Thursday was truly a special day. Our schedule got mixed up a bit, so we all got to sleep in (yay!) before heading to the La Artisanat, an area of Beirut with lots of locally made products. I picked up presents for my husband and his sister and mom there. Afterward, we drove out to … Continue reading Day 6 (June 28) – US Embassy, ATCL, Bill Corcoran and ANERA, and Music Hall
Author: jordanhollya
Day 5 (June 27) – Al Majmoua, AUB, Youth Shadow Government
Day 5 was another one of our more substantive days. In the morning, we met Youssef Fawaz, the Executive Director of Al Majmoua, an NGO based out of Lebanon that helps individuals with their microfinancing needs. I was not really all that aware of microfinancing prior to this meeting, the idea of giving people small … Continue reading Day 5 (June 27) – Al Majmoua, AUB, Youth Shadow Government
Day 4 (June 26) – Dinner
Dinner Tuesday was amazing. We ate traditional Lebanese food outside under the sky in Beirut at Al Falamanki. It was a really great space, with tables situated under trees and vines. Everyone who had wanted to smoke shisha was able to--double apple all around. The food was so very good--starting again with mezze, and followed … Continue reading Day 4 (June 26) – Dinner
Day 4 (June 26) – Meetings with Former MPs, Political Parties, and Businessmen
Day 4 was another long day of meetings and food. In the morning we met with the Beirut Trader's Association. There, we discussed a lot of economic issues, including problems for women (only 30% of the workforce) and youth (25% of which are under the poverty line). We learned a lot about the banking system … Continue reading Day 4 (June 26) – Meetings with Former MPs, Political Parties, and Businessmen
Day 3 (June 25) – Meetings with Social Activists and Economic and Business Leaders
The last two days have been packed with meetings and short trips out into different districts of Beirut. I haven't taken many photos, as we have primarily been doing Q&As with local leaders, but I'm sure some will surface from the group in the next couple days. On Monday, we began our week meeting with … Continue reading Day 3 (June 25) – Meetings with Social Activists and Economic and Business Leaders
Day 2 (June 24) – Beirut and Locations North and East
So I'm a little behind, mostly due to needing sleep. Jet lag hit me finally sometime yesterday, and I was just wiped. Our second day was mostly sight-seeing, with a trip north out of the city, paralleling the Mediterranean for quite a while before turning east over the mountains. Our trip through the mountains was … Continue reading Day 2 (June 24) – Beirut and Locations North and East
Day 1 (June 23) – Live Achrafieh Festival
Stage at the Live Achrafieh Festival. Sorry the pics are so awful. Last night, our hosts surprised us with a special outing, just up the street from our hotel. A square in Achrafieh (our suburb of Beirut) had been closed to traffic, and a full stage/sound system/jumbotron system was set up for the Live Achrafieh … Continue reading Day 1 (June 23) – Live Achrafieh Festival
Day 1 (June 23) – Beirut
This picture is really why I'm already loving this country. Pictured above are the Malakite Catholic church and the mosque built by Hariri. The small building between them, touching walls is the home of the Malakite priests. Beirut really has everything. For instance, we had coffee here: Yeah, we were in a hurry. We saw so … Continue reading Day 1 (June 23) – Beirut
June 22 – Traveling Update
8:42 AM local time. I don't have Wi-Fi situated very well yet, so updates may be few and far between at first. Managed to dash off a text to the family while on the airport's wi-fi. I had expected immediate access at our hotel, but that has not occurred as planned, so hopefully someone disseminated … Continue reading June 22 – Traveling Update
“A Country of Contradictions”
LSF 2012 Participants with Ambassador Antoine Chedid at the Lebanese Embassy, Washington, DC Sitting at Dulles, 9:13 PM EDT. Thought I'd get some thoughts down from today's orientation at the National Council on US-Arab Relations. It was a truly excellent day. The Council provided us the opportunity to speak with many individuals from all sides … Continue reading “A Country of Contradictions”
Holly A. Jordan 