Welcome to China

The Chinese have invaded the Middle East. What started me thinking about Chinese goods wasn't the abundance of chinese crap spewing out of every store, nor was it the rows of chinese street sellers that now line upper Hamra street every night, but it was the man who said proudly "but this was made in china!" when explaining why the Arabic wall hanging was more expensive than its Syrian made rival. People actually think Chinese goods are top quality! There are a bunch of new stores in town called "The Chinese Expo" that showcase shelves upon shelves of cheap Chinese jewelry, electronics, clothes, even food, and people consider it upscale merchandise. I don't know who started this rumor or how long it will last. The chinese-made "Chery" car is also becoming one of the most popular cars (according to the internet, the name of the car was supposed to be translated as "Cheery", but after printing thier spelling mistake on all of thier cars the Chinese company stuck with the new name. You'd think one would check.) alongside the Syrian-made "Sham", and the Iranian "Saba".

In other news, the heat is finally starting to subside and we are weaning ourselves off of 24 hour air conditioning. Ramadan and Eid are now also over, and we have to adjust our night schedule to a daylight one, rather than going out to eat at 11 or 12 and walking around with the crowds of people shopping until 1 or 2.

For those of you with no kids, stop reading now.
Alexa just learned how to clap her hands and can walk along furniture and walls and says "baby" although I'm not sure if she knows what she's saying. She learned how to wave goodbye but always waits until the person has turned around, then we can't get her to stop, she goes crazy for cats and yells whenever she sees other little kids. So cute!