These last few weeks have gotten by me without even realizing it. We only have 4 months of school left and it is hard to fathom. I am 5 months away from having lived in Beirut for a year. Holy Shit! Who does that? and then who comes back for a 2nd year? There are people in our building working on their 3rd and 4th years. I still wake up morning and am amazed that I live here. I am sure I have said that a hundred times but too bad..=)
Last weekend I had to work on Saturday because it was Preschool Interview day! I knew it was coming but no one mentioned that all the teachers worked it. I tend to get left out of the loop a lot, there seems to be a constant assumption that I already know whats happening or that I understand the plans made in Arabic. Lots of meetings get scheduled and then people wonder why I am not at them. I have learned to ask a 1000 times about meetings I know might be happening.
So, I knew our school was one of the top schools in Beirut and that it was highly desirable and prestiguous but to what I extent I was not even close. 250 kids applied to go to IC, you can apply to the English or the French side, the french side is more competitive because it is more bragging rights and sounds better when you tell your friends (no joking) but only 140 get in. I got assigned to monitor the waiting rooms because last year parents had destroyed them, leaving behind dirty tissues and toys everywhere (another Lebanese symptom of having a nanny/housekeeper). So, I got to see all the parents stew in their anxiety. Some came in and thought the interview happened right then and there, so they were very formal and polite, others made excuses for their kids (he was sick this week, and now he is tired, can you take that into consideration) little did they know that the white, american girl could not have had less to do with the decision making process. I walked back and forth between two rooms checking on things and as soon as I walked in a room the vibe changed. Parents starting playing with their kids and quizzing them "what shape is this? what about this?" I wish I had had a clipboard to take fake notes on and add to the excitement. I then ended the day with a parent whose child a long enough hair it could sit like a bun on top of his head and since I am a professional foot eater, I said I think the form has the wrong paper because this is a picture of a boy. Of course, it was a boy who was interviewing, Mom corrected me and said "i have all boys and I wanted one to have long hair." REALLY, i am sure looking back on this baby pictures with a future girlfriend he will show a lot of appreciation.
Back to the interviews, one by one the parents and child are called into a room with a teacher and asked to perform a series of tasks. They are also categorized by how strong their affiliation with IC is. Are their parents alumni? Do they have siblings there? Do they have a WASTA connection ( i still don't know exactly what that means and at this point I am embarrassed to ask because everyone else seems to know). Then there is the dreaded category 5, I was not supposed to know what the categories meant but my mentor accidentally slipped and told me. Category 5 means you are an outsider, you have no affiliation with IC and you are screwed. 1 maybe 2 of the category 5 outsiders will get into IC and you have to basically be a 3 year old genius. I really wanted to warn these nervous parents "psst hey, you have no chance stop worrying and think about heading home early for lunch." I wish I had kept better notes of who I saw because I want to check up on all of them next year to see who did or did not make it. There was one little boy that went up to random kids and aggressively hugged and screamed them, shockingly he was not popular. He was also a dreaded category 5 outsider, so farewell my strange friends, but thanks for helping me uncover the mystery behind category 5.
It was also fun to see what Lebanese parents considered appropriate preschool interview attire. One Mom came in with her freshly bandged nose job, this might seem weird to Americans, but a nose job is a badge of honor here, it is celebrated and congratulated by most. A) you can afford one, which makes you better and B) people just like having it done!
Some Moms felt short shorts and 5 inch high heels was the dress for success method and some just went for the good old jeans and a cute top! Lebanon has such a fascinating mix of people and ideas. It is fun to spend a few hours watching them all come to you and you just get to watch!
Now to Hamra Street. Michael and I have both posted a lot of pictures from Hamra. It is the main street by where we live. Everyone knows it. It has a lot of clothing shops and a lot of restaurants and almost anything else you need. Every restaurant on it delivers as well. Even Hardees! Hamra can be a very overwhelming place. It is always busy. There is always bumper to bumper traffic, except Sunday mornings, which is a great time to walk it and remember why you like it. On Friday and Saturday nights, if you call a cab and say you live on the end of Hamra, they just drive away. None of them want to sit in the bumper to bumper traffic for a mere 10,000 cab ride. That is $6. Cabs here also let you put as many people into a car as you see fit, so when there are 8 of us in a 5 person Honda Civic and you are stuck in traffic, we often just climb out and walk the rest of the way. There are numerous roads that run parallel to Hamra and have no traffic but cabs never want to take them. It is insanely frustrating and makes zero sense. But, back to the topic, when we first moved to Beirut and spent time on Hamra we would occassionally be asked for money or to buy gum from local kids. But, as things in Syria have continued to be dangerous and unstable, we are experiencing more and more Syrian refugees on Hamra. Which means we are experiencing more and more begging and asking for money. Adults drop their kids off on Hamra with gum or flowers and then pick them up several hours later hoping to have turned a profit. A woman outside of Michael's drycleaner asked me for money in Arabic, at least I think that is what she wanted..=) and I walked inside of the dry cleaner and instead of going away, she just stood in the door and blocked the exit, I did an excellent job of cornering myself for her. haha. My point of talking about this is simply to show the changes since we moved. The war in Syria is affecting all parts of the Middle East and so little is being done about it. Lebanon is not a stable enough country to be able to sustain the migration of Syrian refugees and keep out the fighting. Lebanon already has too few jobs for its lower-class and this influx on new people is a recipe for disaster. A country that is already known for being dangerous (although that is horribly dramatized in the media, at least the day to day), does not need even more poeple trying to make ends meet by any means possible.
