After spending a few weeks in the States, my flight back to the Middle East snuck up on me. Upon arrival to my front door, the electricity cut, my friends were messaging about the Lebanese Army kidnappings, and I watched some videos and read some stats about unemployment & driving accidents in Lebanon. Did I mention we still have no president? At the moment, I’m spending my evening listening to Mashrou3 Leila and Wanton Bishops (a Beirut playlist I had made for my American family to listen to while there) and I feel like I never left. I feel at home instantly. It’s as if I hit the pause button here and went to another planet for 3 weeks. Maybe in my bubble it feels that way except it’s not true when you take a step back: the region has gotten worse. Gaza, Mosul, Syria, even our own Arsal. I want to write posts about my time in the US, new developments in the tech world, and perhaps even a post teasing Lebanese travelers and yet…

it all feels trivial and unfair when I see what’s going on around me. Thinking about all the negatives, especially when you feel powerless, is overwhelming. In the sea of news, I wouldn’t mind finding a lighter blogpost that doesn’t address such things just to escape all of the turmoil. It’s not about turning a blind eye and ignoring reality, it’s just giving yourself a breather.

Right now, I don’t feel up to writing one of those posts. Maybe it’s the perspective of leaving and coming back. Maybe it’s the jetlag. Maybe tomorrow will be the day I can’t stop typing about how much I missed this chaotic little place. But that’s not happening tonight.