The Camel News

Yalla bye, Lebanon!

2010-08-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

Seven amazing months are over now, and it's time for the second Caravan to say goodbye.

We spent our last week with countless farewells, yet we are sure to be back sooner or later!

Thanks to everyone once more who made this experience possible and unforgettable, and all the best for the next Caravan!!!

The previous, current and future Caravan Assistant - thank you guys for all your support!!

Saying goodbye to the Lebanese Youth Order...

... to the caretakers in Deir el Salib ...

... and our driver Chamoun

Graduation Day!

2010-07-28T03:47:00.001-07:00

Our university program finished about a month ago, but today we came back once more to USJ - for our official graduation!! :-)

The president of the Lebanese Order of Malta, the dean of the faculty and the responsible for the Caravan program - they all came to celebrate graduation and goodbye at the same time.

Camel Camp II

2010-07-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, once again, we had a wonderful camp in the Lebanese mountains, Chabrouh. This time we welcomed 15 girls from Deir El-Kamar for four days. All together we had a fabulous time in the sun playing lots of games such as Olympic Games and a beauty salon. Our guests – and of course ourselves – enjoyed it a lot and were very sad when this amazing experience ended, since it was the first time we spent time together with the girls and the last time we spent so much time with our lebanese friends.

The first farewell

2010-07-18T05:50:00.001-07:00

We still have two weeks left in Lebanon, but the time of farewell has already started - unfortunately, Pedro had to leave us early!

And if that was not already enough, it was the night of the semifinal when Germany lost. So after having watched the game together with our friends we all left for the airport to say goodbye.

But still, we had a great and funny last evening all together - and we will meet Pedro again in Germany since he is going to pick the rest of us up!

Thank you, Pedro, for 6 wonderful months!!!

Meeting our priest...

2010-07-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

Once a week we're meeting a priest to talk about a topic concerning faith, the bible or simply our week with the boys.

We found him by coincidence when he celebrated mass in our Philippino church and liked him so much that we asked him if he would want to be our "spiritual guide". Since he turned out to be a teacher and to live at the school Jamhour where we're doing sports, it was a perfect match and he couldn't say no. :-)

Baalbeck and winetasting in Ksara

2010-07-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we did a trip to the Bekaa-Valley, a beautiful area between the two mountain chains of Lebanon. First we visited Baalbeck, one of the best preserved Roman temples in the Middle East. The village is in an area which is today controlled by Hizbollah, so like in the South we drove by a lot of yellow flags and pictures of Hassan Nasrallah.

But once inside the archeological site we enjoyed the amazing ruins (with a lot of breaks in the shadow of the pillars due to the extreme heat...) and took many beautiful but not so serious pictures (good that the Romans didn't know about that...)

In order to relax after this exhausting day we visited the vineyard Ksara which was founded by Jesuite monks in the 19th century and had a taste of the delicious wines there.

South of Lebanon

2010-06-07T01:20:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we did a trip to the South of Lebanon, discovering a completely different country. First, we visited Tyrus, a city that dates back to Phoenician times and we had a look at the ruins there. Today, Tyrus with its Souks in the old town looks a lot more oriental than Beirut.

The rest of the weekend we spent in a Christian village close to the Israelian border, one out of three in the area that is otherwise inhabited by Shiites and mainly controlled by Hesbollah.

A local youth organization took care of us and the young people gave us very interesting insights in their daily life that is shaped by their position between Israel, Hesbollah and the UNIFIL.

The UN-troops are very present in the region, located there to maintain the fragile peace after the 2006 war and the respect of the border, but without a real competence.

The youth organization tries to stop the increasing Christian emigration from the region that is considered to be part of the Holy Land by supporting the families, developing new agricultural opportunities and other forms of income.

The trip opened our mind to the problems that Lebanon still faces, and to the completely different life conditions within this little country.

The road marks the border between Israel and Lebanon

UNIFIL soldiers from Indonesia ... who is the tourist now?

