Every now and then, when the material is good enough =P we’ll be having a guest blogger. This first entry is from my dearest Lori Kharpoutlian.
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A while ago, I read the story of a young Afghani teen who flees his homeland ravaged by war seeking a new and better way of life in the States. Once there, his father, a respected aristocrat, starts working as a gas station assistant, and they both move into a dilapidated apartment in the heart of Fremont, California. Despite the conditions they now live in, both father and son are satisfied with their Sunday afternoons at the flea market and the former’s long working hours, considering the States as a place to be free and start over. Let me ask you this: Which sane person would give up his luxury mansion and high social class to work as a gas station assistant? Maybe this father-son’s case was different, but what baffles me is how everyone nowadays seems to aim for a life in the “land of opportunities”.
“My services don’t cover that”, “I can’t risk hurting my back”, and “I take $20 an hour” are some answers you would get when hiring a housekeeper. Doesn’t this sound absurd when all you have to do here is pay Wadi3a 5000LBP to turn the house spotless in a couple of hours? Another thing is the late-night snacks and DVD’s us Lebanese enjoy so much. Here, you would call up a friend, invite him over, fetch a DVD from the closest shop renting out bootleg DVD’s for less than $2, and get some beers and chips from Abou Sako, the man who’s wiling to pile up your tab for a year without asking you to pay him back. How long would that process take? 10-20 minutes? That’s the time you’d need to reach the nearest 7-Eleven where you’d have to show some ID and be faced with the fact that you’re still not 21 and end up getting root beer instead. Let’s not forget the numerous speeding tickets you’d get when you realize your friend’s on his way and you take the wrong exit on the freeway. Plus, I think everyone knows that the chances of getting an illegal DVD in the US are close to…let’s say NILL.
Another misconception Lebanese people have is that education in the States is the best you’ll ever get. I, personally, had set my mind on getting into Brown or Harvard. Ivy League universities seemed to be the crème de la crème, and I thought having them on my résumé in the future would serve as one of those FASTPASS tickets you get at Disneyland. Then, I was told that (and when I say this, I am stating facts) AUB is acknowledged as better than 98% of American institutions for higher education.
I’m not going to bore you with anymore pro-Lebanon arguments, and I ask you not to view me as one of those “Lebanon’s youth should stay in their homeland and support its economy” people. But the thing is, I am American too and I know what lifestyle my relative have there; trust me, the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Think about that the next time you whine about getting disconnected everyday at 6 PM and curse the EDL.
I really appreciate this article because I spent a year abroad (McGill in Montreal) and I have to say the education quality in Lebanon is just as good as what was outside. Sure we have some annoying lack of rules, but any Lebanese outside tend to complain about the system. I would say it’s the fault of the Lebanese who never seem to be satisfied.
No offense to whoever wrote this, but if you plan on being taken seriously please, get your facts straight.
What I hate the most is people making up random facts and the ” AUB is acknowledged as better than 98% of American institutions for higher education.” is probably one of the most absurd outrageous I have ever heard/seen.
Here’s a “Fact”: AUB doesn’t even rank amongst the top 500
http://www.webometrics.info/top8000.asp?offset=250<— top 8000
http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/03/world-best-universities-leadership-thought-leaders-jiaotong_slide_2.html<— this is Forbe's list …
http://www.webometrics.info/premierleague.html<—- Or you can just check this out for the top 500
If that's not enough check this :
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2009/results
We're not even in the top 100 asian universities :http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings
You ask why would anyone want to leave this country? Maybe, they crave a country where creativity is not looked down upon.
Maybe they're sick of posers and wanna-bes who think they know everything there is to know about culture because they once took a trip to the US or europe.
Maybe they want to get away from this mental rape that happens in lebanon.
Maybe they just want to go somewhere where "outside the box" is accepted and nurtured not frowned upon?
As for the DVD comment, why would I need to buy a bootleg CD that i'm only going to watch once then lose amongst the 1000s of others I have when I can just as simply rent one for the same price.. And if there is a dvd I really like I might as well just buy it (seeing as you're american you should know that DVDS don't exactly cost 70 $ like in lebanon but are more around the 20-ish prices.)
Any way no offense intended to whoever wrote this, but just for next time.. get your facts right before posting anything
I agree with you Lori. Life is much easier here in Lebanon than life in the U.S. For example our house, which is a five bedroom apartment including the helper’s room costs the same as my uncle’s flat in N.Y. lower east side, which is a one bedroom apartment.
But I’m not sure I agree with you that easier is better, for one it frustrates me that we have the infrastructure of a ‘5th world’ country. It takes an A.U.B student living in Naccache two hours to get to campus around 7 a.m., while it takes me 15 minutes to get to my campus, from Naccache to LAU Byblos.
