My Favorite thing about Lebanon?
I love the variety in this country: I love the easy access to nature and beauty. I love the plethora of rain that we get, the snow on the mountains, and the fact that it’s January and still 15-20 celsius here. I love the diversity in this country (Lebanese, Syrians, Iraqis, Armenians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Indians, etc.). I love the combination of Arabic, French, and English that’s spoken on a daily basis. And I love, love, love the food. If you know me well, this last point doesn’t surprise you in the least.
What has my daily life looked like so far?
Most of my time has been spent volunteering with Dorcas Aid Int’l. I’ve been living in an area called Baabdat that’s up in the mountains, but the DAI office is based in Beirut so I commute to Beirut every day. By car it’s only about 15 mins, but by bus it’s an hour and a bit one way. Most days at DAI I join the social work team and get to visit lots of families with them- either Lebanese, Syrian, or Iraqi families. It’s been an amazing way to see more of Lebanon and meet people whom I wouldn’t normally meet. The home visits are to assess whether or not they’re eligible for food assistance from us. We get to meet most members of the family, ask them questions about how they’re doing financially/physically, try to get them connected with the right resources, and if they’re open to it we pray for them and their family. Largely because of the team I work with these have been very comfortable and joyful experiences despite the living conditions that many of these people are enduring. The Syrians have had an especially difficult time finding housing, and most get ripped off on housing simply because they’re Syrian and owners know that they’re desperate for a place to live.
In the last month I’ve also attended a few UNHCR/WFP coordination meetings. On my 4th day here the World Food Programme suspended their food assistance program to refugees because they didn’t receive enough funds to continue it. Just a couple of days before they had announced the same for Jordan, but since Lebanon has the biggest number of refugees in the ME, Lebanon was hit the hardest by this new development. The word “crises” was thrown around quite a bit. |
Historian-Wannabe: It’s been so fun exploring artifacts left behind from Lebanon’s rich history. Lebanon has been occupied by the: Canaanites, Greeks, Seleucids, Romans, Ottoman turks, Crusaders, Mamluks (Egyptians), Byzantines, and more. I’ve loved stumbling upon archaeological sites in the most random of places, and it’s funny that there are never placards explaining what it is I’m looking at, so most of what I know so far I’ve been learning through word of mouth.
Clashing of Worlds: Being here has certainly been breaking down my previous experiences of the middle east and it’s been weird for me to feel like worlds that never usually mix are mixing. Examples of this: Not hearing the azzan (call to prayer) 5 times a day, women walking around and taking public transportation in mini-skirts, being able to talk about Christianity in public without feeling like I have to lower my voice, not getting harassed on a daily basis (it’s happened 3 times in the past month- amazing!), seeing shrines of the Virgin Mary on the side of almost every road here, beer factories out in the open, etc. It’s been really good for me to be here. |
And if you’ve made it this far, I have big news. tuda-du-duuuuh! I’ve been offered a job. It’s all happened so quickly! Due to mostly good timing (and maybe a little because I’m me), I’ve been offered a job as a project coordinator with Triumphant Mercy “الرحمة المنتصرة” (one of the organizations I’ve been volunteering for) starting February. My job will be to open 3 new schools in refugee settlements in Zahle, assist in teacher’s training, and teach English. This is all super exciting to me, but definitely scary as well.
I move to Zahle next week to begin training. A little about Zahle: It’s a city in the Bekaa Valley about a half hour away from Syria’s border, hence the high concentration of Syrian refugees. It’s a Christian area, and will certainly be more conservative/less lively than Beirut. But as long as I can make friends and find community, I’ll be perfectly content.
Love to you all.
Nadine