A crusader castle that was used as a Hesbollah base and then destroyed by Israel

on the way home - after an inspiring and exhausting weekend! :-)

Church Choir

2010-05-28T03:25:00.000-07:00

Since the priest of our church had asked us to contribute a German song to mass, we sang "Groß sein lässt meine Seele den Herrn" last Sunday. The church is to 99% attended by little Philippino ladies (the 1% is us) who welcome us always very warmly in their midst.

For some reason they liked our singing and invited us not only to sing the last song with their choir but also to prepare another song by ourselves - next time in French!

Outing with the elderly

2010-05-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

Another event organized by the Lebanese Youth Order in which we participated: an outing with elderly people from a day center in Beirut.

In the morning we drove to the church St. Rafqa (a Lebanese saint) with a big bus. Whoever thinks that elderly like to sleep on a one hour drive is terribly mistaken. We had a small bus party with clapping, singing and dancing.

Once we arrived at the church we took a small break to enjoy the quiet and holiness of the place and then had a mass. After the spiritual program we drove to Surat, a small village in the mountains. There we had a delicious lunch at Dr. Issa’s house. And after a wonderful day out we drove back home (this time sleeping J ).

Operation Big Blue

2010-05-21T05:56:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Nayla, our professor about Islam at university, invited us to participate in a big event where many different youth groups join to clean up the Lebanese coast.

Of course we said yes and had a very funny day cleaning up a very dirty beach.

Sports at Jamhour

2010-05-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

In order to shake off the daily stress, we have the opportunity to go to a school called “Jamhour” and use the sports facilities there. Just so there is no misunderstanding: This school has amazing sport facilities-it is not like any other school. It's a fitness center. Everything you could wish for is present.

Squash , table tennis, a fitness center, a swimming pool, basketball courts, tennis courts, a sauna, showers (where the water pressure is better than at our apartment) – whatever you can think of… Jamhour has it!!

Twice a week we take the chance to go there. Often we play a little team sports first, before separating to the different activities. It is always a lot of fun!!

While some are being active, others simply hang out in the cafeteria and eat a muffin. :-)

Holy Valley

2010-05-15T02:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday May 8 at 7 a.m. the Camels headed to the Holy Valley with Dr. Issa and other Lebanese friends.

The Holy Valley was founded by the Maronites to flee from persecution. The untouched landscape was breathtaking to all of us. We hiked on the steep slopes heading to one of the monasteries where we slept for the night. For dinner we were invited to a local family’s house, where the view stretched across the valley and into the Mediterranean Sea.

Sunday we attended a beautiful Maronite mass in Arabic, had our breakfast and headed out for the second day of hiking. We first stopped to see the only hermit in the valley and probably the only one in the world. Unfortunately we were unable to see him. We continued our journey down the valley and over a river. We visited the chapel of Saint Marina, it’s a quaint little chapel. We persisted with our journey until the end, where we rested under a tree and had our lunch before getting back onto the bus. On the way back to Beirut we stopped for a celebratory ice cream, which was a great end to our weekend.

Trip to Syria

2010-05-02T06:32:00.000-07:00

We went on holiday! To Syria! Our week started at 6:30 in the morning with the bus ride to Damascus. This involved a great on the road breakfast and a minor adventure at the Lebanese- Syrian Border (little did we know that we would be spending another 2 hours 40 minutes at the border on our return journey). We spent two intense and exhausting days in Damascus and Palmyra, exploring both contemporary and second century culture.

However, the highlight of our trip was by far the six day stay in the amazing monastery of Deir Mar Moussa. Lying between two mountains in the middle of the Syrian Desert, the monastery is one awesome sight.

Following the somewhat exhausting 500 step climb up to the monastery we were rewarded with yet another breathtaking view. As far as the eye can see the harsh, yet elegant, Syrian desert stretches towards the horizon.

We thoroughly enjoyed the unique physical and spiritual opportunities that our desert retreat provided. However, the sparse diet of khibiz (bread), zatar (a mixture of thyme and sesame seeds), and olive oil was not missed once we returned to Beirut.

Another highlight was our return to Maltese roots: the Crac des Chevaliers. However, it was nowhere near as traditional as our Maltese ancestors must have once experienced it! In fact, we found ourselves amidst a chaotic Egyptian film set featuring monkeys, gold thrones, and fabulously costumed actors.

