| 18 November 2011
Remembering my 2005 season in Lebanon during the assassination of Rafik Harriri, the former prime minister...
I didn’t know much about Lebanon before I arrived here last night.
It is a sacred place, and has the most astounding geography I have ever seen. It reminds me of Los Angeles, only here the mountains are a mere twenty minutes from the Mediterranean. Conceivably one could go skiing, swimming and snowboarding in the same day. Unfortunately, Lebanon has a bad reputation. It is also a place where the country is basically split into different religious and political factions.
The country has been under political and economic influence by the Syrian government for years. Pro-Syrian officials regularly hold political positions of influence within the Lebanese government infrastructure. As a result, there is a great division between Lebanese people and religion.
Siwar is a condominium complex located in Kaslik, half an hour outside of Beirut. Many expatriates live here, and the facility has everything from a gym to a grocery store. It is ideally located on the Christian side of town, not a problem because my colleagues are living in Beirut, in heart of the Muslim area. Lebanon is divided this way in several cities along the coast, and there is a heavy Hezbollah presence in the Annibal mountains, near Bekkah.
My arrival last night was a near disaster, because there was some confusion as to where my living accommodations were.
The apartment they took me to initially was filthy, dirty, and I had roommates. My club team must be crazy if they think I’m sharing a room or staying in this rundown flat. It may sound snobbish or arrogant, but I could careless. Clubs will try to cut as many corners as they can, pushing the limit to see how much the professional will accept. The other professional on our team accepted these shoddy arrangements, I am not.
My Director of Operations has been calling me all morning and begging me to stay. I relented, but only under the stipulation that I be afforded the lifestyle I have grown accustomed to in the States. That is what he promised and by 11am he called me back with good news. My new home is a 3 bedroom villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It has the basic amenities, like washer and dryer, central air and a dishwashing unit, and is reasonably furnished.
There is a cleaning service that will come twice per week, and a handy concierge on 24-hour call. The club also provided me with a sporty Saab to whip around town, in a country with no driving laws. There are few stop lights and virtually no traffic police or squad cars to govern the highways. It’s like NASCAR out here, all the time.
I feel much more comfortable now, except for my social network. It is imperative to build a network as quickly as possible. I need to get out and meet some people. I can’t just workout and watch tv all day.
I have to connect with the energy of the city, the country, the people.
Kris Johnson played forward for UCLA from 1994-1998 and was a freshman on the 1995 National Championship team, before playing professional basketball internationally for 7 seasons in Russia, Turkey, France, Lebanon, Qatar and China. After retiring from basketball, Kris served as radio host at Premiere Radio Networks and a field reporter and studio analyst for FoxSports.com. Today, he works as a consultant in developing the first iPad-based sports scouting/evaluation solution designed for basketball coaches, scouts and talent evaluators. You can follow him on Twitter @PointForwardPro. Kris' column, "Confessions of a Basketball Vagabond" is featured often at Beyond the Beat.
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