Day in Hometown

We had couple of days OFF here in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday for Fitr holiday, the official institutions are still closed today as well because some people celebrated on Tuesday and others on Wednesday and the government should respect them all as a diverse country with many religions and sects (2 days for each sect) but not for private companies, we only have 2 days.
The Fitr is the feast that comes after fasting the holy month of Ramadan.
Fitr Mubarak to all people celebrating it in the world.

First day off was reserved by my mother, she wanted to go to our hometown to bring some fruits. I didn’t complain since I love there anyway, otherwise I would have been grumpy as fuck for getting up early on my day off .

I always love when I leave the city, even though I don’t like to drive and stress myself but there’s no other way I guess.

My hometown “Serjbel” is in Shouf district, Mount Lebanon, it’s around 20 minutes from Beirut if there’s no traffic, I can take you there in 10 minutes of course 😀 and hopefully in one piece 😀 So glad that my mother is the only one who’s not afraid from the way I drive!

The road beginning “Multa2a El Nahrayn” – I don’t usually use my phone while driving except to answer important people or to be silly like now 😀

We arrived to this house that we still didn’t get to live in since the displacement.
I really feel bad that I’ve spent my entire life wishing to live in a decent house not multiple shared rooms / apartments and rented apartments, and then we have a house laid there, empty and neglected.
Oh well, let’s not turn this into drama.

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From balcony

Of course, first things first and coffee always comes first.

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  This what we call: Rakwa. The Lebanese Coffee

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Then of course I needed to dress for the occasion and prepare myself to cultivate some fruits.
My friend told me “be aware of snakes” and of course my answer was: “Oh dear all the snakes are out there, not here” 😀

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This season wasn’t so good for fruits and vegetables, because the spring was rough, lot of rain and hails and this is so bad for the plants in general and you can see the black spots on fruits, it’s just from the outside, the inside is good but for an example, you can’t sell these fruits to customers, they don’t buy it.
Serjbel is well known with the following fruits: Janerek جنارك (probably greengage) and Khokh خوخ (can’t find translation, probably kind of peach) it’s red and round or white and round. More than one kind actually.
And there are also apricots and peaches.
The most famous vegetable there is: White Wide Beans: Fasolia Arida فاصوليا عريضة but the season didn’t start yet.
Many people in these villages live from cultivating and selling Fasolia.

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  Green Almonds

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  Apricots

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  Janerik

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  Too bad the peaches need more time

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  Khokh خوخ

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  Fasolia -not cooked

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  Fasolia

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  Fasolia – cooked

Since my mother is from the next village as well, we went to visit my grandparents.
Also a place that I love so much and I spent lot of time there after they were back years ago. My uncles and aunts were fighting during “Al Jabal war” that leads to our displacement and this house was full of all kind of weapons and my grandfather didn’t let anyone gets near until we lost the war and they had to run in the wild forests to not be slayed there like the ones who refused to leave.

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So old, so tired but still smiling the entire time, my grandparents!
I always forget that I’m their favorite grandchild, so I feel ashamed from not visiting more often after the many kisses and hugs I have from their tired hands.
And of course my candies are always there.

I’m the only one among my siblings that love this place, I have 2 brothers abroad and the third one is also leaving soon and he hates there anyway.

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  My mother that will kill me if she saw this 😀

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  My poor car haha

My father made foundation for 3 floors so each one can build an apartment but they left for good!
The leaders here have the special skill of making us hate our homeland and hometowns, unfortunately.

Hope you enjoyed! Have a great week ahead! 🙂

Huguette Antoun – June 6th 2019