How to look cool in Lebanon
OK so Lebanese people are very "fashion" conscience. In fact, every tv screen you see is either showing the parliament fighting or a European fashion show.
It's been really hot lately and everyone on campus still wears long sleeves- jeans, jean jackets, turtlenecks, and boots... it's absurd.
Popular items this year include t-shirts with U.S. states (men only), Yankees hats (sick), shirts with obscure sports teams (i.e. Kansas City Royals), pointy boots (men and women), clear bra straps, Puma shoes, and flat sequined shoes.
Everyone shops at the same place- even the veils look the same! And the adults tend to dress just like the younger people. Oh and enormous sunglasses are really in. The other day I saw a woman completely veiled except her eyes, which were covered in huge designer lenses. Designers are really important in Lebanon and people like to wear outfits of all one designer (shoes, sunglasses, belt all the same).
All of the women straighten their hair too. Except straightening irons are really expensive so the demand has created a whole enterprise. There are salons all over the place that will straighten your hair for you. It costs about 10 thousand lira in Beirut, which is equivalent to a little less than 7 bucks. Lebanese hairdressers in other parts of the Middle East make a ton of money because they are considered the best in the region. My suitemate doesn't do her own hair. She goes to the salon every 3 days to get it done.
Another popular business here is waxing (and other forms of hair removal). Lebanese people are hairy and they don't like it. All of the girls at AUB get their eyebrows waxed at the same salon in Hamra. Oh and my friend went to visit her family for the weekend and ended up spending hours at a salon watching people pull the hair off of her aunt's face with a string.
The accessories in this country are so absurd. They have THE ugliest purses. For example, I was sitting on this grassy area called the "Green Oval" the other day reading between classes and I noticed a girl had brought her dog. Except it wasn't her dog... it was a stuffed animal dog made into a purse!
Another big sign of status here is the cell phone. EVERYONE has one and they're all Nokias. Minutes are super expensive. For 42 USD you get 60 units, which gets you about 80 minutes of talking and you have to renew it every month even if you don't use all your minutes. The most popular method of cheating the system is "miss calling", which is hanging up after one ring. They also text message each other constantly. My suitemate makes fun of how slow I am at it. They think it's really cool to attach a key chain type thing to their phones too. My friend has one with a fake diamond studded evil eye. Ha. Oh and the ringers are so bad. My favorites are a baby crying and one that repeats "pick up the phone, pick up the phone!" over and over until it's screaming it. There's also no voicemail so the phones ring for a loooooooooooong time.
Cars, of course, are also a way to show off. People like Mercedes-Benz the best. All of the taxis are old Mercedes from the late 80's and early 90's. Hummers are also in this year, which is really funny because it is the least practical vehicle for navigating Beirut.
Appalled? :)
It's been really hot lately and everyone on campus still wears long sleeves- jeans, jean jackets, turtlenecks, and boots... it's absurd.
Popular items this year include t-shirts with U.S. states (men only), Yankees hats (sick), shirts with obscure sports teams (i.e. Kansas City Royals), pointy boots (men and women), clear bra straps, Puma shoes, and flat sequined shoes.
Everyone shops at the same place- even the veils look the same! And the adults tend to dress just like the younger people. Oh and enormous sunglasses are really in. The other day I saw a woman completely veiled except her eyes, which were covered in huge designer lenses. Designers are really important in Lebanon and people like to wear outfits of all one designer (shoes, sunglasses, belt all the same).
All of the women straighten their hair too. Except straightening irons are really expensive so the demand has created a whole enterprise. There are salons all over the place that will straighten your hair for you. It costs about 10 thousand lira in Beirut, which is equivalent to a little less than 7 bucks. Lebanese hairdressers in other parts of the Middle East make a ton of money because they are considered the best in the region. My suitemate doesn't do her own hair. She goes to the salon every 3 days to get it done.
Another popular business here is waxing (and other forms of hair removal). Lebanese people are hairy and they don't like it. All of the girls at AUB get their eyebrows waxed at the same salon in Hamra. Oh and my friend went to visit her family for the weekend and ended up spending hours at a salon watching people pull the hair off of her aunt's face with a string.
The accessories in this country are so absurd. They have THE ugliest purses. For example, I was sitting on this grassy area called the "Green Oval" the other day reading between classes and I noticed a girl had brought her dog. Except it wasn't her dog... it was a stuffed animal dog made into a purse!
Another big sign of status here is the cell phone. EVERYONE has one and they're all Nokias. Minutes are super expensive. For 42 USD you get 60 units, which gets you about 80 minutes of talking and you have to renew it every month even if you don't use all your minutes. The most popular method of cheating the system is "miss calling", which is hanging up after one ring. They also text message each other constantly. My suitemate makes fun of how slow I am at it. They think it's really cool to attach a key chain type thing to their phones too. My friend has one with a fake diamond studded evil eye. Ha. Oh and the ringers are so bad. My favorites are a baby crying and one that repeats "pick up the phone, pick up the phone!" over and over until it's screaming it. There's also no voicemail so the phones ring for a loooooooooooong time.
Cars, of course, are also a way to show off. People like Mercedes-Benz the best. All of the taxis are old Mercedes from the late 80's and early 90's. Hummers are also in this year, which is really funny because it is the least practical vehicle for navigating Beirut.
Appalled? :)