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.
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