Wow, I haven’t written in this in forever. Time passes by so quickly. Tomorrow is the last day of summer school for the kids, and this Thursday and Friday is our last campout. I am really, really upset about the last day of school because it only means I’ll be leaving Lebanon very soon. Next Tuesday night to be exact. I’m not exactly thrilled to leave but I am excited to go back home and see everyone again.
Tomorrow the kids have exams. I think they have learned just as much about America as they have English grammar, but I don’t really mind. I love, love, love these kids. I am really attached to them now. I am almost certain I will cry a river when I say goodbye to them after camp.
Camp last week was pretty good. The girls swam on Thursday. We played handball and football (excuse me, soccer) and messed around in the campgrounds. I was with the 6th grade girls on this trip. They’re a completely different group of people. Sara, Zohoor, Zahra and I were inseparable. Zohoor and Zahra aren’t in summer school but they just come along. We had a lot of fun with Zohoor’s brother, Hussein, whenever we got to see him that is. Hussein is the gym teacher basically. He rides the bus with me and we have become really, really good friends in the last few weeks.
I’m pretty sure dabke is a very popular pastime amongst the girls here. Although dancing is not allowed at the school, we do get around the rules sometimes with the teachers and start doing the traditional Lebanese dance.
The girls and I spent the night again in the Mobarrat school in Jwaya. The next morning I learned that this was actually a renovated version of the old orphanage because the original building had been bombed during the July 2006 war. Luckily, the orphans had been moved somewhere else so there were no casualties. It still hasn’t entered my mind though how anyone could consider an orphanage a legitimate target.
The next day the girls got a mini-tour of South Lebanon. We started with a morning of exercise. The kids woke up at 4:20 AM to pray, fell back asleep until 6, then got up and got ready for a small workout and breakfast of manaeesh and tea. The bus left Jwaya and passed right next to my father’s old town, Majdal Selm. We got to the Sultaniyyeh, the next village over, and I started begging the bus driver to take us to my grandparent’s house. Anyways, we got to Maroun al-Ras, the closest village to the Lebanese-Israeli border. There, Iran had donated money to the Lebanese government to build a resting place that overlooks the border. The view was spectacular and we got some good conversations going about the war and the effect of all the violence on the kids. I learned that a lot more people were displaced that I previously thought. The kids got hit hard. Amal, one of the nicest girls I know at the Mobarrat orphanage, recently moved from another orphanage in south Lebanon.
Words cannot explain the difference. Her father is dead, her mother is working hours and hours every day to provide some type of financial security, and none of her relatives will take her and her brother in to their homes. Her mother was forced to put her in an orphanage because she does not have enough money to support a family at home. Amal said that her mother would bring her biscuits or cookies whenever she would visit. Amal would hide them in her little cubby or closet but would not find them there the next morning. The kids at the orphanage were desperate—not to mention hungry—and not exactly happy. The headmasters would physically abuse them and there were certainly more kids than they could support.
Maroun al-Ras was a nice reflecting place. The sun was warm but the wind was plentiful. There were lots of games and swings and slides for the kids to play on. We went for a drive again after a couple of hours and passed through Bint Al Jbail, a large town in South Lebanon. Finally, we got to Tibnin, where we ate lunch of lahm bi aajeene (meat in bread) and laban (drinkable yogurt). The kids prayed on the grass and played on swingsets and climbed rocks and took walks through the towering snobar trees.
It was camp to camp when I got home. Within half an hour of arriving at my uncle’s house, my aunt Alia came and picked me up so I could spend the weekend with her. It was an amazing weekend…I got to see my cousins Jana, Lynn, and Safa and Marwa, the twins. We spent Saturday at a waterpark called Rio Lento, built in a valley in North Beirut. I couldn’t help but think how much fun the kids would have if they came to this water park. All of my energy and thoughts are towards the orphans now. I am addicted to them. I spent a lot of time with the Kabbanis that weekend, my mom’s side of the family. There was a lot of singing and dancing and argeileh…It’s not wrong to have a little fun :)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Teacher is still sick...
So somehow I and the rest of the world has a viral infection. I ended up getting really dizzy in my last class period and lost my balance and fell. So somehow I and the rest of the world has a viral infection. I ended up getting really dizzy in my last class period and lost my balance and fell to the floor. I get sick every time I come to Lebanon, but nothing like this has happened to me before.
Anyways, I gave back everyone’s exams today. Thankfully, everyone but a few passed.
Anyways, I gave back everyone’s exams today. Thankfully, everyone but a few passed.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Teacher is sick!
It’s 4 pm and I just woke up. We went to the village for a day yesterday to see my grandmother and aunts. So far on this trip, I’ve suffered from dehydration, eczema, and now hypoglycemia. I’ve eaten very, very little since Wednesday night. Zero appetite. Now I just forced myself to eat chicken but when we came back to Beirut this morning I had no energy to stand on my own two feet. It’s really, really bad but I still have little appetite.
I finished grading the kids’ first exams this weekend. Most of them did really well, but there were some near-perfect scores and some horribly failing scores in the same class. And this exam went over the basics. It’s going to be challenging teaching a class with so much diversity of how well the kids understand the language in the first place.
So I spent all of my free time yesterday upgrading my lesson plans accordingly, and adding a few more creative things to curriculum to reach out to those who have just a bit different learning styles. I put in a lot of energy this weekend to fixing this. I really hope the next two weeks go really smoothly. I can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow!
I finished grading the kids’ first exams this weekend. Most of them did really well, but there were some near-perfect scores and some horribly failing scores in the same class. And this exam went over the basics. It’s going to be challenging teaching a class with so much diversity of how well the kids understand the language in the first place.
So I spent all of my free time yesterday upgrading my lesson plans accordingly, and adding a few more creative things to curriculum to reach out to those who have just a bit different learning styles. I put in a lot of energy this weekend to fixing this. I really hope the next two weeks go really smoothly. I can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Retreat!
It’s currently 11:11 AM in Dallas right now and 7:11 PM in Beirut. At 11 this morning I was sitting by the pool with a bunch of my girl students rocking out to Akon and Assi El Helani alike.
I just got back from our first camp retreat with the summer students. This was definitely the most hectic 2 days I’ve had in Lebanon so far. Where do I even start…
I got up at 6:30 in the morning on Thursday to double-check that I have everything and the bus was here by 8. We went to the school first so they could introduce us to our camp leaders and sort us into the buses. I was a camp leader assistant, but I had as little and as much leverage as everyone else.
