Mimes in Beirut!

I went to a theatre production last Saturday night that was entirely in Arabic.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I want to mention that it was a mime production, but in Arabic nonetheless.  It was performed at a neighborhood theater a block from my apartment called the Theatre of Beyrouth.  The theater itself was a small, quaint place that was underground with exposed brick and rock making up the walls. 

The play was really funny!  It was somewhat of a satire on Lebanese life and culture.  The actors used their hands coming through the slits of a black curtain and verbal expressions (grunts, shouts of joy, tone differentiation, etc.) to express their amusement, joy and sadness throughout the production.  There was also a character that, at times, was in a wheel chair and another character, a lady, in a ballet dancer’s outfit.  But, the hand mimes were the hit of the play.  The mannerisms that were perfected to express emotions such as sadness, happiness and disappointment were so creative and entertaining.  Every scene that was dominated by the hands was hilarious! 

So, I did attend an entire production that was spoken in Arabic.  It was the mimes who were “speaking” in Arabic that made it possible for me to understand the scenes.

Palestinian Refugees, Lance Armstrong and Peachtree Yoga

Recently, I have been volunteering for a program that the college counselor at my school founded.  The program provides college counseling to high school juniors and seniors that attend a school that is run by the United Nations to serve Palestinian refugees.

Palestinian refugees that live in Lebanon are really treated worst than second-class citizens.  They cannot attain citizenship in Lebanon, so essentially they are people without a country.  They can get a work permit, but are banned from working in 73 different areas of employment, including medicine, law and engineering.  They cannot own land.  There are 12 official Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon with approximately 300,000 inhabitants, which is nearly 10% of the Lebanese population.  These camps are overcrowded and with horrible infrastructure.  Many camps are forbidden from making any kind of building improvements.  They often smell of sewage and rubbish and many homes do not get any direct sunlight.

Yesterday, we went to the high school to interview students that are interested in being involved in the program.  We interviewed about 60 students to determine if their level of English would enable them to be involved in the program.  A proficient level of English, motivation, and the academic capacity to go to college are the requirements for the program.  We provide SAT prep and help them navigate the college decision process, which includes searching for financial aid.  The students have no money for college.

Marie, our college counselor who started the program, is amazing!  In just one year, she has been able to find many universities (Turkey, Germany, U.S. and Qatar) that are willing to provide scholarships to several of our students, along with finding other private sources of funding for the students.  These are very gifted students that would not be able or even believe that they could go to college because of their horrible living situation and treatment in society. 

What she and her program provides for these students is HOPE!  The students just light up when they see Marie and the other volunteers that work with them every Saturday.  When Marie and Buffy (another volunteer from my school) walk into the room where the students are present they are treated like rock stars!  The students just flock to them, and their facial expressions are symbolic of  the hope and love they feel for their own future and for Marie and Buffy.  It’s an amazing thing to experience.  The students ooze appreciation and reverence for Marie & Company.  Last week, one of the students told Marie that the reason he looks forward to coming each Saturday is because when he comes he feels loved.  Wow!  I feel so lucky to be associated with this program, the other volunteers and, of course, the Palestinian students. 

The student’s comment inspired me to reflect on when was there a time that my involvement in something had such a powerful effect (and affect) on me.  When is the last time I felt this way?  When did I actually feel loved as a result of my involvement in a program or institution?   The answer is easy.  The last time I felt so strongly was during my yoga teaching training program at the Peachtree Yoga Center in Atlanta that ended in mid-August, just before I moved to Beirut.  It was a very intense program that met every other weekend, all weekend long, for four months.  However, I looked forward to each and every weekend because of many of the same reasons that the student felt loved by attending the program I’m volunteering with on Saturdays.

Yoga Teacher Training brought together a group of like-minded individuals that were involved in something that I did not originally anticipate being so profound and influential to me. We came together to learn how to teach yoga, but for me it soon became much more than that, bigger than just teaching yoga.  Each and every weekend I felt supported, encouraged and celebrated by my classmates, mentors and directors of the program.  I felt loved!

In Lance Armstrong’s book “It’s Not About the Bike,” he writes about when he was recovering from cancer and deciding to see if he could train again or if he should just retire from cycling and be grateful that he was alive.  To do this, he moved to Boone, NC, with some of his training partners to try and get himself back in competitive shape.  While he was living and training in Boone, something magical happened to him.  The people of Boone took him in as one of their own and provided support and encouragement to him at a time when he had deep doubt and many questions about his ability and interest in pursuing cycling.  They nurtured him back to his old confident self. And, as we all know, the rest is history. He mentions that if he ever has doubts again about himself he will immediately return to Boone to soak up the love and uplifting attitude of its people.  I feel much the same way about Peachtree Yoga in Atlanta.  If I ever have doubts or feel unsure of myself I will come back to Peachtree Yoga and soak up the love of that wonderful place! 

I hope everyone has a Peachtree Yoga or a Boone, NC.