Each time I travel outside of the United States, my love for it grows. As someone who’s visited the middle east and other places around the world, I can tell you that I spent a lot of time longing for the basic luxuries we take for granted in the United States.
One of the places I’ve traveled to the most outside of the U.S. is Lebanon, a small country in the middle east with a population of 5.593 million. If you’ve heard of Lebanon and are trying to remember why, you might’ve seen a video of the explosion that took place on august 4th 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon's capital. Alas, this isn’t Lebanon's only issue, for years Lebanon has been run by a corrupt government, the country is poorly governed and most laws are not upheld. This isn’t to mention the country's lack of electricity. Sadly, the power in Lebanon goes out daily; Although I wish I were exaggerating, unfortunately, I’m not. At present, Lebanon is unable to provide power to all of its residences using its singular power plant, forcing it to resort to cutting off electricity from different cities in order to ensure everyone gets electricity for at least some time during the day. Lebanese people have this schedule of electricity times memorized. “Hurry up and make your food before the electricity goes out,” my grandma would tell me. “It won’t come back until six o’clock.”
The electricity crisis in Lebanon has forced the entire population to rely on privately operated generators. Everybody in Lebanon is subscribed to the generator system. Even though the private generator system in Lebanon is illegal, it is tolerated and accepted by the country; there is simply no other resort. A few years ago these generators would turn on minutes after the power had gone out and would stay active until the electricity came back on… in Lebanon today, this is not the case. Once the electricity goes out, it’s unknown when the generator will come back on. As of the last twenty years, Lebanon's entire population has had two electricity bills to pay at the end of the month rather than one, and today, the majority of the Lebanese population spends several hours daily without electricity. Included in that large majority of the population spending hours daily without electricity is my mother's entire family.
I’ve spent a lot of time writing about Lebanon’s worst qualities, so let me tell you a little bit about what makes it my mother’s favorite place in the world. Lebanon is home to a culture unlike any other. In Lebanon, families are close-knit and see each other daily. Lebanon is completely different from the United States in regards to culture, and both of my parents prefer the Lebanese culture over the American one; in their opinion, Lebanon has a much better social life and a lot more opportunities for fun. Before Lebanon’s economic crises, the streets were always full and lit, even if it was three in the morning rush hour never slept. (That is not an exaggeration.) Lebanon is my mother's home, it's where her entire family resides, and so when she asks me to go with her to visit her family across the world how could I say no?
Unfortunately, Lebanon’s culture is not free of fault. Lebanese culture is dominated by religion, which makes it a hostile place for someone like me who’s not religious and isn’t a big fan of traditional roles. Sadly, Lebanon’s love for religion leaves little room for tolerance regarding anything that is not traditional to Lebanese culture, further pushing away people like myself who are simply unable to fit into the mold. As a gay teen, I simply don’t feel comfortable going to Lebanon anymore. Others tell me that my sexuality shouldn’t matter to those whom I don’t sleep with, however, when I’m in a country where I have nobody I can talk to freely without worrying something taboo to the culture will slip, I believe that it matters a little bit.
Visiting Lebanon, and other countries outside of the U.S. has made me very grateful to my parents for bringing me here. Until recently I was clear in my love for my country, despite its flaws America has been good to me, but recently my faith in my nation has declined. Although I love American soil, I can no longer say that I am proud of the direction my country is going in, ever since the overturning of Roe V Wade I’ve no longer been able to feel the pride I once felt for my country. I feel that we are on a dangerous downhill slope and I’m not excited to see what’s coming next.
— March
One of the places I’ve traveled to the most outside of the U.S. is Lebanon, a small country in the middle east with a population of 5.593 million. If you’ve heard of Lebanon and are trying to remember why, you might’ve seen a video of the explosion that took place on august 4th 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon's capital. Alas, this isn’t Lebanon's only issue, for years Lebanon has been run by a corrupt government, the country is poorly governed and most laws are not upheld. This isn’t to mention the country's lack of electricity. Sadly, the power in Lebanon goes out daily; Although I wish I were exaggerating, unfortunately, I’m not. At present, Lebanon is unable to provide power to all of its residences using its singular power plant, forcing it to resort to cutting off electricity from different cities in order to ensure everyone gets electricity for at least some time during the day. Lebanese people have this schedule of electricity times memorized. “Hurry up and make your food before the electricity goes out,” my grandma would tell me. “It won’t come back until six o’clock.”
The electricity crisis in Lebanon has forced the entire population to rely on privately operated generators. Everybody in Lebanon is subscribed to the generator system. Even though the private generator system in Lebanon is illegal, it is tolerated and accepted by the country; there is simply no other resort. A few years ago these generators would turn on minutes after the power had gone out and would stay active until the electricity came back on… in Lebanon today, this is not the case. Once the electricity goes out, it’s unknown when the generator will come back on. As of the last twenty years, Lebanon's entire population has had two electricity bills to pay at the end of the month rather than one, and today, the majority of the Lebanese population spends several hours daily without electricity. Included in that large majority of the population spending hours daily without electricity is my mother's entire family.
I’ve spent a lot of time writing about Lebanon’s worst qualities, so let me tell you a little bit about what makes it my mother’s favorite place in the world. Lebanon is home to a culture unlike any other. In Lebanon, families are close-knit and see each other daily. Lebanon is completely different from the United States in regards to culture, and both of my parents prefer the Lebanese culture over the American one; in their opinion, Lebanon has a much better social life and a lot more opportunities for fun. Before Lebanon’s economic crises, the streets were always full and lit, even if it was three in the morning rush hour never slept. (That is not an exaggeration.) Lebanon is my mother's home, it's where her entire family resides, and so when she asks me to go with her to visit her family across the world how could I say no?
Unfortunately, Lebanon’s culture is not free of fault. Lebanese culture is dominated by religion, which makes it a hostile place for someone like me who’s not religious and isn’t a big fan of traditional roles. Sadly, Lebanon’s love for religion leaves little room for tolerance regarding anything that is not traditional to Lebanese culture, further pushing away people like myself who are simply unable to fit into the mold. As a gay teen, I simply don’t feel comfortable going to Lebanon anymore. Others tell me that my sexuality shouldn’t matter to those whom I don’t sleep with, however, when I’m in a country where I have nobody I can talk to freely without worrying something taboo to the culture will slip, I believe that it matters a little bit.
Visiting Lebanon, and other countries outside of the U.S. has made me very grateful to my parents for bringing me here. Until recently I was clear in my love for my country, despite its flaws America has been good to me, but recently my faith in my nation has declined. Although I love American soil, I can no longer say that I am proud of the direction my country is going in, ever since the overturning of Roe V Wade I’ve no longer been able to feel the pride I once felt for my country. I feel that we are on a dangerous downhill slope and I’m not excited to see what’s coming next.
— March
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