We thought we would never make it to the campgrounds. One of the school officials passed out from his blood pressure getting too high before we even left the school. He was yelling about something concerning whatever transportation plans they had for us and completely lost consciousness and was on the floor. I was actually getting ready to do CPR on him when he woke from unconsciousness.
By the time we got to Saida, one of my 8th grade boys was hyperventilating. I don’t remember what happened…probably just some bus sickness or claustrophobia. They, too, asked my help for CPR when he lost consciousness but he eventually got up.
We got to the campgrounds and had a mini orientation and then started playing games like handball and soccer. This was when I started learning everyone’s names…finally. We broke for lunch and then the girls went to the beach to swim while the guys stayed behind and did some activities. When I got back, my guys called me over to show off their perfectly made tent. I was ecstatic until my camp leader called all the girls together and told us to make sure we weren’t stalling around with the boys too much. I knew it was directed at me and it bothered me for a bit, but then I forgot about it.
We broke for dinner and prayer. The girls and I started a dabke circle. Dabke is the traditional Lebanese dance—very similar to the Greek dancers that are always stepping side to side and back and forth. It’s really fun and Mariam and I perfected it that night when we attempted to stay up all evening.
The boys slept in the tents while the girls and the little kids drove to Jwaya, about a 20 minute drive from Sour to stay at the orphanage. I have never been inside an orphanage, much less slept overnight there, so it was definitely an experience.
We were woken up at 5 this morning to pray and get ready to go back to the campgrounds. We had a 30 minute workout before we left, which was actually really interesting. I was already in sweats and tennis shoes so I went all-out on my workout.
Jowaya is a beautiful city. The view from the orphanage took my breath away. We took the long way around back to the campgrounds on a military path. It was really, really shaky but it took us through the valley and over some mountains. The view was stunning. It was also the first time I saw lemon and orange groves in Lebanon.
I knew we were near the campground when I saw all the banana trees growing everywhere. It’s quite a sight. We picked up a random watermelon that was growing near the banana grove on the trail up to the campground.
I had completely lost my appetite in the last couple of days because I’ve been sick on and off all week. So even after more than 24 hours with fewer than 10 bites of food, all I could manage to put in my mouth this morning was tea.
We girls spent the morning and early afternoon swimming and laying out. The pool was barely filled but it was really fun anyways. We prayed and ate lunch before the boys came back from their trip to the river and we began to pack up.
A lot of the kids didn’t realize that I live in the states, so most of the time I spent talking was about life in America. The number one question I get asked is, “Which is better, America or Lebanon?” I have no idea how I’m supposed to answer. Lebanon is breathtaking, but you have electricity and hot water 24 hours a day in the states.
I just got back from our first camp retreat with the summer students. This was definitely the most hectic 2 days I’ve had in Lebanon so far. Where do I even start…
I got up at 6:30 in the morning on Thursday to double-check that I have everything and the bus was here by 8. We went to the school first so they could introduce us to our camp leaders and sort us into the buses. I was a camp leader assistant, but I had as little and as much leverage as everyone else.
We thought we would never make it to the campgrounds. One of the school officials passed out from his blood pressure getting too high before we even left the school. He was yelling about something concerning whatever transportation plans they had for us and completely lost consciousness and was on the floor. I was actually getting ready to do CPR on him when he woke from unconsciousness.
By the time we got to Saida, one of my 8th grade boys was hyperventilating. I don’t remember what happened…probably just some bus sickness or claustrophobia. They, too, asked my help for CPR when he lost consciousness but he eventually got up.
We got to the campgrounds and had a mini orientation and then started playing games like handball and soccer. This was when I started learning everyone’s names…finally. We broke for lunch and then the girls went to the beach to swim while the guys stayed behind and did some activities. When I got back, my guys called me over to show off their perfectly made tent. I was ecstatic until my camp leader called all the girls together and told us to make sure we weren’t stalling around with the boys too much. I knew it was directed at me and it bothered me for a bit, but then I forgot about it.
We broke for dinner and prayer. The girls and I started a dabke circle. Dabke is the traditional Lebanese dance—very similar to the Greek dancers that are always stepping side to side and back and forth. It’s really fun and Mariam and I perfected it that night when we attempted to stay up all evening.
The boys slept in the tents while the girls and the little kids drove to Jwaya, about a 20 minute drive from Sour to stay at the orphanage. I have never been inside an orphanage, much less slept overnight there, so it was definitely an experience.
We were woken up at 5 this morning to pray and get ready to go back to the campgrounds. We had a 30 minute workout before we left, which was actually really interesting. I was already in sweats and tennis shoes so I went all-out on my workout.
Jowaya is a beautiful city. The view from the orphanage took my breath away. We took the long way around back to the campgrounds on a military path. It was really, really shaky but it took us through the valley and over some mountains. The view was stunning. It was also the first time I saw lemon and orange groves in Lebanon.
I knew we were near the campground when I saw all the banana trees growing everywhere. It’s quite a sight. We picked up a random watermelon that was growing near the banana grove on the trail up to the campground.
I had completely lost my appetite in the last couple of days because I’ve been sick on and off all week. So even after more than 24 hours with fewer than 10 bites of food, all I could manage to put in my mouth this morning was tea.
We girls spent the morning and early afternoon swimming and laying out. The pool was barely filled but it was really fun anyways. We prayed and ate lunch before the boys came back from their trip to the river and we began to pack up.
A lot of the kids didn’t realize that I live in the states, so most of the time I spent talking was about life in America. The number one question I get asked is, “Which is better, America or Lebanon?” I have no idea how I’m supposed to answer. Lebanon is breathtaking, but you have electricity and hot water 24 hours a day in the states.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A List
So much to do, so little time! A list of things I did today:
- Music brings people together -- marta and 50 cent, Eminem, akon, etc etc
- Ethiopia/culture talk over a Russian lunch
- Camp tomorrow
- Verdun
- Went running again for about half an hour
- Music brings people together -- marta and 50 cent, Eminem, akon, etc etc
- Ethiopia/culture talk over a Russian lunch
- Camp tomorrow
- Verdun
- Went running again for about half an hour
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Running to and away
I am thoroughly exhausted. I’m used to taking a good hour nap when I get home, but today I was too restless to do so. I have so much on my mind.
