Getting to know you
Well here we are, settled into our accommodation in Beirut – our first day in Lebanon and the first day (well morning) at the Jusoor school in Jeb Jannine. We
July 16, 2018
Life in Lebanon
Night fever
Val and I are by some measure the oldest volunteers in the group, and up till now we have not joined in with any of the informal social activities. We
July 20, 2018
Baalbek
The end of our first week and the volunteer group chose Baalbek (the ancient city of Heliopolis) for our weekend outing, to see the temples of Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus.
July 21, 2018
On the road again
One of the drawbacks of our stay here (maybe the only drawback, actually) is that we have to be long-distance commuters. There is no sensible place for us to stay
July 26, 2018
War and Peace
Friday, the end of the week and school finished a little early for afternoon prayers and the weekend. Lebanon is a secular country (not Muslim as I had assumed) with
July 27, 2018
Love letters
Before coming to Lebanon, I was a social media virgin, resolutely resisting all its advances. But we were advised that it would be a sensible, practical move while here to
July 28, 2018
Evergreen
Just two or three doors down the street from our apartment block is the Evergreen. Unlike most of the bars in Beirut, which are open-fronted, or at least with huge
July 31, 2018
Everything stops for tea
We decided to assert our Englishness by inviting the other volunteers round to our (tiny) apartment for afternoon tea. We already had lots of teabags, brought from home (Co-op 99,
August 2, 2018
Day tripper
The weekend (phew!) and another group outing – this time to Byblos, directly north up the coast from Beirut. True to form, once again an amazing place – said to
August 4, 2018
Contrasts
When we were accepted by Jusoor, we were slightly nervous about coming to the Middle East, not having visited the region before. We thought Lebanon would be conservative, Islamic, war-ravaged,
August 9, 2018