I've been back from Thailand for a week. I'm just getting over my post vacation depression. The beach, the quiet people, the simple living...it's all too much to give up cold turkey. It was not the kind of vacation that makes me appreciate where I live. (Do those kind of vacations really exist?) The traffic is loud, the mosques are loud, the people are loud, the stray cats are loud. This is just a loud, in-your-face place. Thailand is a quiet, oh-excuse-me-let-me-get-out-of-your-way place.
As loud as it is here, it certainly isn't busy...anymore. Everyone is staying home. Paranoia has swept the streets clean of shoppers, restaurant-goers, movie goers and people out for a stroll. Businesses are in trouble and the city has fallen on economic hard times as a result. Many people did turn out for a four day Unity Festival which was promoted to return people to the downtown area, but without special events the place remains a ghost town.
I did my part by going to The Celtic to watch a football game. (Actually, I was there for the meatiest, juiciest pork ribs in the city and to support my friends who have actually lived in Madrid and are HUGE Real fans.)
Barcelona traveled to Real Madrid for a battle royal between two ancient rivalries. Real Madrid was nine points back in the standings and desperately needed a victory to have any hopes of catching Barcelona with only seven games remaining in the season. Luckily soccer has a convoluted scoring system which includes three points if you win a game so it's not like being nine games out with seven to go in baseball. I did get to see a familiar soccer star play. David Beckham plays for Madrid and I only know about him because I don't live under a rock.
That was my first night out since St Patrick's Day so I guess, unwittingly, I have been keeping a low profile as well. I almost feel bad because this is such a great city with attractive, casual settings to hang out in, and no one is using them. Then again, if my Lebanese colleagues are afraid to go out then why would I be brazen enough to do it?
The school I work for has upgraded security. Mylar on the windows, additional security guards, new guard houses, new gates, no parking on the adjacent streets, and staff wears there ID tags around their necks. Add that to the public paranoia and five random bombs in three weeks and it's enough to make me pause when someone asks, "Do you feel safe?" Elections are scheduled for May, but we still don't have a cabinet, a prime minister, or a consensus on what kind of government Lebanon should have. I don't see it getting any safer in the next month.
In the meantime, I've got great friends who love to play boggle & scrabble, Marcey who loves to do crosswords with me, and dozens of cheap DVDs we picked up in Thailand to keep me occupied at home. So, although the political situation continues to teeter and wobble, I'm keeping myself safe.