Beirut does not have any proper urbanization, it was not designed to accommodate for more than a million people, which explains the traffic, parking problems, and hasty construction. There are incessant talks in the world of architecture today, that Lebanon, especially Beirut is losing its identity because of the hasty construction of high rises and destruction of traditional Lebanese architecture. A few years from now, if this trend continues, Beirut might as well be Dubai or Qatar, a modern city with no character, heritage and history.
At least in the States you have an idea of what you’re working for… you know that once you’re old you can rely on the government, you can rely on the fact that you’re going to have a home.
What can Lebanon guarantee? The 2006 war was a perfect example of Lebanon’s instability. I remember perfectly well, I woke up early that morning and went to portemilio and our way we heard there was a war going on in Lebanon… we did not head back home because we thought, oh, it’s probably just a small clash with Hezballah. Two days later, we were wondering whether we leave our home and head to the States or stay.
Can you imagine how my grandparents felt? They had seen WWII German jets during the French colony; they had witnessed a 15-year civil war and the Israeli invasion… Just mentioning them tires me emotionally.
And I’m not sure I agree with you that the education an Ivy League college offers is the same as the education offered in A.U.B or L.A.U. I spent a month in Columbia University and took a course called “U.S. Economy and Globalization”- mind you, this was a course designed for high school students; 2 years later, I attended an economics class with a friend in AUB and the differences were incomparable.
Our Professor at Columbia University taught us how to analyze and debate… we played games that taught us how to make smart deals and monopolize a business – something the U.S. companies often do. While the professor in AUB, a bored middle aged woman, seemed to have studied the book by heart and was repeating the content to the class over and over again – I felt like she was insulting my intelligence.
Despite the fact that I disagreed with you on many points, I have to admit I would want to raise my children here. High schools in Lebanon, if you ask me, are much better, in terms of education. And my life as a teen here in Lebanon was so much fun, when I think back, I experienced things I would have never experienced if I had lived in the states, and if it wasn’t for those incidents I would have never been who I am today. But the fun in my opinion stops after High school… parties become redundant, friends either travel or are too busy to spend time with you and at the end of the day you realize that your stuck in this bubble called Lebanon where politicians are stuck with the same dumb rhetoric, the party goers are the same old people, and the people who get to the top are probably related to someone at the top.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Lebanon and when I listen to a song by Fairuz, I feel the same nostalgia a 60 year old probably feels. But ones life has to have meaning… you have to have an ‘insurance’ that your hard work is going to pay off when your 75 and you’ve got a back ache and sore legs. I just think the U.S. gives you a better ticket to a better life in the long run. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented me from continuing my education there, and it is something I regret once a while.
I agree wid you on a lot of things but the msg im tryin to send is that one shldnt always look at what they see in the movies or listen to what theyre told..life in the States is rly hard, its not at all what a lot of ppl i knw imagine it as
I know dividends of the taxes you pay are given back to you when you’re retired, and that there’s more democracy and justice but one shldnt forget the fact that taxes there are 40% and that Medicaid has become $8000 a yr(even for retired citizens). Another thing is that the word family there is slowly evaporating in the States where its all about individualism and self-reliance. Personally, i believe having that sense of warmth and ppl you can turn to are much more important than worrying about whats gna happen when youre 75.
Im not gonna go into details cuz i knw this debate wont come to an end but I’m sure u got what i meant by this post
aniiiiii I miss u
Great article Lori, I love the sense of belonging of some people recently.
Setting aside the political instability, which is seemingly coming to a close, life here in Lebanon is laid back. Relatives and friends are less than 30 minutes away. In the US, it would take you 2, 3 hours to get to a cousin or an uncle.
This is all social, but economically, I think that every country adapts. 5000$ a month would do you wonders here. In the US it barely keeps the food on the table. This is caused by the nature of the Lebanese people, and the fact that they’re living like there’s no tomorrow.
The lack of regulations is sometimes a pain, but hey, how many times have we broken the rules? How many one way streets have we illegally went through? How many sidewalks have become our parking spaces? We’re all eating out of the same plate.
The only thing I regret about Lebanon is the lack of infrastructure. But that’s only normal, for we have just emerged from a civil war. Good thing we have hospitals. And I’ll take the 20$ per month cell phone plan, where it would cost me 60$ in the states, plus mobile internet. But who needs that? Internet is a pain, and I’m hoping don’t get an error after I post this, or I’ll have to retype it. But the future looks promising!
