There was a team of us (Bassel, Tiago, Alaina, Ji, and me), and we spent all semester working on this proposal and project. It was a lot of learning, researching, writing, and presenting, but it was definitely worth it! The trip was amazing, and I'll try to give it justice in this post (although I know I won't be able to).
Because much of our work had been done ahead of time because of the nature of our project, we had a few days of presentations and discussions once we arrived in Lebanon, but much of the time we got to really experience life and culture there. One of the neatest things about the country was all of the eras that were still able to be seen. We got to see sites that date back to the Bible, the days of the Roman and Ottoman empires, and then we got to see modern day monuments and buildings that remind us of more recent events.
There were also a lot of beautiful things in nature that we got to see. The cedars of Lebanon were definitely a sight to behold, and we also got to see much along the coast of the Mediterranean. We even got to visit a cave that is on the list to become a new world wonder! It was awesome!
Bassel was the leader of our team, and he is originally from Lebanon so it was awesome having him showing us around and explaining things to us. We also got to meet many of his friends from the American University of Beirut (AUB). Everyone was very friendly and welcoming; it made the experience very fun! We also got to meet his family; we had lunch at their house one day, and it was sooooo delicious! I could not thank everyone there enough for all their hospitality.
All of that awesomeness being said, Lebanon was one of the most challenging and eye-opening places I had ever been. I don't think it was so much the location as it was the perspective I was in. In many of my trips, I had been there from the perspective of "missions", but this trip was more "real" in the sense that I got to see and experience the life of those who live there without attaching anything. Now, I've seen some real life things in other countries, sure, but I had never been somewhere where I felt so alone in my beliefs, and that was hard. But at the same time it was very eye-opening to see and experience Lebanon that way.
Anyway, I could go on and on about Lebanon and the things I saw, learned, and experienced, but this is all I'm going to post on here. :) BUT if you want to check out more about our engineering project, just check out the following links:
http://www.aub.edu.lb/news/Pages/purdue-sabra.aspx
https://engineering.purdue.edu/GEP/News/Spotlights/gdt-update-from-lebanon
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