Just for fun this is a cat heading a chicken head on the sidewalk. A lady on our way to work throws them out for the cats, I got the pleasure a few weeks ago of walking by while she threw them. They make a very distant splat/thud on the sidewalk..yummy!
Last weekend I had to work on Saturday because it was Preschool Interview day! I knew it was coming but no one mentioned that all the teachers worked it. I tend to get left out of the loop a lot, there seems to be a constant assumption that I already know whats happening or that I understand the plans made in Arabic. Lots of meetings get scheduled and then people wonder why I am not at them. I have learned to ask a 1000 times about meetings I know might be happening.
So, I knew our school was one of the top schools in Beirut and that it was highly desirable and prestiguous but to what I extent I was not even close. 250 kids applied to go to IC, you can apply to the English or the French side, the french side is more competitive because it is more bragging rights and sounds better when you tell your friends (no joking) but only 140 get in. I got assigned to monitor the waiting rooms because last year parents had destroyed them, leaving behind dirty tissues and toys everywhere (another Lebanese symptom of having a nanny/housekeeper). So, I got to see all the parents stew in their anxiety. Some came in and thought the interview happened right then and there, so they were very formal and polite, others made excuses for their kids (he was sick this week, and now he is tired, can you take that into consideration) little did they know that the white, american girl could not have had less to do with the decision making process. I walked back and forth between two rooms checking on things and as soon as I walked in a room the vibe changed. Parents starting playing with their kids and quizzing them "what shape is this? what about this?" I wish I had had a clipboard to take fake notes on and add to the excitement. I then ended the day with a parent whose child a long enough hair it could sit like a bun on top of his head and since I am a professional foot eater, I said I think the form has the wrong paper because this is a picture of a boy. Of course, it was a boy who was interviewing, Mom corrected me and said "i have all boys and I wanted one to have long hair." REALLY, i am sure looking back on this baby pictures with a future girlfriend he will show a lot of appreciation.
Back to the interviews, one by one the parents and child are called into a room with a teacher and asked to perform a series of tasks. They are also categorized by how strong their affiliation with IC is. Are their parents alumni? Do they have siblings there? Do they have a WASTA connection ( i still don't know exactly what that means and at this point I am embarrassed to ask because everyone else seems to know). Then there is the dreaded category 5, I was not supposed to know what the categories meant but my mentor accidentally slipped and told me. Category 5 means you are an outsider, you have no affiliation with IC and you are screwed. 1 maybe 2 of the category 5 outsiders will get into IC and you have to basically be a 3 year old genius. I really wanted to warn these nervous parents "psst hey, you have no chance stop worrying and think about heading home early for lunch." I wish I had kept better notes of who I saw because I want to check up on all of them next year to see who did or did not make it. There was one little boy that went up to random kids and aggressively hugged and screamed them, shockingly he was not popular. He was also a dreaded category 5 outsider, so farewell my strange friends, but thanks for helping me uncover the mystery behind category 5.
It was also fun to see what Lebanese parents considered appropriate preschool interview attire. One Mom came in with her freshly bandged nose job, this might seem weird to Americans, but a nose job is a badge of honor here, it is celebrated and congratulated by most. A) you can afford one, which makes you better and B) people just like having it done!
Some Moms felt short shorts and 5 inch high heels was the dress for success method and some just went for the good old jeans and a cute top! Lebanon has such a fascinating mix of people and ideas. It is fun to spend a few hours watching them all come to you and you just get to watch!
Now to Hamra Street. Michael and I have both posted a lot of pictures from Hamra. It is the main street by where we live. Everyone knows it. It has a lot of clothing shops and a lot of restaurants and almost anything else you need. Every restaurant on it delivers as well. Even Hardees! Hamra can be a very overwhelming place. It is always busy. There is always bumper to bumper traffic, except Sunday mornings, which is a great time to walk it and remember why you like it. On Friday and Saturday nights, if you call a cab and say you live on the end of Hamra, they just drive away. None of them want to sit in the bumper to bumper traffic for a mere 10,000 cab ride. That is $6. Cabs here also let you put as many people into a car as you see fit, so when there are 8 of us in a 5 person Honda Civic and you are stuck in traffic, we often just climb out and walk the rest of the way. There are numerous roads that run parallel to Hamra and have no traffic but cabs never want to take them. It is insanely frustrating and makes zero sense. But, back to the topic, when we first moved to Beirut and spent time on Hamra we would occassionally be asked for money or to buy gum from local kids. But, as things in Syria have continued to be dangerous and unstable, we are experiencing more and more Syrian refugees on Hamra. Which means we are experiencing more and more begging and asking for money. Adults drop their kids off on Hamra with gum or flowers and then pick them up several hours later hoping to have turned a profit. A woman outside of Michael's drycleaner asked me for money in Arabic, at least I think that is what she wanted..=) and I walked inside of the dry cleaner and instead of going away, she just stood in the door and blocked the exit, I did an excellent job of cornering myself for her. haha. My point of talking about this is simply to show the changes since we moved. The war in Syria is affecting all parts of the Middle East and so little is being done about it. Lebanon is not a stable enough country to be able to sustain the migration of Syrian refugees and keep out the fighting. Lebanon already has too few jobs for its lower-class and this influx on new people is a recipe for disaster. A country that is already known for being dangerous (although that is horribly dramatized in the media, at least the day to day), does not need even more poeple trying to make ends meet by any means possible.
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