Jordan is for lovers, and adventures in pissing of Haredim by praying

YEAH!!!!!! I GOT A THREE MONTH VISA!!!!!!!

I was legit worried about this but I used my magical Hebrew speaking powers and conviced the lady that I was going to get a student visa but hadn’t had time before I left, so she told me in a very stern voice that it was very important that I get my student visa and then she gave me a three month stamp woooo! I could feel a huge weight lifting off of me after that. It was the perfect end to a wonderful vacation.

Wadi Rum was beautiful and fun. We hiked on Monday and Tuesday and Monday night we slept in the middle of the dessert and saw more stars than I have ever seen in my life. We also saw a bunch of shooting stars it was very cool. We were also serenaded by our Bedouin guide, and his cousin, who played the oud. It was a wonderful evening. Tuesday we hiked the tallest mountain in Jordan (look it up its not as impressive as it sounds) Then we headed to Aqaba to meet Sandra at our hostel. We spent the next 36 hours relaxing in beds, on the beach and by the pool. We did some snorkeling and wandering of Aqaba but mostly we just lay around, which was amazing. Thursday morning Naomi and I headed back to Eilat and I got my golden ticked aka three month visa. We we welcomed back to Jerusalem with cold and rain ☹ but we survived the treck home and made latkes for dinner (yum!)

Friday Morning Miriam, Naomi and I woke up at 6am to go to the Kotel (western wall) for Rosh Chodesh. We were participating in a half prayer service half demonstration with the organization Women of the Wall. It used to be illegal for Women to hold group prayer at the Kotel. There was a court battle and now it is allowed only on Rosh Chodesh, and women are still not allowed to read Torah or wear Tallitot there. This is one of the many things that makes me question the claim the Israel is a democracy. At last months service a woman was arrested for attempting to read Torah and wearing a Tallit. It is simply mind boggling that prayer could be considered illegal just because of the gender of the person who is offering the prayer. It makes me very sad and angry that the “leaders” of my religion have decided that I am not allowed to pray in the same fashion or places as men are. As we were holding our service and singing we were called bastards, Nazis and several other not so nice names. Most of the yelling was in Hebrew, but at one time I heard a man in an American accent telling us that we were “responsible for the death of six million Jews” I’m sorry what?!?! How messed up in the head do you have to be to think that women praying out loud at the Kotel is what caused the Holocaust? The whole experience was sad and on top of everything it was cold and raining the whole time. In one news article a Rabbi said it was Hashem crying because of our deeds. Naomi said if anything it was Hashem crying for the treatment we received while trying to execute the simple act of prayer.

Shabbat was spent going to Kol Haneshama ( a reform synagoge in Jerusalem) for services which is always a nice familiar Shabbat experience, and dinner with some lovely ladies of Pardes. I should be heading back to Bethlehem in a few hours unless I get some indication that a good bye party is happening in Jerusalem this evening. I am excited to be going home, to see my roomates and to sleep in my own bed after so long.

Shavuah Tov and Merry almost Christmas!

No visa for you!

A of all I re read my last blog post and realized the end is rather preachy, so sorry for that and Ill try not to do it again. I should know enough that any one who is reading this is my friend and probably doing many things in their own right to make the world a better place.

So this post is mainly going to be about visas and the Israeli government’s aversion to giving them to people. It started (at least on my radar screen) with the denial of Sarah and Jason’s application to extend their visa to December 30th. They as you know had to leave several weeks ago to the sadness of every one here. Soon after we learned some other friends of ours also had their visa application sent to committee, which is exactly what happened to Sarah and Jason before they were denied. I learned about a week ago they theirs was also denied and they will be leaving very soon. Then one of my roommates went to Germany for a few days to renew her visa when she returned she was told she had to go to the ministry of the interior, and was not even any visa. Most people at least get 2 weeks or a month, but she got nothing and now just has an appointment at the ministry and is doing her best not to freak out. Just a few days ago another friend of mine told me her application to extend her visa was also denied. She is studying at the conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, but she is not Jewish. This is the reason she was given for not being able to get a student visa. All of these people are either studying or doing good works in the community. None of these people are a security risk to Israel and none of them are looking to live here permanently. The worst story is when my former roommate from when I lived in Birzeit came to visit me. She was denied entry completely. The scary thing is that she told them she was coming to visit me, and they told her that she was being denied because my visa expired on December 14th, which is does. I am not sure that this is the real reason she was denied, but it makes me a bit nervous. They have also changed their rules for check points. There are three check points (Bethlehem, Beit Jallah, and Beit Sahour) where people can go in and out of the west bank. On Thursday I tried to go out through the beit Jallah one with one of my roommates and we were made to get off the bus and told we were no longer allowed to go through that check point, and that we had to go back to Bethlehem and go through that check point. I am not sure what is going on, but it seems to me that the government is trying to make it more and more difficult for internationals to be in the west bank. Which makes sense from their position. They don’t want us here to see, document and publicize all the shitty things they do. All of this is making me very nervous as I am leaving for Jordan tomorrow for my first visa renewal run, and now I am less confident that I will get my three month visa stamp or even be let back in the country. So if you think about it between now and Thursday night send some positive energy my way.