Today was not as easy as yesterday. As usual, my grade 6 boys were attentive and perfect, but the 7/8 boys were the ones causing the problems today. I think they were a little more excited about camping out on Thursday and Friday than the exam on Wednesday. Anyhow, I reviewed for exams in all of my classes and spent my one hour off sitting in on a grade 6 Arabic class. I’m near-perfect in my speaking of Arabic but definitely not up to the grade 6 level in reading and writing.
Everyone is really, really excited about going camping on Thursday and Friday. Everyone is psyched that I’m going with them.
Alright, update. My 2 year-old cousin just threw a block to my head. Hold up, world. I’m getting some ice.
Hussein and I talked on the bus today again about America. Since he holds an American passport, going back is not a problem. He and a lot of young Lebanese just don’t see much of future here anymore. Well, I’m not sure if they ever did. One of the kids at the bus stop I stand at in the morning came with his dad the other day. I had a brief chat with him and he simply said, “I hate everything that is Lebanon and have to do with Lebanon”. I understand where they’re coming from but I’ve encountered more negative feelings about the country this vacation than during any other year.
Mariam and I went out today to buy a few more scarves for me to wear to school. We visited my aunt on the way there. She owns a small shop in one of the busiest areas of Beirut. Every time I walk into that store there are always a ton of people. Business is good for at least someone in this country.
I went for a one-hour run around 7 this evening and purposely got myself lost. Probably not the smartest idea when you’re running in a developing country, but I’m sure that’s not a surprise if you know me well. The funny thing is that I actually ended up in the district that my aunt used to live in before she moved to Saudi Arabia last year. We used to talk during the war and she would be frightened from all the sights and sounds that were surrounding her. Two buildings away from her was another residential building that used to house a salon called Salon Rafic Youness. The salon’s owner, Rafic Youness died in a bombing during the July 2006 war and the building was hit by a missile. I stopped running to just reminisce in front of that building and look at how far the construction was coming along. I ran a little further east and found that there were a lot of buildings that were still in construction. I had no idea how hard the area had been hit.
Halfway through my run I ran into my cousin. He was stuck in traffic and honked at me repeatedly. I thought it was just another crazy boy trying to get my attention, but it was my own cousin, smack dab in the middle of traffic in the city. We had a good 2 minute chat with he and his wife in traffic. What a small world, really!
Mariam and I stopped by a few cell phone stores to see if it was possible for me to get a cell phone line. There’s nothing cheaper than $50 for about 3 weeks’ worth of minutes. It might be worth it, but there’s a cell phone sitting idly at my uncle’s house. It’s for my grandma, but she never uses it, haha. That might be a good substitute for now.
Today was not as easy as yesterday. As usual, my grade 6 boys were attentive and perfect, but the 7/8 boys were the ones causing the problems today. I think they were a little more excited about camping out on Thursday and Friday than the exam on Wednesday. Anyhow, I reviewed for exams in all of my classes and spent my one hour off sitting in on a grade 6 Arabic class. I’m near-perfect in my speaking of Arabic but definitely not up to the grade 6 level in reading and writing.
Everyone is really, really excited about going camping on Thursday and Friday. Everyone is psyched that I’m going with them.
Alright, update. My 2 year-old cousin just threw a block to my head. Hold up, world. I’m getting some ice.
Hussein and I talked on the bus today again about America. Since he holds an American passport, going back is not a problem. He and a lot of young Lebanese just don’t see much of future here anymore. Well, I’m not sure if they ever did. One of the kids at the bus stop I stand at in the morning came with his dad the other day. I had a brief chat with him and he simply said, “I hate everything that is Lebanon and have to do with Lebanon”. I understand where they’re coming from but I’ve encountered more negative feelings about the country this vacation than during any other year.
Mariam and I went out today to buy a few more scarves for me to wear to school. We visited my aunt on the way there. She owns a small shop in one of the busiest areas of Beirut. Every time I walk into that store there are always a ton of people. Business is good for at least someone in this country.
I went for a one-hour run around 7 this evening and purposely got myself lost. Probably not the smartest idea when you’re running in a developing country, but I’m sure that’s not a surprise if you know me well. The funny thing is that I actually ended up in the district that my aunt used to live in before she moved to Saudi Arabia last year. We used to talk during the war and she would be frightened from all the sights and sounds that were surrounding her. Two buildings away from her was another residential building that used to house a salon called Salon Rafic Youness. The salon’s owner, Rafic Youness died in a bombing during the July 2006 war and the building was hit by a missile. I stopped running to just reminisce in front of that building and look at how far the construction was coming along. I ran a little further east and found that there were a lot of buildings that were still in construction. I had no idea how hard the area had been hit.
Halfway through my run I ran into my cousin. He was stuck in traffic and honked at me repeatedly. I thought it was just another crazy boy trying to get my attention, but it was my own cousin, smack dab in the middle of traffic in the city. We had a good 2 minute chat with he and his wife in traffic. What a small world, really!
Mariam and I stopped by a few cell phone stores to see if it was possible for me to get a cell phone line. There’s nothing cheaper than $50 for about 3 weeks’ worth of minutes. It might be worth it, but there’s a cell phone sitting idly at my uncle’s house. It’s for my grandma, but she never uses it, haha. That might be a good substitute for now.
Monday, July 13, 2009
6 to 6
Today was my best day so far! I woke up at 4 AM to take my asthma medicine (I have to take it at least an hour before I work out), then I fell back asleep until around 5:30. By 6 AM I was out the door and running on the streets of Beirut. I ran for exactly an hour, but I don’t think I was ever confident about where I was going and how I got there. At one point I almost ran straight into a Palestinian refugee camp. Not exactly the best start to your day. Otherwise, I noticed a lot of stuff about Beirut that I’ve never really took note of. What tops the list is that there a lot of Syrians. Americans and Lebanese have the same problem when it comes to low-wage labor. There are a number of Americans living under the poverty line, but few of them may take the low-wage jobs that many Mexican immigrants are taking. The Syrians in Lebanon are equivalent to the Mexicans in the United States. They do the work that nobody wants to do, but that doesn’t help Lebanon’s unemployment level either. It’s a hard dilemma.
Another thing I noticed—there’s a lot more catcalling at 6 AM than at 6 PM.
Last night I meant to pack some cash in case I got lost and needed to take a taxi home. I forgot to do that, so I was less adventurous in my path. I stuck to the main road that lies several blocks west of my uncle’s house.
