Brown in Beirut…

When I was breezing by one of the main drags in Beirut to meet a friend for lunch, I noticed Brown University shirts hanging from shelves inside. Though I was running late, I felt compelled to stop to find out how and why these shirts were being sold in my neighborhood in Beirut.

“How did these shirts get here?” I asked the store owner.

“Some warehouse keeps sending them to us,” he said–explaining that he’d been receiving shirts like these for years.

“So they’re popular?” I asked.

“Oh yes, people keep buying them,” he said. But when I asked him if he knew what Brown University was, he said he didn’t have a clue–but was happy the shirts were always such a consistent sell.

In Beirut, my friends who are Brown alums all agree that our neighborhood has a similar vibe to Providence and Brown–however strange that may seem. That’s why seeing Brown University shirts hanging in the window of this store made me do a double take–since they seemed, in my opinion, to fit right in.

“Well, if anyone asks you what Brown University is,” I said to the shopkeeper, “just tell them–it’s the best place to learn in the U.S.”

Okay, okay–so maybe I’m a little biased. Because Brown is such a contemplative and happy place, I chose to do four of my degrees there–which is why I’m always excited to see and share traces of Brown wherever I go, even here at home–in Beirut…