{"id":44078,"date":"2015-11-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/44078\/5-valuable-lessons-ive-learned-in-lebanon"},"modified":"2023-08-11T04:35:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T04:35:07","slug":"5-valuable-lessons-ive-learned-in-lebanon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/en\/44078\/5-valuable-lessons-ive-learned-in-lebanon\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Valuable Lessons I’ve Learned In Lebanon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Baptism by fire.<\/b> That\u2019s how I would describe my early experiences of getting through the day in Lebanon. It\u2019s like the country hazes you when you first arrive but if you persevere, you will find amazing life lessons in unlikely places. Here are some of the valuable and unique lessons I\u2019ve learned in my short time here in Lebanon:<\/big><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. \u201cYou cannot burn what is already on fire.\u201d<\/big><\/big><\/b>
A very soft-spoken young hairdresser imparted this piece of wisdom on me right after the Achrafieh car bombing a couple of years ago. I was visibly shaken and she told me not to worry. The gravitas of the statement was somewhat diluted when she suggested I try Botox. \u201cWe are having a sale now.\u201d<\/big><\/p>\n

2. It\u2019s not the argument that matters, it\u2019s the volume.<\/big><\/big><\/b>
This is pretty much an unspoken-rule in many places of employment in Lebanon. It also applies in politics, restaurants, and cabs.<\/big><\/p>\n

3. Your body is your temple. Your very skinny temple.<\/big><\/big><\/b>
If you are female and order a latte at Starbucks the baristas will typically double check to make sure you don\u2019t actual want a Skinny latte.<\/big><\/p>\n

4. How to operate in the dark.<\/big><\/big><\/b>
One of the greatest lessons of all, after living here a few years, you will be able to fully get dressed, put on your makeup and even prepare a sandwich in the dark.<\/big><\/p>\n

5. Trust No One, life Goes On.<\/big><\/big><\/b>
This is a life lesson that I once found written on the back of a taxi. It\u2019s timeless and golden, I\u2019m not 100% sure why he capitalized what he did, but the man must be on to something.<\/big> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Baptism by fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":415635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ai_generated_summary":"","_preview_accessed":0,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"media-embed-type":[],"class_list":["post-44078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"authorship":[53],"yoast_head":"\n5 Valuable Lessons I've Learned In Lebanon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Baptism by fire.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/en\/44078\/5-valuable-lessons-ive-learned-in-lebanon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Valuable Lessons I've Learned In Lebanon\" \/>\n<meta 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