It seems like the entire world is awake at 6 AM. Really, it’s a spectacular sight. There’s definitely not a lot of women walking around, and there are very few people wandering aimlessly. It’s a sight similar to the streets Times Square, minus the neon lights, with about a third of the people, and with everyone dressed in slacks and dirty dress shirts.
I came home, showered and ate and got ready for another Monday at the orphanage. I did catch the bus this morning and sat next to one of the sweetest students I know, Fatima. She’s not in any of my classes but she lives in the next district over so I always see her. We took pictures in the bus. That’s when I found out that most of the kids have never seen a camera in their life.
When we got to the orphanage, we played with the camera a bit more with some of the other kids, and I realized that most of them have never seen a picture of themselves in their life before, much less have someone take a picture of them. I know I want to fix that before I leave. I’m planning on collecting all of the pictures and maybe presenting the orphanage with a nice book of all the kids’ pictures.
Today was so far the least stressful day of teaching that I’ve had so far. I changed things up today and had my boys write and perform plays in English. I loved the group that performed “Leila and the Wolf”, a spin on Little Miss Riding Hood.
The girls were also unusually attentive today. That’s definitely a surprise to me. For one, some of the more talkative ones were missing. But I think the announcement that they have an exam on Wednesday might have dulled out all of that energy.
Besides that, it was a relaxing day at my uncle’s house again. I spoke to my parents and spent most of the evening going over material for my kids and making their exams for Wednesday.
I watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding before I went to bed. Classic Asil.
Oh, and I was also told by my uncle that he would prefer me to run in the afternoon and not the early morning. I’m not sure why, but I’m not going to argue. He’s the one who’s been living in this neighborhood for years, not me.
Another thing I noticed—there’s a lot more catcalling at 6 AM than at 6 PM.
Last night I meant to pack some cash in case I got lost and needed to take a taxi home. I forgot to do that, so I was less adventurous in my path. I stuck to the main road that lies several blocks west of my uncle’s house.
It seems like the entire world is awake at 6 AM. Really, it’s a spectacular sight. There’s definitely not a lot of women walking around, and there are very few people wandering aimlessly. It’s a sight similar to the streets Times Square, minus the neon lights, with about a third of the people, and with everyone dressed in slacks and dirty dress shirts.
I came home, showered and ate and got ready for another Monday at the orphanage. I did catch the bus this morning and sat next to one of the sweetest students I know, Fatima. She’s not in any of my classes but she lives in the next district over so I always see her. We took pictures in the bus. That’s when I found out that most of the kids have never seen a camera in their life.
When we got to the orphanage, we played with the camera a bit more with some of the other kids, and I realized that most of them have never seen a picture of themselves in their life before, much less have someone take a picture of them. I know I want to fix that before I leave. I’m planning on collecting all of the pictures and maybe presenting the orphanage with a nice book of all the kids’ pictures.
Today was so far the least stressful day of teaching that I’ve had so far. I changed things up today and had my boys write and perform plays in English. I loved the group that performed “Leila and the Wolf”, a spin on Little Miss Riding Hood.
The girls were also unusually attentive today. That’s definitely a surprise to me. For one, some of the more talkative ones were missing. But I think the announcement that they have an exam on Wednesday might have dulled out all of that energy.
Besides that, it was a relaxing day at my uncle’s house again. I spoke to my parents and spent most of the evening going over material for my kids and making their exams for Wednesday.
I watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding before I went to bed. Classic Asil.
Oh, and I was also told by my uncle that he would prefer me to run in the afternoon and not the early morning. I’m not sure why, but I’m not going to argue. He’s the one who’s been living in this neighborhood for years, not me.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Spasiva, Liban!
Today I spent most of the day making lesson plans, with a trip to Beirut Mall in the late afternoon with the family. I may have forgotten to mention this but I am staying at my cousin Mariam’s house. Her mom is Russian and her dad is Lebanese. They speak Russian almost 90% of the time, so this summer has been a definite culture shock. It’s been 4 years since I visited Lebanon, and regardless, I’ve never spent all my time with her family anyways. It’s been tough…some days I feel like I’m spending the summer in St. Petersburg, not Beirut. It’s an odd mix, but I kinda like it. I’m learning a bit of Russian obviously…
Spasiva = thank you
Kharasho = good
Dobreviche = good evening
Tomorrow I have work again. I’m going to get up early and go for a run around Beirut (well, maybe not all of it…but I’ll see what I can do). I’m really excited…I haven’t worked out for 2 weeks. It’s an awful, awful feeling.
Until 5:45 AM…peace.
Asil
Spasiva = thank you
Kharasho = good
Dobreviche = good evening
Tomorrow I have work again. I’m going to get up early and go for a run around Beirut (well, maybe not all of it…but I’ll see what I can do). I’m really excited…I haven’t worked out for 2 weeks. It’s an awful, awful feeling.
Until 5:45 AM…peace.
Asil
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The First Goodbye
It was really hard seeing my dad say goodbye to my grandmother, given that nobody knows if they’ll ever see each other again. Parkinson’s has taken a big toll on her so this year’s goodbye in particular was extremely difficult for everyone.
I’m in Beirut now and just said goodbye to my father. His flight isn’t until 2 tonight, but the Beirut Airport is always unpredictable. We spent the day saying goodbyes and accompanying my dad who was finishing up some business in the Verdun district and downtown. Mariam and I had a blast in downtown Beirut. We saw a wedding, took a lot of nice pictures, and talked politics and culture. Definitely some quality cousin time.
Tomorrow is a new day. I’m buying a phone line, some scarves to wear to the orphanage, and finishing those lesson plans.
Beirut is beautiful.
I’m in Beirut now and just said goodbye to my father. His flight isn’t until 2 tonight, but the Beirut Airport is always unpredictable. We spent the day saying goodbyes and accompanying my dad who was finishing up some business in the Verdun district and downtown. Mariam and I had a blast in downtown Beirut. We saw a wedding, took a lot of nice pictures, and talked politics and culture. Definitely some quality cousin time.
Tomorrow is a new day. I’m buying a phone line, some scarves to wear to the orphanage, and finishing those lesson plans.
Beirut is beautiful.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Sunrise, Sunrise
Staying up until sunrise didn’t work out too well.
