One of the really cool perks of of working in teaching and research is that as long as you get the work done and show up for classes and office hours, your time is yours. If you are efficient (which I try to be), this leads to a great deal of free time. Working in AUB which is right next door to Hamra makes for a great way to spend a couple of hours in the morning or afternoon walking around.
When I was in college, Hamra seemed to be suffering. There was little activity and a lot of the stores had become old and their stock outdated, which is always a clear sign of poor business. As a shopping area it was losing to the competition of then newly built malls like ABC and City Mall. Around the time I left for the U.S., a measure of political stability returned to Lebanon and tourism picked up. I remember the summer I returned for a visit that first year: me along with another 1.5 million tourists.
Since then, something changed about Hamra. There are now countless coffee shops of all types, whether traditional or U.S.-like chains, and if you walk into one after 5:00pm, they will be packed. All kinds of restaurants keep opening with different cuisines. The department stores are still there with new ones opened, but now there are also the little privately owned shops with lovely windows, rather than the old dilapidated ones that used to be there. At the same time, it retains that feel of authentic Beirut life rather than the pristine whilst somewhat fake polish of downtown. One of the main reasons is the presence of Lebanon's two major universities, AUB and LAU, and that people actually live there. And that has now made Hamra a more desirable spot to go out for a lot of Lebanese than downtown Beirut.
The weather is great, a little cool and very sunny, the area bustling. I pick up my bag and walk around for a couple of hours, enjoy the flower shops with their colorful displays of new spring flowers and plants spilling on to the sidewalks, watch people navigating the streets and sitting in outdoor cafés, and window shop. The problem with window shopping is that you end up actually shopping a lot of the time.
Speaking of shopping. I used to hate it. It was a chore and fashion was always something a little ugh! Who can forget the years when those black clog-like shoes became fashionable. Or my middle school years when fuchsia became the color of choice. Not just any fuchsia, but the most horrid shade and combination of fuchsia colors. It was like barbie vomited in most stores. Or a couple of winters ago, when everything was the lovely colors of either grey, black, puke brown, or poop brown. Charming.
But recently, it seems that color has exploded in clothing stores, much to my delight. Thanks to pinterest and shopping with Farah, who is an extremely non-judgmental and fun shopping companion, I've started to take an interest in fashion. After wearing Hala's red pants, which she so nicely left for me here, on several occasions, I am now finally feeling brave enough to try some of the more interesting colored pants I've seen: bright blue, purple, bright green, and turquoise.
For now, I've finally found a super comfy and cute wedge from Moustache that I like, and I've been looking for one forever. I actually wanted to buy 3 different pairs of shoes, the wedge, bright red red (that's double for emphasis, not a typo) velvet ballet flats, and velvet purple shoes I saw at this small newly discovered store. But because I'm not an impulsive buyer, I decided to buy the one of which there was only one last pair left in the store, and leave the others for another time. The best part? I got this on sale for a ridiculously low price.
When I was in college, Hamra seemed to be suffering. There was little activity and a lot of the stores had become old and their stock outdated, which is always a clear sign of poor business. As a shopping area it was losing to the competition of then newly built malls like ABC and City Mall. Around the time I left for the U.S., a measure of political stability returned to Lebanon and tourism picked up. I remember the summer I returned for a visit that first year: me along with another 1.5 million tourists.
Since then, something changed about Hamra. There are now countless coffee shops of all types, whether traditional or U.S.-like chains, and if you walk into one after 5:00pm, they will be packed. All kinds of restaurants keep opening with different cuisines. The department stores are still there with new ones opened, but now there are also the little privately owned shops with lovely windows, rather than the old dilapidated ones that used to be there. At the same time, it retains that feel of authentic Beirut life rather than the pristine whilst somewhat fake polish of downtown. One of the main reasons is the presence of Lebanon's two major universities, AUB and LAU, and that people actually live there. And that has now made Hamra a more desirable spot to go out for a lot of Lebanese than downtown Beirut.
The weather is great, a little cool and very sunny, the area bustling. I pick up my bag and walk around for a couple of hours, enjoy the flower shops with their colorful displays of new spring flowers and plants spilling on to the sidewalks, watch people navigating the streets and sitting in outdoor cafés, and window shop. The problem with window shopping is that you end up actually shopping a lot of the time.
Speaking of shopping. I used to hate it. It was a chore and fashion was always something a little ugh! Who can forget the years when those black clog-like shoes became fashionable. Or my middle school years when fuchsia became the color of choice. Not just any fuchsia, but the most horrid shade and combination of fuchsia colors. It was like barbie vomited in most stores. Or a couple of winters ago, when everything was the lovely colors of either grey, black, puke brown, or poop brown. Charming.But recently, it seems that color has exploded in clothing stores, much to my delight. Thanks to pinterest and shopping with Farah, who is an extremely non-judgmental and fun shopping companion, I've started to take an interest in fashion. After wearing Hala's red pants, which she so nicely left for me here, on several occasions, I am now finally feeling brave enough to try some of the more interesting colored pants I've seen: bright blue, purple, bright green, and turquoise.
For now, I've finally found a super comfy and cute wedge from Moustache that I like, and I've been looking for one forever. I actually wanted to buy 3 different pairs of shoes, the wedge, bright red red (that's double for emphasis, not a typo) velvet ballet flats, and velvet purple shoes I saw at this small newly discovered store. But because I'm not an impulsive buyer, I decided to buy the one of which there was only one last pair left in the store, and leave the others for another time. The best part? I got this on sale for a ridiculously low price.
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