True blue
"Habibi - daa fani!" exclaims Lola LebCan in enthusiastic greeting, air-kissing and hugging. "You've lost so much weight - you're nearly skin and bone!"
It's possibly the first time in history that this traditional Beirut greeting has been used truthfully. Unfortunately, the object of Lola's admiration is in fact an adjacent lamp-post. Her eyes are half-closed and streaming, prompting a concerned enquiry about conjunctivitis and/or blindness.
"Blue contact lenses - aren't they beautiful?" she squints. "I just bought them ten minutes ago. I can't really see through them yet, but no matter, I've got beautiful, blue eyes."
Guiding her gently by the arm away from a brick wall and through the actual gate of Lime Tree cafe, we sit down to iced coffees and an in-depth, industrial intelligence session.
Afterwards, despite pleas to accept a lift or get a cab, Lola drives herself home. Even partially-sighted, her driving will probably be no worse than the average cretin on Dubai's roads.
It's possibly the first time in history that this traditional Beirut greeting has been used truthfully. Unfortunately, the object of Lola's admiration is in fact an adjacent lamp-post. Her eyes are half-closed and streaming, prompting a concerned enquiry about conjunctivitis and/or blindness.
"Blue contact lenses - aren't they beautiful?" she squints. "I just bought them ten minutes ago. I can't really see through them yet, but no matter, I've got beautiful, blue eyes."
Guiding her gently by the arm away from a brick wall and through the actual gate of Lime Tree cafe, we sit down to iced coffees and an in-depth, industrial intelligence session.
Afterwards, despite pleas to accept a lift or get a cab, Lola drives herself home. Even partially-sighted, her driving will probably be no worse than the average cretin on Dubai's roads.
Labels: lola lebcan
4 Comments:
(Removed the double post for you!)
I was actually told that "Nas haani!" (no clue of the spelling) would be a more typical, "friendly" greeting ;)
"You've lost so much weight - you're nearly skin and bone!" - It's possibly the first time in history that this traditional Beirut greeting has been used truthfully"
That is hilarious. 'Lebanon'- don't tell me you have never been met with this greeting before?
It normally comes after you have actually put on weight
When you are feeling at your lowest ebb, and you bump into your glammed up Lebanese fiend when you have no make-up and look like shit.
Maybe she will use the greeting out of pity because you do look so bad - but that doesn't explain why when you are looking and feeling fabulous and thin she will say
'Habibti, but you look so tired - you are working too hard I think'
I agree with Lebanon. Habibi in Lebanon means my dearest one and no one uses it in a manner that is false. So please take away your Blog.
Lighten up Lebanon and other anon. It is a joke. You know – humour? And don’t lecture me about having a laugh at the expense of other people or creating stereotypes because that would just lead straight to back to my point – lighten up.
I laugh at jokes people make about stereotypical traits of my fellow country men and women if they are funny.
“As long as you can laugh at yourself you will never cease to be amused." (Anonymous)
And if you don’t like secret Dubai please don’t read it. Don’t tell it to stop because I find it really funny and it eases my day at work.
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