Stayed up until 12, slept until 3, was up with Mariam until 4. We decided to take a 1 hour nap, but we never really woke up from it. Who thought staying up would be so hard?! Part of it was that we didn’t have any electricity and there was minimal power from the generator. It’s pretty frustrating.
Today I tried to make up creative lesson plans for the kids. I hate to be systematic or traditional in anything, especially during a summer school class. I want to add some fun to the curriculum. The trickiest thing is getting the kids to be hands-on. It’s not that they don’t want to be hands on. Oh, no, no. It’s the exact opposite. They want to be a little too hands-on. They’re really funny kids. I love them so much.
They always ask about America. Young, old, everyone in between. It’s really fascinating to actually put into words my experience in the last 18 years. I simply don’t know how to do it. That’s probably the most challenging part.
Tomorrow we leave to Beirut. My dad leaves at 2 AM tomorrow night so I’m spending the day with him.
Stayed up until 12, slept until 3, was up with Mariam until 4. We decided to take a 1 hour nap, but we never really woke up from it. Who thought staying up would be so hard?! Part of it was that we didn’t have any electricity and there was minimal power from the generator. It’s pretty frustrating.
Today I tried to make up creative lesson plans for the kids. I hate to be systematic or traditional in anything, especially during a summer school class. I want to add some fun to the curriculum. The trickiest thing is getting the kids to be hands-on. It’s not that they don’t want to be hands on. Oh, no, no. It’s the exact opposite. They want to be a little too hands-on. They’re really funny kids. I love them so much.
They always ask about America. Young, old, everyone in between. It’s really fascinating to actually put into words my experience in the last 18 years. I simply don’t know how to do it. That’s probably the most challenging part.
Tomorrow we leave to Beirut. My dad leaves at 2 AM tomorrow night so I’m spending the day with him.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Goldfish! Lukewarm Water! Get your goldfish and water!
My dad leaves on Saturday and I want to spend time with him before he leaves. The kids don’t have class today and Friday so I went up to the village today with my dad and cousin. Today, more than any other roadtrip we’ve taken so far, I’ve noticed how rampant child labor is in Lebanon. Well, not exactly child labor. But there are a ton of kids selling goldfish on the streets or cold water bottles or tissue boxes. They zig zag in between cars during traffic trying to make even the most mundane things appealing to some drivers. It’s sad to see that but it’s even more difficult to see kids who are simply beggars. I saw most of them in Saida, the big city south of Beirut.
So here I am at my grandparents’ house. We just came back from a miniroad trip with my cousins. They were showing me some of the villages in the South. It’s unbelievable how different one can be from another. Shaqra is a bustling village, the same exact size as Majdal Selm, but it sits lower in the mountains and seems to have a lot more people. That’s because, my cousin explained, it has a lot of more expatriates, mostly in Kuwait. They all come back all at the same time during the summer. The town looks like Kuwait threw up all over it. From the car, I could tell who was a regular and who was a Kuwaiti expatriate—from makeup, dress, talk, hairstyles, etc. It’s interesting to just sit back and observe a crazy mixed-up Lebanese culture.
Mariam and I are planning on staying up all night to watch the sunrise. I’ve been feeling very dizzy the last few days. Probably from heat exhaustion or dehydration. Oops.
So here I am at my grandparents’ house. We just came back from a miniroad trip with my cousins. They were showing me some of the villages in the South. It’s unbelievable how different one can be from another. Shaqra is a bustling village, the same exact size as Majdal Selm, but it sits lower in the mountains and seems to have a lot more people. That’s because, my cousin explained, it has a lot of more expatriates, mostly in Kuwait. They all come back all at the same time during the summer. The town looks like Kuwait threw up all over it. From the car, I could tell who was a regular and who was a Kuwaiti expatriate—from makeup, dress, talk, hairstyles, etc. It’s interesting to just sit back and observe a crazy mixed-up Lebanese culture.
Mariam and I are planning on staying up all night to watch the sunrise. I’ve been feeling very dizzy the last few days. Probably from heat exhaustion or dehydration. Oops.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Schooling and Such
Today was by far my toughest day of work so far. I started out with a pretty stressful morning. The bus driver told me yesterday that he would be at my stop to pick up me and 2 students at 8 AM. I was downstairs at 7:50 this morning and ended up waiting until 8:20. By 8:10 I knew that I most likely missed the bus…I just wasn’t sure why. I hadn’t seen the 2 other kids I usually see either. The bus pulled up eventually and the driver explained that he actually came by pretty early, around 7:45, but I wasn’t there. I’m glad he decided to come back though…even if it was really out of the way.
Today I taught the grade 7 boys first period. They were unusually rowdy today, but I have to say they’re my favorite kids. They’re absolutely adorable and are always so interested. I had second period off so I went down to the playground to go over some curriculum materials for the grade 6 boys and watch some kids play soccer for their gym class. They are quite entertaining running around in their bright orange mesh jerseys. You can definitely feel some ambition to make it to the World Cup up there…all complete with chants and high-fives and victory laps.
During the break I got to know another teacher who is actually related to me…small world. Her grandfather is my grandfather’s brother. I think that makes us relatives. Anyways, she’s only a few years older than me and it was pretty fun talking to someone that shares my blood but I have never seen in my life before. It’s always a really weird circumstance (oh, it’s happened several times this summer), but I definitely enjoyed it!
I taught the girls after the break. I’m usually good when it comes to patience but today was especially tough. There were a handful of girls that simply didn’t show up today and there were even more that weren’t paying attention. I feel like the biggest problem is that we’re only a few years apart so they feel like I’m more of a sister than a teacher. I know I’m no higher power, and I love them to death already…they’re such sweet, fun girls. But it’s been a little frustrating imposing some type of order in the classroom.
The kids taking summer school failed the subject during the school year. There’s a ton of explanations for why they failed—they came from really disadvantaged backgrounds and live literally in the slums. I imagine it’s a little hard to study when there’s no heater or air conditioning or when your parents aren’t especially encouraging you to focus on your education. Some students are orphans. Others have sisters who dropped out of school or college because they met a guy who is making sufficient money to support a family and so they found little use to invest in an education anyways. For this reason, I’m especially sympathetic to the girls. I don’t know, it just makes me so sad that this is a really common trend amongst a lot of the lower socioeconomic classes of Lebanon.
