The short answer is that I was mostly either in the city center or the woods so I was probably not going to get in trouble with the bad people.
The city center I saw was ultra diverse. I only worried about getting shit from racist white locals when I went to a football match, but no issues came up. I even ordered food at a restaurant in a “foreign” language when I saw the server’s name and heard their accent, and I thought it was cool! I don’t think I’m going to the places the racists go, for the most part.
The thing is, in Lebanon we think of these cities as dangerous places full of crime (implied to be mostly from minorities). But honestly, waiting around for public transport among a bunch of people, who look like they’re from every corner of the world, felt safer than the football crowd, like I felt like I blended in. I felt extremely welcome in that sense. I did not expect this at all.
Frank reflections on experiencing either side of racism
I also experienced seeing groups of eg. black people appear and getting an oh shit I’m a bad guy feeling. They were just friends, not gangsters. Like me and my friends. It’s fine. But I felt it. Not something I’m proud of.
I must admit I am not the darkest skinned Arab. This surely helps. The languages I speak have heavy accents but I never got asked to repeat myself, so I guess not that bad. Like I didn’t feel like I was a “foreigner” language wise. It also helps that I have friends who moved there who helped with less obvious cultural stumbling blocks. I have decent cultural exposure to that country so I also wasn’t totally clueless.
Previously I interacted with white Europeans, especially Brits (and white South Africans), who live in a city like Dubai, who have pretty concerning relationships with other cultures. Maybe that’s why I was fearing the worst. Supposedly the ones who move to the Gulf have a bad reputation.
I honestly had a great time. Like surprisingly. Like the concept of moving to Europe suddenly became less scary.