Southern Lebanon

Just a brief update!

Have now travelled down to Tyre in southern Lebanon and I can feel the relief of leaving Beirut, despite being pretty ill last night.

Life here seems a long way away from the flashy cars, beautiful people and expensive food of Beirut.

Unfortunately have not yet found a flat for our boys group to live in during our work in the camps so we're currently staying in a hotel but we start teaching tomorrow and I'm pretty excited about that. Seeing the children here working - as young as 12 years - I want to use the time I have here to bring them some fun and enjoyment, as well as some learning.

The journey down in a minibus from Tyre was pretty squashed but it was amazing to see a country that has been so ravaged by war. Here in Tyre, Nasrallah's image is pretty much everywhere. The people are extremely friendly but there's clearly a lot of poverty. One boy who was serving drinks on the beach today had travelled from Syria for the summer. He was quiet, without the bounce of other 12-year-olds, working hard and deeply tanned from standing out on the beach day after say.

Lebanon clearly has a lot of sadness, yet I am amazed to see the way in which people here are so warm. To think that, less than 2 years ago, this very town was being shelled by the Israelis, it makes me realise how lucky we are to live in a stable country.

For now I'm going to head back to the hotel with the other lads (Peter - bouncey Glaswegian, Ben - serious and tall academic type and Nick - gentle and calm) to do some lesson planning.

Arrival in Beirut

Well, after months of waiting I'm finally here in Beirut after flying into Rafik Hariri international airport at 4am local time last night. This is the beginning of my summer volunteering with Unipal, where a group of us will be working in the Southern Lebanese Palestinian refugee camps for four weeks.

But first we have a few days to orientate here in Beirut and, quite frankly, I'm still trying to connect with the fact that I'm here, sitting in the chic Hamra District after 2 hours of sleep in a 'Pension' - a cheap hostel with 5 beds to a room without bed clothes. Shower was interesting and don't yet understand how to use a hose to wash after going to the loo... Horns of the traffic outside started in earnest at about 6, but I still feel strangely refreshed to finally be here.

The first thing that really hit me, driving from the airport last night, was the dilapidation of the buildings, many still inhabited, most scarred from the 15 year civil war and the Israeli attack in summer 06. I can't wait to actually meet some more people from here and try to build some bridges - I can't hope to understand this place in a million years, no matter how many books I read - but building bridges will be key for me.

Apparently one of the NGOs I'll be working with in the camps specialises in conflict resolution!!! It will be great to share ideas with fellow professionals out here and I can't wait to get started. But, for now, I'm going to get back to experiencing this place before writing any more.