PAS DE NOUVELLE, BONNE NOUVELLE

it's always a serious affair reading the newspaper here in lebanon. first of all, it's bloody expensive. it costs around rm5 (it has only 10 pages). it's so different in d*bai where the newspaper costs barely rm2 and but is insanely thick (most of it is because of the adverts on property).

the newspaper in lebanon does not have a sports section. it does not have a cartoon section (except for he occasional political sketches). it does not even have an entertainment page (it does have an arts and culture page though, which contains very sophisticated (read: incomprehensible) articles discussing art in its various form) so you won't be able to know britney spears' latest misdemeanour by reading this newspaper. most of the news are rather intense. apart from the current domestic political turmoil, the crisis in israel, palestine and iraq are always covered in detail (mostly due to the fact that lebanon is geographically very close to these places).

so for the past few days, i've been starting my day with a very intense session of newspaper reading as i have my breakfast (i'm starting to get tired of the breakfast served at the hotel btw. the serve the exact same spread EVERY FREAKING DAY. suruh buat kuey teow goreng pun diorg tak reti. eheh). but since there are no sales adevertisements or light-hearted news to divert my attention to, i have been reading these news. the good thing is that i'm getting a better understanding of what's happening in these places - which made me realise that i have taken peace and political stability in my home country for granted. i guess many malaysians born after 1969 feel the same way.

anyway, apart from the unbelivably thin newspaper, i've been checking out some other reading materials available in this country. the hotel that i stay in is very near to one of the famous uni's in the city. so understandably there are quite a few bookshops around. bookshops, and cute college guys (i was walking with my manager the first time a checked out the neighbourhood. i was astounded by the beautiful creatures walking past me that i just had to say something. i wanted to say "aiyooooooo... meletopssssss" but i couldn't. she doesn't understand malay, and she thinks i'm str8. so all i could say was "wow... college chicks!". lame, i know. well, she bought it anyway. she said that she's worried about me being here for 3 weeks). the bookshops, apart from having many cute lebanese guys as customers, has a very wide selection of books on lebanon. not only the boring history stuff, but also fiction which were inspired by the country. love stories during the civil war.. diary of a young girl during the civil war (yeah this sounds like a rip off). but amidst those books, this one particular book caught me eye (naturally):

i was like "whooaaaaaaaaa! i haven't seen this in d*bai!"

needless to say, i bought it. not just because stimulating (eheh) cover, but also because it would be an interesting read. and there's a possibility that the book can tell me where are the major pick up points in the middle east (:P). so, with all my might, i picked up the book and marched to the cashier (holding the book near to my chest with the cover inwards). even with all the effort to avoid a pecah lobang situation, i just couldn't hide it from the cashier. fortunately it was a girl. or was it unfortunately? i don't know.

so now, my mornings are spent reading on the depressions faced by the people in this part of the world. and my nights are spent reading about the torture of the plu's in this part of the world. holistic view sangat kan? hehehe.