In Damascus

... on the road to Palmyra...

The first view of Deir Mar Moussa

After saying goodbye to our guides ...

... we enjoy the last meters of civilization ...

... before climbing up to our home of the next days

Apparently, the desert is not that deserted - and bedouins turn out to be very hospitable!

The Crac des Chevaliers - in the middle of a bavarian-appearing landscape ...

... and an egyptian interior!

Easter Camp in Chabrouh

2010-04-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

In the week after Easter, we had the chance to have a small camp with ten boys from Deir es Salib in our house in the mountains. Together with some Lebanese friends we spent five exciting, exhausting - simply wonderful days up there.

A great and intense experience which showed us a whole new side of the boys and ourselves!

Shopping, cleaning, getting prepared for...

... the arrival of our guests!

Birthday Party, ...

... playing baseball, ...

... fashion show - vacation in Chabrouh is never boring!!

The table is set for Fancy Dinner: an old tradition from the summer camps.

Painting Camels!!

2010-04-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

The Camels bring colours to your life!

That is our new motto since we have been allowed to paint two of the boys' rooms at Deir es Salib. Tiger, Piggy and Ramses the Turtle are their new companions now. It is hard to say who of the boys, the caretakers or us were the happiest... :-)

Colours are so joyful. An everlasting smiling sun is shining on Deir es Salib.

Some more blue, green and orange please, we have five more rooms to colour!!

Last preparations...

... and instructions from the chief painter...

... and the first brushstroke is done!

Palm Sunday procession at Deir es Salib

2010-04-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

A candle, palme leaves, a boy and a Young Maltese: here is the winning team for Palm Sundays procession.

According to the tradition together with the families and the boys, the Youngsters of the Order of Malta gather to pray at Deir-Es-Salib. It is a beautiful moment.

The boys sang with all their heart, each of them using lyrics of his own. After this fervent cacophony we did the procession around Abou Yacoob’s chapel and then left the boys blessed and happy.

Marhaba!

2010-04-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

apologizing for the delay, we are very happy to finally introduce ourselves, the second team of the Caravan, the Camels 2010:

Viki, Julia, Tabea and Caroline from Germany, Stéphanie, Marie-Liane and Gonzague fromFrance, Stéphane from Switzerland, Pedro from Mexico and Alberto from the United States!

As you can see, we are quite an international family with various backgrounds, different experiences and situations which brought us here together. Most of us have already completed their studies, some have already worked, all of us are in the process of deciding what to do afterwards, and all this makes it ever more interesting to share these 6 months of Caravan.

We met in the beginning of January in an old monastery in Germany for three weeks of preparation, a very fulfilling time of getting to know each other and the project, learning about history and culture of Lebanon, religion and faith, and how to build a snowman in the case of our two Latinos…

From the snow-covered middle of German nowhere we were then thrown back into civilization, when we arrived at our new home for the next half year, amazing Beirut!!

Two of these months have already passed and we’re very happily settled in, enjoying the weekly routine of Arabic lessons, university classes and of course our visits in Deir es Salib, just as the previous Caravan. In difference to them we couldn’t start with a camp but nevertheless learned to love the handicapped boys and our time with them a lot! Everytime we get to know them a little bit better and it is already hard to imagine to having to leave them in a couple of months…

The weekends are used for fieldtrips, relaxing and activities with the Lebanese youth order. Reports about these will follow soon!

We felt and feel very heartly welcomed by everyone, the responsibles for the project, our friends from the youth order, the caretakers in Deir es Salib, our driver Shamoun who considers himself as our father/nanny, just to mention a few of them. Whomever we meet and tell about our stay, seem to be very interested in us and happy to have us here.

We are very thankful for the great opportunity to be here and all the experiences we can make, and so looking forward for the months to come!

Happy Easter to everyone!!!

Preparation time in Bad Wimpfen

2010-02-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Camels 2010 :-)

Lectures!!

3 times Switzerland!

First snowman for the Cuban!

Renovating boys...

... and ...

... girls

The monastery's church

Doing sports in Bad Rappenau...

Singing lesson

Excursion to Heidelberg

The Camels go Lebanon!