Today we had Outdoor Education. I’m not quite sure what the objectives of the program are, other than that we take the kids outdoors and teach them things. We’ve done camping this year in the Beqaa Valley, visited a bird reserve, we went skiing for a week, have done some glass blowing recently, visited ruins in Byblos (yesterday actually), and today was Outdoor Games. Basically, the kids are divided in 8 groups, and they have to run a sort of obstacle course. Some are easy games, where they need teamwork in order to succeed. Others involve physical work. Adrian did archery (and he learned why the V-sign symbolizes victory. In the Middle Ages, next to the knights, archers were your main combatants. So if you had lost the battle, and subsequently be caught by the enemy, they would cut of you index and middle finger, because then you couldn’t screw your bow to the sticking point anymore. So if you had won the battle, that signaled victory, and you showed that by showing that you still had your arching fingers, he climbed a wall, had to cross several rope type of games, and the day ended with swimming. Most of the kids fell asleep on the bus back to school. We still have a cave to go (Jeita; one of the biggest in the world), and then there is of course the beach trip, which signals the end of the year, but that one isn’t considered educational.
