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Beirut…New York
By Hazar Baassiri, Staff Writer

 

Beirut, Lebanon- I returned from New York for the holidays, and everyone was so keen on getting the details of the New York lifestyle. Yet, apart from “it’s just different,” I do not seem to be providing much of an answer. Manhattan is simply a vibrant and particularly exquisite place to be in - with all the possibilities it offers for more than eight million people, trying to make it in this little island that rests between the East and Hudson rivers. For a new comer and loner like I was four months ago, setting foot there can be extremely scary and repelling.

It is big, dirty, and bustling with strangers that, contrary to a place like Beirut where one can meet a fellow friend every five minutes on the street, will always remain the strangers they are today. People do not go there to make friends; they go there to make money. Yes, it is the place where people dream of making fortunes and becoming millionaires. Some of them make it; many others do not. However, everyone is trying to get there by all means, and this translates into the lifestyle of the average “Manhattanite” where Work is the magic word. The more, the better. Work in the morning, in the evening, in the holidays, overtime − you name it.  Time is money, and to make your first million, you have to use every minute to that goal. It may seem like an admirable thing, but truth be told, this has turned the city into a place void of proper human relationships.

Manhattan is full of ways to meet new people, and you can always be sure that you will rarely see the same face twice (unless you plan it!). Still, for some strange reason, and in a city of eight million people, everyone is single, complaining about it, and never finding the right someone! It is almost pathetic to see so much helplessness in a place so grand (just check craigslist.com!). As for the case in Beirut, this tiny speck on the map, it is the easiest thing to do. Of course, Beirut is not as half as efficient as the home of Wall Street when it comes to money matters, but it is human. In Manhattan, you are just a number, identified by your social security number and given your worth by the size of your bank account. You are just another desperate soul looking to become someone. In Beirut, you are someone; if not in Downtown, then at least in your own neighborhood.

New York is amazing, and I would be lying if I said otherwise. It is a world of endless possibilities that can make you or break you. Living there makes you stronger and wiser and exposes you to everything you can possibly think of. But it is cold, strange, and distant. Yes, I came home. I came to Beirut, and I love the sight of the familiarity I see around me, and above all, the sound of the Lebanese conversations − even though not completely Arabic. I love the easiness of everything, and, most of all, I love the feeling of being a person again.