I left Lebanon now some days ago. I didn't return home to Berlin immediately (at least not really...) but went on vacation. Which is nice to avoid the emptiness and sadness after finishing a phase in life. And coming from smog Beirut it was a good opportunity to give my lungs some relief in the French Alpes.
Now I'm back at work in Berlin. What is left after two months Beirut and Lebanon?
Everybody asks me if I liked it. Yes, I did. But this is very easy when you can leave whenever you want to. When you are a rich person in an expensive country (to clarify this point: I don't consider myself tremendously rich - but compared to so many people I saw in Beirut, I am.) So it is easy to like an expensive city if you can effort it. If the city shows you the nicest sides, because you pay for it.
My point of view is biased of course. I really wanted to go to Beirut. I've applied for this scholarship three times, I chose Beirut because it sounded promising (and not overcrowded with German freelance radio journalists). Because the city is neighbor to a horrible civil war, with the memory of a civil war, once divided, now reunited but still seperated on so many lines. I had the feeling (and this turned out to be true) that I couldn't learn anything about Lebanon from books.
Also, I wanted to challenge myself: Can I work in a foreign country? Do I get along with language problems, with cultural misunderstandings? Do I learn enough about mentality, politics, history and religion to avoid dropping the bricks?
Well, I didn't.
But I have an idea where to start. Now, I have to go deeper. I got to know so many people, journalists, artists, creative people, business men (and women of course!), politicians, students, professors...
This experience adds a puzzle piece to understand the world a little more. I'm grateful for this opportunity. This won't be last time I visited Lebanon. In fact I'm already planning on coming back in March.
So, thank you Beirut for making it so easy for me. And please, be as nice as to me to so many others who live within your walls. Voluntary or not.