My last class was grade 6 boys. The grade 4 and 5 boys teacher didn’t show up for some reason, so I had to take her class too. So there were a bunch of really, really crazy kids. It was their last period of the day. I couldn’t teach the 6th grade curriculum to the 4/5 boys and the 6 grade boys started to look really bored and really chatty when I went back to the 4/5 curriculum. I don’t really know how I made it through the hour. It was really, really tough.
I went back downstairs to catch the bus, completely exhausted and not in the mood to really talk much. The girl who I met earlier today who’s related to me invited me to lunch, but I had to decline because I’m getting together with my dad this afternoon. It was a really kind gesture of her though and she really seemed like she wanted to get to know me. I’m always up to socializing with long-lost cousins.
I got on the bus with a stack of curriculum materials and sat in the very back with some of the girls who live in the same district. They are always hugging and kissing me…they make the entire day’s pain and exhaustion disappear in a flash. The gym teacher, Hussein, usually rides the bus with me too. Today he asked if I minded if he sat with me. I said no and we started talking. I found out that he too is an American, as in he holds an American passport, but he didn’t live in the US for very long. He studied French in school and he also just finished his first year of college at LIU, but is transferring to LAU in the fall, a much better university.
Alright, update. I’m writing this in the salon at my cousin’s house and we’re watching TV together. I was telling her all of this while I was writing and I found out that she actually knows him. Really, what a small world. I feel like all of Lebanon knows each other and won’t mind having coffee with a stranger because there’s a mutual friend in between, but will strain their lungs if the same person is in the way during rush hour.
My dad was right when he calls Lebanon an “odd country”.
Today I taught the grade 7 boys first period. They were unusually rowdy today, but I have to say they’re my favorite kids. They’re absolutely adorable and are always so interested. I had second period off so I went down to the playground to go over some curriculum materials for the grade 6 boys and watch some kids play soccer for their gym class. They are quite entertaining running around in their bright orange mesh jerseys. You can definitely feel some ambition to make it to the World Cup up there…all complete with chants and high-fives and victory laps.
During the break I got to know another teacher who is actually related to me…small world. Her grandfather is my grandfather’s brother. I think that makes us relatives. Anyways, she’s only a few years older than me and it was pretty fun talking to someone that shares my blood but I have never seen in my life before. It’s always a really weird circumstance (oh, it’s happened several times this summer), but I definitely enjoyed it!
I taught the girls after the break. I’m usually good when it comes to patience but today was especially tough. There were a handful of girls that simply didn’t show up today and there were even more that weren’t paying attention. I feel like the biggest problem is that we’re only a few years apart so they feel like I’m more of a sister than a teacher. I know I’m no higher power, and I love them to death already…they’re such sweet, fun girls. But it’s been a little frustrating imposing some type of order in the classroom.
The kids taking summer school failed the subject during the school year. There’s a ton of explanations for why they failed—they came from really disadvantaged backgrounds and live literally in the slums. I imagine it’s a little hard to study when there’s no heater or air conditioning or when your parents aren’t especially encouraging you to focus on your education. Some students are orphans. Others have sisters who dropped out of school or college because they met a guy who is making sufficient money to support a family and so they found little use to invest in an education anyways. For this reason, I’m especially sympathetic to the girls. I don’t know, it just makes me so sad that this is a really common trend amongst a lot of the lower socioeconomic classes of Lebanon.
My last class was grade 6 boys. The grade 4 and 5 boys teacher didn’t show up for some reason, so I had to take her class too. So there were a bunch of really, really crazy kids. It was their last period of the day. I couldn’t teach the 6th grade curriculum to the 4/5 boys and the 6 grade boys started to look really bored and really chatty when I went back to the 4/5 curriculum. I don’t really know how I made it through the hour. It was really, really tough.
I went back downstairs to catch the bus, completely exhausted and not in the mood to really talk much. The girl who I met earlier today who’s related to me invited me to lunch, but I had to decline because I’m getting together with my dad this afternoon. It was a really kind gesture of her though and she really seemed like she wanted to get to know me. I’m always up to socializing with long-lost cousins.
I got on the bus with a stack of curriculum materials and sat in the very back with some of the girls who live in the same district. They are always hugging and kissing me…they make the entire day’s pain and exhaustion disappear in a flash. The gym teacher, Hussein, usually rides the bus with me too. Today he asked if I minded if he sat with me. I said no and we started talking. I found out that he too is an American, as in he holds an American passport, but he didn’t live in the US for very long. He studied French in school and he also just finished his first year of college at LIU, but is transferring to LAU in the fall, a much better university.
Alright, update. I’m writing this in the salon at my cousin’s house and we’re watching TV together. I was telling her all of this while I was writing and I found out that she actually knows him. Really, what a small world. I feel like all of Lebanon knows each other and won’t mind having coffee with a stranger because there’s a mutual friend in between, but will strain their lungs if the same person is in the way during rush hour.
My dad was right when he calls Lebanon an “odd country”.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Independence...or not?
I am under so much pressure. The scrutiny and the cynicism and the judgmental attitude of everyone is finally starting to get to me.
I really don’t consider myself a bad Muslim…I know I’m not perfect and I know I’ve had a lot of bumps recently, but I am my harshest critic. I know that as a fact.
It’s not that I don’t accept criticism, it’s just that I’ve never really been through a marathon of criticism like this I just don’t know to deal with this.
The main issue is that I don’t wear hijab. That’s a personal choice of mine. I don’t want to have something imposed on me if I am not fully in grasp of my religion. I’m waiting for that to happen.
It’s different here. It’s standard that you put on the hijab once you’re of age—no questions asked. We could sit here and argue the morality of this all day long but I’m sick of having discussions about that. Bottom line is, I’m not really enjoying the stereotyping of me as the crazy girl with no sense of religion whatsoever.
There are plenty of girls that wear hijab that are good Muslims, and there are plenty of girls who aren’t. Talking smack about other people all the time doesn’t make you a good person, much less a good Muslim, even if you wear the hijab. You can’t do something right and another thing wrong and expect to be fine because you appear to fit the Muslim appearance. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I’m venting right now because a sheikh was visiting just now and I walked outside to grab something and he made quite a jabbing comment about how I was dressed: I’m wearing a short-sleeved dress that comes down to my shins. I think it’s demure enough. It’s not tight, there is no room for cleavage to show, and I’m not wearing stilettos. In my book, it’s something I can wear with no guilt.
