La neige

Today I joined my friend N for a daytrip to Faraya-Mzaar-Kfardebian, on the slopes of Sannine mountain range. Some of his friends were very late: a sure sign that they are no serious skiers. I had the time to indulge in a delicious mana'ish spread with za'atar and cheese and to enjoy the political billboards that blossomed on both sides on the northbound highway as I was driving through the reckless traffic. The original ad campaign based on the slogan J'aime la vie ("I love life") was supported by the March 14 majority coalition (although my friend F, who works for the ad campaign, vehemently denies that) and it was indirectly suggesting that the Hezbollah-led opposition had a cult of death while the "normal people" of Lebanon wanted to live in peace. The opposition bounced back with a series of ads where the original logo is slightly edited and a series of handwritten comments are added as footnotes. The campaign says J'aime la vie - en multicolore ("I love life - in colors"), or "I love life - in dignity" or "I love life - without debts", indirectly suggesting that the current cabinet has no national dignity and that it is ruining the country's economy.

Parliamentary majority and opposition side by side.

I guess you're always drawn into politics in this country. When we finally arrived in Faraya, the woman at the ski rental shop asked me if it mattered to me to wear orange ski pants, since the orange color is associated with Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, while the area of Faraya is mostly standing with the rival Christian formation of Samir Ja'ja's Lebanese Forces and the Kata'ib. I showed my Red Army fur hat with sickle and hammer well on view. I guess this will leave the poor lady speechless for the whole weekend. By the way, the whole daily rental package (skis, sticks, boots, gloves and pants) came at a very affordable price of 15,000 LL (10 US$, € 8).

I bought a half-day pass for the whole Jonction skiing area for 30,000 LL (20 US$, € 15) and enjoyed more than three hours of skiing.