The innocence and generosity of children never ceases to amaze me. The kids in my class have done it again, amazed me...
A longtime friend of mine, Catherine, has been working with impoverished families ever since I've known her; and probably before that, too. She recently moved her school in a Beirut shantytown to a new building. It's still right in the shantytown, it has to be for the children to attend, but she now has bigger, brighter premises. So, where do the kids in my class come into this? We have decided to run a community project for the next month to gather money and supplies for the school. My students are going to do household chores and get sponsored by their parents. They are also going to collect clothes and other items such as watches and school bags that they no longer need. These will be donated to the children at Tahaddi School. How did they amaze me? Their enthusiasm and excitement were overwhelming.
We will end the month of community service with a picnic together up in the hills overlooking Beirut. This is probably going to be the biggest lesson I ever teach them.
Sunday 9 May 2010
Thursday 22 April 2010
Sunday 11 April 2010
Holy Week in Lebanon
The Door of All Saints Church in Beirut on Good Friday
One of the great things about living in Lebanon is the special feeling around religious events. It doesn't matter whether you are Christian or Muslim (I'm using these as examples as they are the main religions in Lebanon), there is a real Holy feel surrounding special times in each faith.
We recently had Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. One of the main events of the week happens on Maundy Thursday. This is the day that Christ washed his disciples feet before they sat down to eat the Last Supper. In Lebanon it is tradition to walk seven churches. Literally, that's it. You get your walking shoes on and visit seven different churches. Fortunately, there are so many churches that finding a place where there are seven reasonably close to each other is not that difficult! As you do this, you become part of a thronging crown of people all following the same pilgrimage.
One of the things I like the best is that you get to visit different denominations as you walk around. We usually end up going from the Armenian Cathedral to the Maronite Cathedral, then on to the Evangelical Cathedral and the nearby Roman Catholic church. We also go to the Greek Orthodox church down the road and a couple of others. Before you know it, seven have been visited and it's time to go home.
This is the front of the service sheet from the Good Friday Meditation Service at All Saints
Good Friday is a quiet, quiet day. It's an official Bank Holiday (one of 22 in Lebanon!) and the usually busy streets are suitably empty. Church bells can be heard pealing, especially in the Christian mountains overlooking Beirut where bells from neighbouring villages join together in their lament. It's a spiritual time. Despite the often sunny weather there is an air of sadness penetrating the atmosphere. In fact, despite this year's sunny Good Friday, it is usually punctuated with a well-timed thunder storm; as if the Bible story is being re-enacted - as if we need further addition to the sombre feeling of the day.
The mood does a 180 degree turn on Sunday. Families dress up in their new clothes and go to church to celebrate. There are egg hunts, LOTS of hugging and kissing, and big family lunches. Restaurants are packed. Typical tables comprise families from babies in high chairs to grand parents with walking sticks. It's a special family time in a country where family is very important.
Some of the crosses that were on display at All Saints on Good Friday.
One of the great things about living in Lebanon is the special feeling around religious events. It doesn't matter whether you are Christian or Muslim (I'm using these as examples as they are the main religions in Lebanon), there is a real Holy feel surrounding special times in each faith.We recently had Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. One of the main events of the week happens on Maundy Thursday. This is the day that Christ washed his disciples feet before they sat down to eat the Last Supper. In Lebanon it is tradition to walk seven churches. Literally, that's it. You get your walking shoes on and visit seven different churches. Fortunately, there are so many churches that finding a place where there are seven reasonably close to each other is not that difficult! As you do this, you become part of a thronging crown of people all following the same pilgrimage.
One of the things I like the best is that you get to visit different denominations as you walk around. We usually end up going from the Armenian Cathedral to the Maronite Cathedral, then on to the Evangelical Cathedral and the nearby Roman Catholic church. We also go to the Greek Orthodox church down the road and a couple of others. Before you know it, seven have been visited and it's time to go home.
This is the front of the service sheet from the Good Friday Meditation Service at All Saints
Good Friday is a quiet, quiet day. It's an official Bank Holiday (one of 22 in Lebanon!) and the usually busy streets are suitably empty. Church bells can be heard pealing, especially in the Christian mountains overlooking Beirut where bells from neighbouring villages join together in their lament. It's a spiritual time. Despite the often sunny weather there is an air of sadness penetrating the atmosphere. In fact, despite this year's sunny Good Friday, it is usually punctuated with a well-timed thunder storm; as if the Bible story is being re-enacted - as if we need further addition to the sombre feeling of the day.
The mood does a 180 degree turn on Sunday. Families dress up in their new clothes and go to church to celebrate. There are egg hunts, LOTS of hugging and kissing, and big family lunches. Restaurants are packed. Typical tables comprise families from babies in high chairs to grand parents with walking sticks. It's a special family time in a country where family is very important.
Some of the crosses that were on display at All Saints on Good Friday.