Finally, the 6 PM power outage is kind of fun. There’s no suspense like that in the US. Plus, you’ll find yourself reminiscing over the times you shouted “ejit el kahraba!” or “nzal tekk el se3a!”
lorii =D I miss you too sweetheart… I know what you’re trying to say and I do agree with you, but this topic is very dear to my heart because America has been good to my family.
You say family ties aren’t as strong… you have to see the Simitian family get together… Thanksgivings in Texas, Christmases in L.A.(The Simitians in L.A. also all live on the same street, 4 houses with joint backyards) and summer reunions in Montreal or in some cruise ship. They get together and see each other more than i get to see my extended family… You might argue that these are 1st or second generation Americans but I’d then give you an example of our family friends (not Armenians but Germans) that have been living in N.Y since WWII and every Sunday they head to their family home in the Hamptons.
I guess the examples above could be crossed out as exceptions, but either way, they don’t call America the land of opportunities for no reason. I’ll give you the example of my mom’s cousin who was a high school drop out and was going to inherit his dad’s textile shop in Aschrafieh, fortunately for him, the war worsened here in Lebanon and he was sent to the States where his sister forced him to enroll in a community college… he managed to get to the top and went to medical school at Cornell and eventually did his residency there and now he’s a heart surgeon and even operated on one of the actors in The Sopranos (not sure which one)
Anyways, about the taxes and Midicaid I agree it’s way too much… but someone should calculate the price we pay for electricity and generators, the water provided by the government and cisterns along with the filters… We’re paying double and sometimes even triple to get our basic needs such as clean water and electricity… Someone should really calculate our bills and taxes combined with the bills and taxes of someone living in the states… I’m sure ours is lower but while they pay to safeguard their future we pay for today’s basic needs.
Again, I take this topic personally because as I said America’s been good to my family. And I didn’t take it too personally because it’s coming from you Lori =P… but I hate it when people who have never step foot to the States criticize it.
Yalla, I hope we get to see each other soon… maybe next time when I’m feeling better I’ll join you at Basement =D
Wow =D
The emotions are running pretty high in this post’s responses…
Yes Gino i like bringing debatable subjects to the table
And as for what you said Ribal:
1) None taken
2) When I stated that fact, my reliable reference was Mr. Samir Costantine, author of 2 career guidance books who has also appeared on many talk shows
3) I took a look at your links and i must say that what you are talking about is AUBs rank in the WORLD whereas I’m comparing the education you get in AUB and the STATES (just USA)
4) the DVD example was just a simple illustration which i believe u took too seriously (and i am aware of the fact that DVDs there are cheaper)
5) I think you are taking this too literally..my point is that you cant always complain about the conditions you’re living in without experiencing other lifestyles and living each day to the fullest
Anywys we’re all entitled to our opinion so if you believe Lebanon is limiting what you have to offer to this world then you’re free to widen your horizons elsewhere ryt?
Akh Ribal. Lori burned you good =D
Hey Lori,
I agree with the overall message of your post. However, you make a lot of hyperbolic statements to support your claims and even twist a book plot to serve your point. First, AUB is not better than 98 percent of US colleges. The facilities and opportunities present at American colleges far outweigh those present at AUB. This is not to say that AUB is a bad school, but that schools in the US are much better. I’m currently enrolled at Harvard and the difference between the two schools is huge. I’ve attended several classes at AUB and participated in a summer lab tutorial and have seen the discrepancies. It is also foolish on your part to blindly believe Dr. Costantin’s opinion who happens to be an AUB alumnus. I have to confess though that the lifestly present in Lebanon is much more relaxed and chill than at American colleges. That doesn’t make it a better lifestyle though. Students here are much more involved in campus life and community service student organizations.
Another point I wanted to make was your use of the plot of “The Kite Runner”. You made it seem that they left afghanistan out of choice and failed to mention that they were forced out due to the revolution and the taliban takeover. Please check your facts before posting. Good luck on future posts
Elias (hi Gino!)
Hi Elias =D
Hey Elias, I rlly appreciate your constructive criticism. well im not going to argue anymore but i just want to let you know mr. costantine is also a Samford grad so he wldnt be that biased, and the statistics he gave me werent mere opinion, they were studies.
“..a young Afghani teen who flees his homeland ravaged by war” “Maybe this father-son’s case was different..”
Thats to let you see that I ddnt twist the plot and showed you that their case wasnt rly the case i’m talking abt. I just enjoy taking ideas that can unexpectedly turn into elaborated essays
If you still have those “studies”, I’d like to take a look at them. you’re making me feel like I’m wasting my time at Harvard. In all honesty, I think the claim is incredible. I don’t want to turn this into a big debate, but for future post, please try to refrain from citing such studies if you don’t have the numbers or the data to back it up. (hyperbolic statements like that are usually referred to as “trolling”)
Elias