one of my first encouters in dubai was with this lebanese friend of mine, with whom i am still in contact with after almost 3 years. who says friendship comes rare in dubai? when we met, it was a first for both of us. first time she met a Filipina in the field, and my first time to meet a lebanese... only to find out later that they 'rule' the arab world. shamefully with no idea on where lebanon is, i turned to my trusted google. there i found 'the Paris', 'swtizerland of middle east'... and of course, checked with the old Pinoys living in dubai. most of the things i heard were not so nice... branded as proud people, hot-headed, discriminating and vain. but then, how am i supposed to know if this is true? just one way... let her tell her side.
Proud. if you are intellectually blessed among your contemporaries, can speak French, Arabic and English fluently, has those deep-set eyes framed with long lashes, aquiline nose and oval-shaped faces, who wouldn't be? but beyond this physical rational, their seemingly 'proud' aura tems futher deep down into how they have successfully quickly rose from the ruins of civil war... and now, whenever they talk about lebanon, it is oozing with pride. i guess Pinoys came in late when someone scattered seeds of national pride... hmm...
Hot-headed. Smile does not come as easily as it does to Pinoys. And as she said, if you've lived your life in the atmosphere of struggle, you will unfortunately find it hard to control your temper. she said, hopefully, maybe the new generation will change that...
Discriminating. self-explanatory. if people think you are proud, they would think your are discriminating.
Vain. oh, the wonders of silicone, here, there and everywhere. she said most 18-year- olds and above has done it. and she admits to really being a vain nation! on a good note, these lebanese has given me the excuse to paint my face liberally!
and now, watchng the israel-lebanese war in the tube, i remember my friend again. good thing she is not in lebanon. bad thing is, many victims of the offensive bombing are young civilians. i am wondering at the war, the struggles they experienced... and then, just maybe, after emerging victoriously after this war, the new generation will still carry on the legacy of lebanon... however negative it may be, there is always a story behind...
Proud. if you are intellectually blessed among your contemporaries, can speak French, Arabic and English fluently, has those deep-set eyes framed with long lashes, aquiline nose and oval-shaped faces, who wouldn't be? but beyond this physical rational, their seemingly 'proud' aura tems futher deep down into how they have successfully quickly rose from the ruins of civil war... and now, whenever they talk about lebanon, it is oozing with pride. i guess Pinoys came in late when someone scattered seeds of national pride... hmm...
Hot-headed. Smile does not come as easily as it does to Pinoys. And as she said, if you've lived your life in the atmosphere of struggle, you will unfortunately find it hard to control your temper. she said, hopefully, maybe the new generation will change that...
Discriminating. self-explanatory. if people think you are proud, they would think your are discriminating.
Vain. oh, the wonders of silicone, here, there and everywhere. she said most 18-year- olds and above has done it. and she admits to really being a vain nation! on a good note, these lebanese has given me the excuse to paint my face liberally!
and now, watchng the israel-lebanese war in the tube, i remember my friend again. good thing she is not in lebanon. bad thing is, many victims of the offensive bombing are young civilians. i am wondering at the war, the struggles they experienced... and then, just maybe, after emerging victoriously after this war, the new generation will still carry on the legacy of lebanon... however negative it may be, there is always a story behind...
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