A Few Words on My Father

Some 20 years later, I find it hilarious that my dad had taken me in all my four year old glory on the day of my preschool graduation to his workplace. It wouldn’t be as hilarious if he had a normal desk job, but at the time, he was actually an Emergency Room doctor! So,…

I Love You Mom

I normally don’t like to talk about my family or post their pictures. It’s one of the few things someone can hold private in a world where everything is now online. But I would also be really untrue to myself if I didn’t write something about my mother on this day! It’s incredible how one…

It’s Really Not My Week

I won’t deny my klutziness but to break a full glass jar of Nescafe one day, only to follow it up with getting tea spilled all over my work white gown today is just a stroke of bad luck. They say bad news comes in three so I’m hoping it doesn’t come true- or that…

First Impressions are Not Everything in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, the Dutch capital, tends to win over a lot of people, of whom I am not among. Because it is an utter and complete shame to be living in a country for several months and still not have visited its capital, and because we had those wonderful day passes, we stopped in Amsterdam for…

Keukenhof Gardens in Pictures

You can’t possibly live in the Netherlands for a year and miss out on seeing the tulips. Along with clogs, canals, bikes, and windmills, the flowers are a key symbol of the country- even if you have to travel to the North to see them. This is exactly what James and I did one day…

In Bruges: Not the Movie

There are two things I learned from our trip to Bruges, Belgium back in April: 1. The film In Bruges barely has anything to do with the town, and therefore should not be considered as good research material for your trip. In fact, the interiors are completely different than how the movie showed them to be….

Coming Together To Celebrate Being Lebanese.

Being Lebanese is not just a nationality to me. It tends to define who I am, how I see the world, and much of my ideas. I have no problem flaunting it or just happening to drop “I’m Lebanese, so” or “In Lebanon/Beirut” in every sentence, regardless of how annoying it sometimes gets. But one…

Reflecting on Two Cities: Beirut and Jeddah

For as long as I can remember, my heart has exclusively belonged to two places at the same time. That’s because while I’m Lebanese by nationality, culture, and family associations, I was born in Saudi Arabia and lived in its second biggest city, Jeddah, for six years before coming back home. Thus began a period…