Recipe for the day:
200g of English language

80g of Maltese
40g of Arabic
14 volunteers (Citizens, foreigners & a refugee)

Put them all in one van for 10 hours of baking and roasting through the streets of Lebanon and you'll end up with a grilled, mixed cultural experience topped with spices of religions, views, laughter and life lessons!

I'm sorry if I spoilt your brunch or lunch (or perhaps even dinner!),  but no, you can't find this heavenly dish in Malta... so I will at least try to share the taste with you and expand your appetite!

Our first day in Lebanon happened to be a Sunday, and so, true to our 'no work policy' (one tries),  we decided to use the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with the country and their culture. Together with our hosts and two volunteers from 'Keen International' we were guided from one famous site to another, around different cities such as the Jeita Caves and a modern Catholic Basilica on top of a mountain dedicated to the Virgin lady! At the end, all quite convinced that our next stop would be home, we were yet again surprised by a quick visit to an awe-inspiring mosque in Beirut - I'd rather not describe it in words, but photos and videos will follow on our facebook page. You're of course welcome to have a look, and you'll also be able to understand my silence. Wakie (Nada's husband), walked us through the process of entering the mosque and the purification of the body before the actual prayers. Believe me when I tell you that it was my first time entering a mosque and my first time praying with muslims, but honestly, it felt very peaceful and calming!

Apart from having a good cultural dose of an unfamiliar country, yesterday evening we kicked off the project with a meeting with Nada. Technically she had been going over all the points with us throughout the whole journey earlier in the afternoon, so it felt more like a final recap before the actual thing. Months have been building up to this moment: the group will be training and providing a number of 'Keen International' volunteers consisting of locals and Syrian refugees with the idea of sustainably running the computer lab themselves once we travel back to Malta. We decided to split into two groups to be able to reach more volunteers operating in two different centres.

Still, in spite of all the preparation and plans laid down, we are unsure what to expect: we might end up teaching the participants basic microsoft office or more advanced programs such as photoshop or anything that they are willing to learn. In fact, right now the other polepole volunteers are all trying to concretise the objectives and ideas that popped in our mind, after conversations with Nada. Nada's main priority and wish is to make our two-week course will be as interesting as possible for the participants so that their attendance develops into motivation in passing on the project.

"I helped my volunteers somehow, someday and now they are feeling they should pass it on - searching the one thing that gives you happiness!" - Nada El Mais

One final thought for the day and I shall run off to resume our preparations for the following day (which in your case, is today!):

It turned out that...

Ah.

I apologize, I'm running late so I have to inform you more tomorrow morning!

Stay tuned, and do share your thoughts with us!

Nharek sahid,

Adrian Cassar