“I don’t forget my roots; it’s just the way I am,” said senior Anthony Baini.

Anthony was born in Lebanon’s capital Beirut and lived in Nigeria from 1995 to 2006. During the summer before his freshman year, the Baini family moved to America from Africa. Baini’s dad grew up in Lebanon but left in the late seventies when he was 13 in the hope of escaping the warfare taking place at the time.

Anthony said, “A lot of people who have never been to Lebanon see that it’s like an Arab country, so they compare us to Saudi Arabia and other countries that are all desert – in Lebanon we don’t have any desert at all.”

Anthony, who stays in the Lebanese city of Feitroun every summer for two to three weeks, described the geography of the city as hilly and located near the beach. Downtown, the streets look similar to New York with dazzling modern architecture.

According to Baini, most people who live in Lebanon own two houses, usually one in the north and the other in the south. The citizens live in their houses depending on the weather, moving when the south is too hot or when they want to enjoy the snowfall near orthern houses.

In general, Baini said the Lebanese lifestyle is more slowed down and simple. “The people in Lebanon are really laid back. We just chill, eat, go out at night and throw beach parties,” he said. Though the waves are not large enough to surf, people like to jet ski and spend time out on boats.

As a culturally and religiously diverse country, Lebanon sometimes has periods of violence because of this diversity. “There’s not any specific war going on right now, but there are always problems every year because the country has so many different religions and political parties.”

While Baini was staying in his home in the northern region of Lebanon in the summer of 2007, a war between a Muslim-Islamist militia in the south and Israel occurred. According to Anthony, during his visit the war lasted around a month.

“I was in the north territory; it wasn’t as bad, but I still heard and saw a few bombs. I wasn’t really in danger, but I ended up getting evacuated by the American Embassy. It was scary sometimes. Every day at five you could see and hear the Israeli planes flying up and down.”

Nevertheless, Anthony finds that the way the citizens get over the bombings and warfare and continue their everyday lives is uplifting. “Lebanese people, they get over the problems quickly; it’s inspiring.”

Despite their flexibility to adapt, Baini said, “Lebanese people don’t want war; it’s just that there are a lot of conditions and circumstances that are preventing peace. I think the groups need to unite and compromise or something.”

When Anthony leaves Feitroun after his summer stays, he says he misses the people and culture of Lebanon the most, the affectionate greetings and kisses and hugs.

“People respect each other’s privacy here.  People greet each other more there.”