I just don’t understand it. I’m fed up, but at this point, I just don’t care. I want to focus on what I’ll be doing the next four weeks. I was just thinking about this last night. It seems like everyone here acts and dresses and talks and behaves in a way to satisfy everyone else, but themselves. I’m not beingselfish when I say this, but I don’t work that way. My parents and religion have drew the lines in the sand for me and
------ June 7th update -----
I was sitting on the roof when my dad walked in. So I stopped writing and explained to him all of this. It helped talking to more than a computer.
I really don’t consider myself a bad Muslim…I know I’m not perfect and I know I’ve had a lot of bumps recently, but I am my harshest critic. I know that as a fact.
It’s not that I don’t accept criticism, it’s just that I’ve never really been through a marathon of criticism like this I just don’t know to deal with this.
The main issue is that I don’t wear hijab. That’s a personal choice of mine. I don’t want to have something imposed on me if I am not fully in grasp of my religion. I’m waiting for that to happen.
It’s different here. It’s standard that you put on the hijab once you’re of age—no questions asked. We could sit here and argue the morality of this all day long but I’m sick of having discussions about that. Bottom line is, I’m not really enjoying the stereotyping of me as the crazy girl with no sense of religion whatsoever.
There are plenty of girls that wear hijab that are good Muslims, and there are plenty of girls who aren’t. Talking smack about other people all the time doesn’t make you a good person, much less a good Muslim, even if you wear the hijab. You can’t do something right and another thing wrong and expect to be fine because you appear to fit the Muslim appearance. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I’m venting right now because a sheikh was visiting just now and I walked outside to grab something and he made quite a jabbing comment about how I was dressed: I’m wearing a short-sleeved dress that comes down to my shins. I think it’s demure enough. It’s not tight, there is no room for cleavage to show, and I’m not wearing stilettos. In my book, it’s something I can wear with no guilt.
I just don’t understand it. I’m fed up, but at this point, I just don’t care. I want to focus on what I’ll be doing the next four weeks. I was just thinking about this last night. It seems like everyone here acts and dresses and talks and behaves in a way to satisfy everyone else, but themselves. I’m not beingselfish when I say this, but I don’t work that way. My parents and religion have drew the lines in the sand for me and
------ June 7th update -----
I was sitting on the roof when my dad walked in. So I stopped writing and explained to him all of this. It helped talking to more than a computer.
Friday, July 3, 2009
"I Call This Country and Odd Country"
I’m sitting on top of my grandparents’ house’s roof overlooking all the hills and valleys and mountains of South Lebanon. The wind is strong, but not stinging, and the sun is just perfect. I can spot the Mediterranean Sea from here too. There is nothing like it.
Today I met with Ibrahim, my dad’s cousin who works heavily with the organization that runs the orphanage I will be working at starting Monday. We just went over a few details and chatted over some strong Arabic coffee about the next few weeks in Lebanon. I’m more pumped than ever…I cannot wait until I start Monday!
My cousin Sara has a flat in Beirut where she stays during the school year with her cousins. They all go to the same university but only Sara is taking a summer term, so she’s alone. She’s in the mountains with me now, but since both she and I start Monday, we decided that it would be a good idea to stay with her while I’m working at the orphanage. So it’s just me and her in a flat in Beirut! I was originally going to stay with my aunt but I think this will be a really interesting experience too. I am thrilled!
In other news, I’ve been spending time with all the family that I have, including the ones I never knew. You know the 64 first cousins that I always talk about? I think the number has changed…new babies and new names. I have been so ignorant the last 4 years. Where did all this family come from?!
I cannot stress enough how beautiful the view is from here. I ate lunch at my aunt’s house, a good 15 minute walk from my grandparents’, but with a similar gorgeous view.
The people in the village are really simple, happy people. They don’t complain about much, and they laugh more than any other people I’ve ever met. Life is slow…prayer times basically split up their time during the day. The people here are really hard-working, and the love to kiss and hug a lot. Very touch-feely…I forgot that from my last trip.
Maroon 5 never sounded better from a rooftop in the mountains of Lebanon.
I miss everyone so much…today was the first day where I was actually talking about my friends back home to my cousins in detail. That’s when I realized how far away I am.
It’s definitely been a culture shock…even if I’m Lebanese. The biggest thing is that I don’t wear hijab, the headscarf, so I definitely stick out because virtually everyone else does. It draws some negative attention, but I don’t really care, nor do I take it personally.
I found a Greek language radio station yesterday in the car on the drive up to the mountains in the evening. My dad just shook his head and smiled and said what he’s been saying for the past five days…”I call this country an odd country…it has everything and nothing all at the same time, Asil.”
Peace,
Asil
Other things worth mentioning...
- Sarah’s flat in Beirut
- Beirut traffic the next day
- 9:30 to noon workshop at AUB
- Tala Makhzoumi – Makhzoumi foundation
- UN Habitat
- Marrouche sandwich
- Politics and NGOs
Today I met with Ibrahim, my dad’s cousin who works heavily with the organization that runs the orphanage I will be working at starting Monday. We just went over a few details and chatted over some strong Arabic coffee about the next few weeks in Lebanon. I’m more pumped than ever…I cannot wait until I start Monday!
My cousin Sara has a flat in Beirut where she stays during the school year with her cousins. They all go to the same university but only Sara is taking a summer term, so she’s alone. She’s in the mountains with me now, but since both she and I start Monday, we decided that it would be a good idea to stay with her while I’m working at the orphanage. So it’s just me and her in a flat in Beirut! I was originally going to stay with my aunt but I think this will be a really interesting experience too. I am thrilled!
In other news, I’ve been spending time with all the family that I have, including the ones I never knew. You know the 64 first cousins that I always talk about? I think the number has changed…new babies and new names. I have been so ignorant the last 4 years. Where did all this family come from?!
I cannot stress enough how beautiful the view is from here. I ate lunch at my aunt’s house, a good 15 minute walk from my grandparents’, but with a similar gorgeous view.
The people in the village are really simple, happy people. They don’t complain about much, and they laugh more than any other people I’ve ever met. Life is slow…prayer times basically split up their time during the day. The people here are really hard-working, and the love to kiss and hug a lot. Very touch-feely…I forgot that from my last trip.
Maroon 5 never sounded better from a rooftop in the mountains of Lebanon.
I miss everyone so much…today was the first day where I was actually talking about my friends back home to my cousins in detail. That’s when I realized how far away I am.
