my cousin, ziad, would like to write in my journal. he says hello to everyone in the states (my cousin says everyone but the jews :). you got to love this country. :) he is standing over my shoulder as i write this post, so for that reason it will be a short post. i am trying to check my grades, but the system is down, so no luck on that. the day has been nice here. very busy and full of much fun. i am taking pics of everything. we went to harissa today, which is a huge statue of the virgin mary. it is way up in the mountains. the view of the city underneath it, jounieh, is so wonderful. it is quite breathtaking. tonight, we are going to hit the clubs in downtown beirut. yeah for that!! i have to run. i miss you all.