When you see two people in Lebanon talking to each other, you would probably hear something like this: the unemployment rate is sky high, trash is everywhere, there is no healthcare system, public transportation is unorganized, no damn electricity, no president for about the last 2 years, security issues, blah, blah, blah, and another .... BLAH! If there was an Olympic medal for moaning, Lebanon would secure the gold one each and every time. Seriously though, there are many reasons to be unhappy. Without trying to sound like the smartpants that sometimes I think I am, after reading the works of Voltaire, Rousseau, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and the likes, during the latter stages of my university days, I started to find many flaws in the way things were working in Lebanon. The society, the education system, politics, the infrastructure! Honestly speaking, I thought the only way to set things straight in Lebanon was by removing... sorry that word is too light, demolishing everything and starting from scratch all over again. Hey, I am an idealist, and I get disappointed way too easily when even the smallest of things doesn't seem right.

Finally, I graduated as a mechanical engineer, I was looking for a job! Do I really need to mention the "wasta" and exploitation factors, in addition to the lack of self-fulfilling and career-developing projects when it comes to working in Lebanon? I think that'll make the article too long. With a bad taste in my mouth, I decided to leave the country. I went to a country where I got to see people from all over the world. I celebrated my 25^th birthday with colleagues of 10 different nationalities. But as the months passed by, I started to notice things. I started to notice the excellence among the Lebanese. First of all, no matter the weight on his shoulders, the Lebanese is able to stand up straight and carry that weight with ease. Any work done by a Lebanese would most probably be perfect, a Lebanese is always alert and always aware of what's going on, it is difficult to bullsh*t a Lebanese, and a Lebanese can learn any new language very fast. My Spanish colleagues joked with me once saying that a Lebanese person can wake up every day having learnt a new language while asleep. It's true, we have no limitations and we have many qualities that others simply don't have.

Having noticed all that, I started wondering where all this toughness, alertness, open-mindedness, and intelligence came from. Perhaps it was due to the hardships that we are used to facing in our country. Perhaps it was because too many times in the supermarket we see parents talking to their children in anything but Arabic (although I absolutely hate it when they do that). Perhaps our universities do teach their students how to think. I mean look at our history, Phoenicians made boats and sailed away from Lebanon. Perhaps Lebanon was meant for exporting brilliant minds. You know what? Perhaps Lebanon isn't that terrible country we make it out to be. It's great that we try to improve it, AND WE SHOULD, but it would also be good to see all the great things it already has and accept it as our beloved country just the way it is, and the way it always was.

During my last Christmas vacation in Lebanon, one of my friends noticed that my hugs are really tight. Well, it doesn't take a genius to conclude that due to my limited time in Lebanon, I only get to see friends I really value, and it was obvious that I valued her. At the same time, through my hug, I was telling her: "see you in six months" which is a difficult thing that as an expat, I hate to, but have to say. I also hate the fact that I have to look outside of Lebanon to find a mega project that satisfies my engineering needs. Since it's Easter, and Happy Easter to all of you, I hate that I've skipped the last four Easters and I'm counting. I hate many things that Lebanon makes me do, and the number of these things I hate is rapidly increasing, but once I start seeing a little bit further than my nose, I will see that all the good things in Lebanon is what made the Lebanese, including my proud Lebanese self, a one of a kind nation. And I mean a one of a kind nation in a very good way.

As a favor, I want you to wave that Lebanese flag up high because it truly is amazing. I miss Lebanon and I miss all of you! Until next time.

By : Vanig Bostanian