It’s definitely been a culture shock…even if I’m Lebanese. The biggest thing is that I don’t wear hijab, the headscarf, so I definitely stick out because virtually everyone else does. It draws some negative attention, but I don’t really care, nor do I take it personally.
I found a Greek language radio station yesterday in the car on the drive up to the mountains in the evening. My dad just shook his head and smiled and said what he’s been saying for the past five days…”I call this country an odd country…it has everything and nothing all at the same time, Asil.”
Peace,
Asil
Other things worth mentioning...
- Sarah’s flat in Beirut
- Beirut traffic the next day
- 9:30 to noon workshop at AUB
- Tala Makhzoumi – Makhzoumi foundation
- UN Habitat
- Marrouche sandwich
- Politics and NGOs
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tyr and other travels
There is a falafel shop for every mosquito bite on my body.
Yesterday I woke up at the sound of morning adhan (morning call to prayer) and immediately sprang up from bed. Morning adhan is recited around 4 AM. I have no idea what spurred me do that, but I was up and about by 4:30 AM. By 5:15, I was walking around in my pajamas down to the olive tree plantations snapping really beautiful pictures of the sunrise and the village agriculture. They turned out amazing.
My dad and I decided to head to Tyr (Sour) early that morning to beat the heat and to meet with Mr. Rabih, a contact of mine that works for UN Habitat. We did all the Tyr sight-seeing and then met with him. I met a couple of his co-workers and learned more about his project, which is mainly putting his engineering and architecture skills to work in rebuilding Lebanon in a sustainable way. They don’t work much with human development, but they’re looking to start that up soon. His organization is called Beit Bil Jnoub, which means “House in the South” in Arabic.
We spent the rest of the afternoon being beach bums at the Tyr Resthouse.
The next day, I went down to Beirut with my dad at 6:30 in the morning to catch a 9:30 AM meeting at AUB between different NGOs who are working on social and physical development in South Lebanon. It was basically a day-long workshop/dialogue between the different NGOs. I met a ton of really fascinating, important people. Lebanon really has some very intelligent minds, it’s just a matter of carrying out all the great ideas they have. The interesting thing I noticed is that they would all sadly be tempted to talk politics…while I want to say that politics has nothing to do with their plans, I understand that it’s so difficult to carry out all the things they want to do without the support of the government. They all agreed on only one political fact: that their government is simply incompetent.
As the mayor of Bint Jbeil put it bluntly, “Every country that has had to rebuild after a devastating war did not do it with just NGOs…the government rebuilds a country. We cannot do this if our government is in this shape.”
That was bad news, but the good news was that their motivation was something unparalleled. I have never seen anything like it before. It was also really cool meeting a variety of Lebanese—Druze, Catholic, Sunni Muslim, Orthodox Christian—with the same interest of rebuilding South Lebanon, a predominantly Shia Muslim area. It made me happy to see that there was unity in this aspect, but if gave me great grief that regular people could do this but not their so-admired representatives in the Lebanese parliament.
My dad met up with me at the gates of the AUB campus and we grabbed lunch from Al Marrouche, one of my mom’s favorite restaurants in The Hamra district, just a couple of blocks from AUB. We spent the afternoon paying visits to relatives in Beirut, then we headed back to my grandparents’ house in the mountains for the rest of the evening.
We took a different route this time to get to Majdal Selm, thevillage my grandparents’ house is in. This one took us through Al Nabatiye, one of the biggest cities in the South, and through the valley and across the Litani River. It was far more beautiful than any other route I’ve been on so far on this trip. It was then when I realized just how gorgeous Lebanon is.
Peace,
Asil
Yesterday I woke up at the sound of morning adhan (morning call to prayer) and immediately sprang up from bed. Morning adhan is recited around 4 AM. I have no idea what spurred me do that, but I was up and about by 4:30 AM. By 5:15, I was walking around in my pajamas down to the olive tree plantations snapping really beautiful pictures of the sunrise and the village agriculture. They turned out amazing.
My dad and I decided to head to Tyr (Sour) early that morning to beat the heat and to meet with Mr. Rabih, a contact of mine that works for UN Habitat. We did all the Tyr sight-seeing and then met with him. I met a couple of his co-workers and learned more about his project, which is mainly putting his engineering and architecture skills to work in rebuilding Lebanon in a sustainable way. They don’t work much with human development, but they’re looking to start that up soon. His organization is called Beit Bil Jnoub, which means “House in the South” in Arabic.
We spent the rest of the afternoon being beach bums at the Tyr Resthouse.
The next day, I went down to Beirut with my dad at 6:30 in the morning to catch a 9:30 AM meeting at AUB between different NGOs who are working on social and physical development in South Lebanon. It was basically a day-long workshop/dialogue between the different NGOs. I met a ton of really fascinating, important people. Lebanon really has some very intelligent minds, it’s just a matter of carrying out all the great ideas they have. The interesting thing I noticed is that they would all sadly be tempted to talk politics…while I want to say that politics has nothing to do with their plans, I understand that it’s so difficult to carry out all the things they want to do without the support of the government. They all agreed on only one political fact: that their government is simply incompetent.
As the mayor of Bint Jbeil put it bluntly, “Every country that has had to rebuild after a devastating war did not do it with just NGOs…the government rebuilds a country. We cannot do this if our government is in this shape.”
That was bad news, but the good news was that their motivation was something unparalleled. I have never seen anything like it before. It was also really cool meeting a variety of Lebanese—Druze, Catholic, Sunni Muslim, Orthodox Christian—with the same interest of rebuilding South Lebanon, a predominantly Shia Muslim area. It made me happy to see that there was unity in this aspect, but if gave me great grief that regular people could do this but not their so-admired representatives in the Lebanese parliament.
My dad met up with me at the gates of the AUB campus and we grabbed lunch from Al Marrouche, one of my mom’s favorite restaurants in The Hamra district, just a couple of blocks from AUB. We spent the afternoon paying visits to relatives in Beirut, then we headed back to my grandparents’ house in the mountains for the rest of the evening.
We took a different route this time to get to Majdal Selm, thevillage my grandparents’ house is in. This one took us through Al Nabatiye, one of the biggest cities in the South, and through the valley and across the Litani River. It was far more beautiful than any other route I’ve been on so far on this trip. It was then when I realized just how gorgeous Lebanon is.
Peace,
Asil
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