“Ought to I simply cease all the pieces and lie in mattress ready for loss of life as a result of I’m 85 years previous?”
That is how Mariam Koubaissy sums up her outlook on life. This grandmother has determined to enroll within the University for Seniors, affiliated with the American College of Beirut.
“Once I obtained married, I forgot about myself. I targeted on my household. My goals stopped for some time, however they by no means died, as a result of I imagine that goals don’t die if an individual is formidable and powerful,” Koubaissy informed Al-Monitor.
Koubaissy’s childhood dream was studying to attract, however well being situations prevented her from specializing in this expertise as a result of she was already lacking faculty.
As an grownup, work and household occupied her time, however “I’d watch college students come and go, and dream that I’d sometime be one in all them,” Koubaissy stated. “Now half a century later, my dream got here true and I walked via these gates. I bear in mind once I reached the principle entrance, I stood there for a couple of minutes in astonishment, not believing that it had lastly occurred.”
Just a few days after becoming a member of the college, “I used to be strolling within the college backyard and a younger man and his good friend had been taking a look at me, and I heard him inform her, ‘Take a look at that previous woman, what’s she doing right here?’ and she or he replied, ‘Nicely that previous woman is our new fellow scholar.’ I seemed left and proper trying to find the previous woman they had been speaking about as a result of I actually did not really feel like one.”
She famous, “I don’t need to use the ‘Age is only a quantity’ cliché, however I am actually satisfied that I am no totally different from any of the scholars right here, quite I am extra lively and hopeful. The distinction between me and younger individuals is the hair shade and a few wrinkles. Grey hair will be coated with dye. I nonetheless swim and take walks; my bodily well being is great and I’ve no diseases. My eyesight is superb for my age and my reminiscence is great. In the meantime, you hear about younger individuals dying or affected by ailments, so what extra do I must take pleasure in life? My well being is ok and my soul is raring to study and obtain goals.”
Some individuals questioned Koubaissy’s choice to enroll in drawing lessons, however a few of these critics later turned her classmates. “As a substitute of losing time gossiping, I spend my time studying and maintaining my reminiscence and physique lively, between drawing and exercising.”
The College for Seniors at AUB is the primary of its sort in Lebanon and the area. It has been a terrific success because it was founded in 2010 by Well being Sciences PhD Abla Sibai and her colleague Cynthia Mintty. And even at present, regardless of all of the irritating financial and social situations in Lebanon, the aged are nonetheless desirous to study. However after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a lot of the classes are actually distant.
Research have proven that remaining intellectually and bodily lively helps individuals age extra healthily, program supervisor Maya Abi Chahine informed Al-Monitor. Additionally, 11% of Lebanon’s population is over the age of 65, and the quantity is rising, and plenty of aged individuals in Lebanon stay alone whereas their youngsters and grandchildren stay overseas.
“This program goals to offer ethical and well being help to the aged, who, after returning to college, are those who give help and hope to younger individuals and their households,” Abi Chahine stated.
The college is open to anybody over 50, no matter training, Abi Chahine famous. She stated the varsity supplies language classes in French, Spanish, and English. On-line lessons, which started due to the pandemic, have “helped enroll college students from the Gulf, the US, and Africa.”
The academic program contains two three-month semesters in fall and spring. College students can attend any class they need, not solely those they initially registered for. No commencement certificates are given to college students as a result of the objective is to make studying enjoyable.
Accessible programs embrace neuroscience, astrophysics, political science, public well being, and ladies’s affairs, in addition to classes within the arts resembling drawing, portray, and music, and lessons on meditation and agriculture.
Abi Chahine defined that about 500 individuals enroll yearly, at a price of about 400,000 Lebanese kilos [$20 according to the current exchange rate on the black market] for every semester. “We don’t increase our costs as a result of we don’t purpose to make income, however quite help the aged as a result of we’re satisfied that these individuals have the correct to realize their needs and goals,” she identified.
Former banker Youssef Bakri, 84, has taken numerous lessons on the college for 10 years. “I didn’t need to sit at dwelling and not using a objective, as a result of boredom kills individuals,” he informed Al-Monitor. “Learning is meals for the mind, and among the many numerous lectures, there are psychology classes that help us very a lot at our age.”
Bakri identified that this expertise isn’t restricted to training. “Earlier than the pandemic, we’d all meet within the college backyard, change conversations, reminisce concerning the previous, to not point out the sector journeys the college would manage for us,” he stated. “We participated in lots of conferences and artwork exhibitions overseas. Each week we’d go to an archeological space in Lebanon, all of which supported us very a lot at our age since we’d like care and a spotlight.”
