Now and then
Sometimes it's really hard to live in the present when you thrive on change. I am so busy with school related things right now that I must focus on what I am doing here in Kuwait. We just finished a MS play festival, which was great and very busy. Next we host one of those fabulous festivals I have been attending in other countries the last few years. It's a challenge to get everyone and everything organized, tasks delegated to the right people, and get myself organized with the students.
This said, whenever I have a spare moment, my mind drifts to spring break, summer holidays, next school year in Beirut. I am envisioning how I will set up my apartment, what I will teach in my classes, team building activities I will do with my homeroom. I daydream about trips to the mountains, which I visited briefly a few weeks ago.
My visit to Beirut confirmed all of the simple reasons I am so happy to relocate. Several people have exclaimed "Beirut is so YOU!" and I agree. I can walk to so many places from where I will live, and much of that walking can be along the corniche. The corniche (seawall) is about a 90 second walk from the school.
Me, enjoying a most beautiful February day in my new town.
The campus is gorgeous and lush, the people friendly. In Beirut, there are little markets everywhere (and often you can purchase the local wines and beers) and sidewalks to get to these places. I know these things sound so simple they are nearly redundant, but while bakalas (little markets) are common in Kuwait, sidewalks are not. Nobody stares at me in Lebanon. I am just a person, not a foreigner, not an enigma of independence, not a target of leering.
After a day or so hanging in Beirut, Bashar and I headed to the mountains to meet up with a bunch of my ASK friends. It was great- we stayed in the cutest little chalet that had a fire place and a loft bed. We briefly met up with the ASK gang, but plans to have coffee in the morning were impeded by a massive snowstorm (Bashar's first) complete with thunder and lightning. Odd. Luckily, we made in safely back to Beirut in good time and I am excited to at least cross country ski next year, but hopefully really learn to downhill ski well. I am so excited for clean, fresh air. Lebanon has no desert (the only country in the Middle East without one) so no more sandstorms for me!
Out little chalet in the snow, some hail and Bashar learning how to make and throw a snowball. So cute.
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This said, whenever I have a spare moment, my mind drifts to spring break, summer holidays, next school year in Beirut. I am envisioning how I will set up my apartment, what I will teach in my classes, team building activities I will do with my homeroom. I daydream about trips to the mountains, which I visited briefly a few weeks ago.
My visit to Beirut confirmed all of the simple reasons I am so happy to relocate. Several people have exclaimed "Beirut is so YOU!" and I agree. I can walk to so many places from where I will live, and much of that walking can be along the corniche. The corniche (seawall) is about a 90 second walk from the school.
Me, enjoying a most beautiful February day in my new town.
The campus is gorgeous and lush, the people friendly. In Beirut, there are little markets everywhere (and often you can purchase the local wines and beers) and sidewalks to get to these places. I know these things sound so simple they are nearly redundant, but while bakalas (little markets) are common in Kuwait, sidewalks are not. Nobody stares at me in Lebanon. I am just a person, not a foreigner, not an enigma of independence, not a target of leering.
After a day or so hanging in Beirut, Bashar and I headed to the mountains to meet up with a bunch of my ASK friends. It was great- we stayed in the cutest little chalet that had a fire place and a loft bed. We briefly met up with the ASK gang, but plans to have coffee in the morning were impeded by a massive snowstorm (Bashar's first) complete with thunder and lightning. Odd. Luckily, we made in safely back to Beirut in good time and I am excited to at least cross country ski next year, but hopefully really learn to downhill ski well. I am so excited for clean, fresh air. Lebanon has no desert (the only country in the Middle East without one) so no more sandstorms for me!
Out little chalet in the snow, some hail and Bashar learning how to make and throw a snowball. So cute.
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiih4zhAO-y1zJk4mG86uePA9fMQKsiXZJXzU1pi69FEAmyLW6zuB0PIJdFBxwP0BzBOeS3rvuggkBMJLvmZTmcID46J6MSJmzNHK81s9zcq2m1DU037OZVpyynRWEIpvJTGA/s1600-h/IMG_0842.JPG">
posted by Granola Girl at
2:12 AM
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