Waiting for Godot (well, Charles actually… But Godot sounded more interesting!)
I was wondering the other day. Wondering is something I tend to do a lot of. Well, this time my meandering mind was winding itself around the question of how much time I spend waiting.
Lots of us spend time waiting, especially in those traditional “waiting places” like the doctor’s, dentist’s or train platform; my musings took me to quite a positive place – surprising as that may seem considering the subject.
I was waiting for Charles. That’s the kind of waiting that I participate in most frequently. Each weekday after school I try to fill my time industriously as I wait for Charles to finish work in Achrafieh and come to collect me from my work on the Cornishe near to Manara (Arabic for lighthouse).
The traffic is always bad so I try to get down to the main road in time to leap into the car as he passes. As I was saying, I managed to get to quite a positive place with these waiting thoughts. I was contemplating all the places that I could be waiting and decided that things could be a lot worse; they could also be a lot better – but in line with my positive thinking today I’m not going there! While I waited I snapped a few shots of the shoreline beside me.
Lots of us spend time waiting, especially in those traditional “waiting places” like the doctor’s, dentist’s or train platform; my musings took me to quite a positive place – surprising as that may seem considering the subject.
I was waiting for Charles. That’s the kind of waiting that I participate in most frequently. Each weekday after school I try to fill my time industriously as I wait for Charles to finish work in Achrafieh and come to collect me from my work on the Cornishe near to Manara (Arabic for lighthouse).The traffic is always bad so I try to get down to the main road in time to leap into the car as he passes. As I was saying, I managed to get to quite a positive place with these waiting thoughts. I was contemplating all the places that I could be waiting and decided that things could be a lot worse; they could also be a lot better – but in line with my positive thinking today I’m not going there! While I waited I snapped a few shots of the shoreline beside me.
It wasn’t a particularly fantastic day weather-wise, just a usual spring day. Various people walked or ran on the wide pavement. Families promenaded with children scooting about in all directions. The human traffic was about a tenth of the crowds there are later in the evening or at weekends. Seriously, the Cornishe has a whole life of its own. I need to take more pictures and write about that some time.
Back to the wondering. I decided certain things: waiting helps you become more patient, I get jobs done at school that I don’t have time for during the day, you notice things you might never usually see, the fact that I wait for Charles and we share a car is good for the environment, and we get to spend a lot of time together as we struggle through the Beirut traffic to get home. On that positive note…
Back to the wondering. I decided certain things: waiting helps you become more patient, I get jobs done at school that I don’t have time for during the day, you notice things you might never usually see, the fact that I wait for Charles and we share a car is good for the environment, and we get to spend a lot of time together as we struggle through the Beirut traffic to get home. On that positive note…
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Teacher's Day Still Alive and Kicking - Just
Teacher’s Day – A Lebanese Tradition
I can still remember the first year I taught in Lebanon; I can especially remember my first Teacher’s Day. I suppose it was more memorable than others due to the fact that it came as such a surprise. After all, I’d been working hard at all kinds of things up until then and never had a whole day totally dedicated to my labours! Now, here I was with not only a day off from school, but a bag of loot to take home!
Before you get too excited, let me explain what I mean by a bag of loot. Back then, most of the presents I received, and I got quite a few that year as I taught English to 63 students, were from the local $1 shop. They were an eclectic variety of badly cast cherubs with lopsided smiles, mugs with various messages (all of which were very polite), and other such china gems. They served as faithful dust collectors in nooks and crannies around the house bringing back happy memories of smiling faces.
Robert, Sarin, and I
at the Teacher’s Day
party in Le Grey
(Left is me - right is Sarin. I'll leave you to guess where Robert is...)
Where I’m working at the moment they have decided that Teacher’s Day should not be celebrated with gifts to teachers. Boo hah I hear you cry! Well, that’s just what the majority of teachers cried, too! This year’s “celebrations” were rather muted to say the least. With no gifting frenzy featuring children struggling up to the 4th floor carrying overflowing bags, the whole day was quite an anti-climax. It appears that Teacher’s Day with no presents doesn’t only mean a lot less to the teachers, the children seem to have totally forgotten about it. Maybe the parent-bought presents were the only tangible reminder of the existence of this special day to honour their hard-working mentors.
It might be more ethical to have no Teacher’s Day gifts, but it sure has gone a long way to killing the day! Thank goodness for the party… Well, we had one this year, who knows about next!?
I can still remember the first year I taught in Lebanon; I can especially remember my first Teacher’s Day. I suppose it was more memorable than others due to the fact that it came as such a surprise. After all, I’d been working hard at all kinds of things up until then and never had a whole day totally dedicated to my labours! Now, here I was with not only a day off from school, but a bag of loot to take home!
Before you get too excited, let me explain what I mean by a bag of loot. Back then, most of the presents I received, and I got quite a few that year as I taught English to 63 students, were from the local $1 shop. They were an eclectic variety of badly cast cherubs with lopsided smiles, mugs with various messages (all of which were very polite), and other such china gems. They served as faithful dust collectors in nooks and crannies around the house bringing back happy memories of smiling faces.
