Ursino in Lebanon, what an adventure!
I arrived early Tuesday morning, eyes, ears, and taste buds wide open, ready to immerse myself in the culture of this fascinating country.
On the same day, I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Nayla Khoury Daoun, the dynamic and kind director of the Ecole des Trois Docteurs, with whom we are collaborating on this second phase of the Ursino project. Then, on Thursday morning, I finally got to meet the students. This first workshop gave us an opportunity to talk about the project, our common goals, the concept of culture, and, of course, cooking. They seemed so proud to be the class chosen to represent Lebanon. They are motivated, curious, and full of wonderful energy, which promises great things to come!
Jojo Lerat, president of Konstelacio, arrived in Beirut on Thursday night, but not under normal circumstances! Since Thursday evening, the Lebanese people have been taking to the streets, fighting for better living conditions and against corruption. The taxi ride to the airport was therefore a real obstacle course, between burning trash cans and tires and the many protesters in the Beirut night.
The situation has not calmed down since then, and we are amazed and admiring witnesses to an extraordinary peaceful revolution.
We spent time at the demonstrations surrounded by this united crowd. For once (and it's far from the only time!), this diverse population has come together as one. In front of the Mohammad Al Amine Mosque, there are huge numbers of young people gathered, but also elderly people, mothers with their teenage daughters, young parents with their babies...
All these Lebanese people, regardless of religion, origin, or political affiliation, come together to the sound of DJs and various musicians, smoke hookah, play trictrac (a traditional game similar to backgammon), sing, and dance (including the dabké, a typical dance). Young people hand out roses to soldiers and police officers, who watch the proceedings with great kindness. When the call to prayer sounds, the music is paused out of respect. And every morning since the start of the popular uprising, numerous volunteers have gathered spontaneously to clean the streets.
In this festive and joyful atmosphere, hundreds and hundreds of Lebanese flags fly proudly in the wind.
What a thrill! We feel incredibly privileged to be able to experience this historic moment.
As you can imagine, Ursino is suffering the consequences of these events. With schools closed since Friday, everything is currently on hold. We met with Ms. Daoun yesterday morning to rework the project program, which will be implemented as soon as (and if) schools resume their activities. We sincerely hope that the situation will be resolved quickly.
In the meantime, we aremeeting people and trying to better understand the country's history, culture, and cuisine.
We will, of course, keep you informed of developments as soon as possible. Feel free to follow our posts on the Konstelacio Facebook page: www.facebook.com/konstelacio.
We wish the Lebanese people, who are a wonderful source of inspiration for the entire world, much courage.