In reality, I am glad I haven't had much time to think about coming back, cause it usually only causes me to be sad and confused. Sad because I know it is only a temporary visit, and confused because I have no home, and no real sense of belonging anywhere I am. It is a very strange feeling...

A friend of mine is coming from Syria and I am taking a day or two before I leave Lebanon to go see some of the scenic part of the country. Hopefully I will post some pictures before I travel. Until then, Hasta Luego