Last dinner in Lebanon
I’ve already stayed for two weeks in Lebanon and my experience has not always been ‘smooth’ here. For one, I had some amount of bad luck. I was sick the first few days, my laptop finally died giving the concern that I might lose some of the interview footages, and the country experienced very unusual stormy weather for almost two weeks. For another, the interaction with people was not too easy. The driving style here is one of the most aggressive I’ve experienced, which was subconsciously nudging me to believe that the people are like their driving style. And overall, I didn’t get a very warm vibe while interacting with people. In some small businesses, I got blunt responses which made me wonder if I did something to upset them.
These experience led me to ponder on ‘hospitality’ again, which I thought about multiple times both in the perceived ‘warm’ countries and ‘chilly’ countries so far. And I have to conclude that it is quite a self-centered concept. Simply put, if a person or an environment ‘goes the extra mile’ for me, I tend to regard the person or the environment ‘warm and kind’. It is an impression that is often shaped based on the benefits I received. So, evaluating hospitality of a place seems to run the risk of maintaining a subjective and passive attitude. I don’t have any final position yet but I think I’ll revisit the subject in my future travels.
Aside from the long introduction, my last dinner in the country was a very sweet one. Being invited to a home meal and watch a family talk and giggle together is always a special experience. By the way, Lebanese food is healthy and tasty at the same time.
with Dareen’s family
@ Beirut, Lebanon, January 17, 2019