Robert, Sarin, and I
at the Teacher’s Day
party in Le Grey
(Left is me - right is Sarin. I'll leave you to guess where Robert is...)
Where I’m working at the moment they have decided that Teacher’s Day should not be celebrated with gifts to teachers. Boo hah I hear you cry! Well, that’s just what the majority of teachers cried, too! This year’s “celebrations” were rather muted to say the least. With no gifting frenzy featuring children struggling up to the 4th floor carrying overflowing bags, the whole day was quite an anti-climax. It appears that Teacher’s Day with no presents doesn’t only mean a lot less to the teachers, the children seem to have totally forgotten about it. Maybe the parent-bought presents were the only tangible reminder of the existence of this special day to honour their hard-working mentors.
It might be more ethical to have no Teacher’s Day gifts, but it sure has gone a long way to killing the day! Thank goodness for the party… Well, we had one this year, who knows about next!?
Sunday 14 March 2010
The Importance of Pets
Recently I’ve been contemplating the role that pets play, and have played, in my life.
I’ve always been surrounded by animals; that’s an easy thing when you grow up in England! It seems that everyone has either a dog or a cat, or both as was our case. I was also lucky enough to have three ponies that were my main focus of attention for many years and brought me so much pleasure. Toby, the naughty first pony, who had real character and was quite a “Jack the lad.” Next came Gemini, Gem to her friends. She was a real high-class lady; totally dedicated to me and an affectionate friend. Soon after Gem came to live with us she gave birth to a foal called April. We called her that because she was born on 1st April. A beautiful palomino foal born to an aristocratic chestnut mare. Those days are long gone and distant memories.
When I moved to Beirut in 1985, I was immediately struck by the lack of animal life. It was the middle of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) and I suppose it should have come as no surprise that there weren’t any birds flying around. The nightly shelling sessions took care of that. I think the part I wasn’t prepared for was the lack of interest that the majority of the Lebanese population have towards animals. Things have been changing slowly over the years I’ve lived here. I suppose that we could now say we are in the phase where people find animals “cute” and want to have one. Unfortunately, most of them don’t really understand the commitment ownership of an animal brings.
Thomas Having a Nap
Thomas and Bella need a rest after the most recent battle in "Cat Wars!" Needless to say, neither of them ever ends up with any injuries - except, perhaps, to their pride!
I’ve always been surrounded by animals; that’s an easy thing when you grow up in England! It seems that everyone has either a dog or a cat, or both as was our case. I was also lucky enough to have three ponies that were my main focus of attention for many years and brought me so much pleasure. Toby, the naughty first pony, who had real character and was quite a “Jack the lad.” Next came Gemini, Gem to her friends. She was a real high-class lady; totally dedicated to me and an affectionate friend. Soon after Gem came to live with us she gave birth to a foal called April. We called her that because she was born on 1st April. A beautiful palomino foal born to an aristocratic chestnut mare. Those days are long gone and distant memories.
When I moved to Beirut in 1985, I was immediately struck by the lack of animal life. It was the middle of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) and I suppose it should have come as no surprise that there weren’t any birds flying around. The nightly shelling sessions took care of that. I think the part I wasn’t prepared for was the lack of interest that the majority of the Lebanese population have towards animals. Things have been changing slowly over the years I’ve lived here. I suppose that we could now say we are in the phase where people find animals “cute” and want to have one. Unfortunately, most of them don’t really understand the commitment ownership of an animal brings.
Thomas Having a Nap
We are lucky enough to have two beautiful cats that share our lives up in Mansourieh. You may have read my previous posts about Lady. Well, she finally lost her battle with cancer in February, 2008. It was a great loss for us as she had been part of our family for 16 years. Thomas was forlorn! We struggled with the idea of getting another cat for a while. In May, someone leaving Lebanon needed a new home for their cat. It was a female, and she was black – just like Lady. It seemed too perfect to be true, so we decided to give it a try and see if Thomas would accept a new friend. It took about a week for him to stop hissing at her! If you could just see them now, washing each other and playing hide and seek underneath the bed…
Thomas and Bella need a rest after the most recent battle in "Cat Wars!" Needless to say, neither of them ever ends up with any injuries - except, perhaps, to their pride!
So, back to my original point. Animals bring a great deal of happiness to my life. Just having Thomas and Bella (our new lady of the house) waiting at the door when we get in at night always brings a big smile to all our faces, however tiring or stressful the day has been. In fact, as I type this Thomas is snuggled up against me.
As Bella proudly models the quilt my mum made for Matthew showing different flags from around the world it makes me think - Pet lovers of the World unite! :)
As Bella proudly models the quilt my mum made for Matthew showing different flags from around the world it makes me think - Pet lovers of the World unite! :)
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