On a lighter note, on Friday morning I went to Tel Aviv for a Human rights demonstration. (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447411598&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull) It seemed like there was a sign there for every marginalized group in and out of Israel. The most prevalent were for Palestinians in Israel as well as in The west bank and Gaza. This made me just a little more hopeful than I usually am. It was nice to see Israelis enmass in support for Palestinian rights. I just wish there were more of them, but hopefully some day. The march/rally was very spirited and a really great experience over all. My only problem was that it was in Tel Aviv. This sort of thing is much more needed in Jerusalem. If we could get all these lefty telavivians out of their bubble to protest at sheik Jarah for example I think it would be much more effective than walking the streets of tel aiviv, but I guess you have to take what you can get and hope this will be come something bigger and further reaching.

Okay don’t forget to think of/pray for me that I get back in to the country on Thursday!

Oh and HAPPY CHANUKKAH!!!!!

Goodbyes, My first Ikea encounter, building things, and thoughts on Thanksgiving...

The last two weeks have been rather tumultuous with some fabulous ups and pretty upsetting downs.  The week before Jason and Sarah left we spent hanging out as much as possible, and Jason trying to impart as much information as possible to me before he left.  This was a bit stressful for me. I don’t really like to be in charge of things, esp when its not something I know a whole lot about. (i.e. building a compost toilet) On Thursday we started building a different wall with tires and Jason was busy doing other things around town most of the day, so it was me and Saleem and some other volunteers. Every time I asked Saleem to do something he would say “yes boss” I found I did not like this at all, but he was mostly kidding. After work on Thursday Bethany and I went to a birthday party with Rachel. We didn’t know the birthday boy….  But every one was friendly and we knew some people there. It was a little weird. The birthday boy was the fiancé of a girl who works at the American School in Beit Jalla, and the party was at the school. It was very laid back just some snacks people hanging out…. And then they decided to play some games. The first game was sort of an evolution of taboo and charades put together. Every one had to write down three names of famous people real or fictional that every one would know. There were about 3 Mohamed’s and 3 Jesus’ in the pile. I chose the little mermaid, Simba and Bon Jovi…. Some people had trouble with the last one (oops) the game was entertaining and my team won! The next game was a combination of never have I ever and musical chairs. The person in the middle says something they have never done and if you have also never done it then you have to move chairs. Except the person in the middle can lie and the people in the chairs cannot. So two statements were “I have never been to church camp” and “I have never worn a cross” I was the only person who got up for these. This is just to give you an idea of who I hang out with these days ☺ aaany ways it was fun in the end. And after this party Rachel and I went to hang out on the roof of some other friends and watch the stars so it was a good end to the evening.

Friday was Sarah’s last ladies lunch. It was very sad but there were no tears yet. After lunch Rachel and I took Hiba for a few hours so Sarah could get some stuff done.  Fri night was the going away party for Sarah and Jason this was amazing. We moved all the furniture in Erich and Candice’s house so there was a dance floor and they even got a small keg from Taybeh (Palestinian brewery) it was a crazy and wonderful evening.
The next morning all of PAIDIA had breakfast/brunch together at Sarah and Jason’s house and just hung out for awhile. Then we went back to Erich and Candice’s to help clean, and then Rachel took me home.

Monday was a sad and strange day. We had our regular PAIDIA morning meeting sans Sarah and Jason. After the meeting we all went to Sarah and Jason’s house to help them pack up the car and say a final see you later (never goodbye). Originally they were going to borrow a van, and Rachel and I were going to drive them to the northern border with Jordan, and then take the van back with a stop over at IKEA. It turns out they didn’t get the van but a friend drove them in their SUV. Even though we weren’t needed any more Rachel and I decided we were too sad to do any real work that day, so we drove formerly Sarah and Jason’s now Erich and Candice’s  car to IKEA any ways. I have never been to an IKEA before in America or anywhere else. It was quite the over whelming experience, but they do have a lot of fun things, and Rachel and I did our best to over come our grief through shopping ☺
Tuesday we had a sushi fundraiser for PAIDIA so after some meetings Saleem and I went over to Rachel’s to help her make sushi. It was only my second time making sushi and pretty fun. The fundraiser went well and hopefully well get some donations out of it.

Friday was the first party in my apartment that I was able to attend. My roommates and I were pretty excited about it. It was really fun we had a lot of people, and every one seemed to have a good time. My friends Naomi, Miriam and Amy came from Jerusalem. Amy had been to the west bank before, but it was the first time for Miriam and Naomi. These are my two friends I wrote about before that recently found out their apt is on the Palestinian side of the green line and were upset about it because they’re crunchy lefties. They spent most of the day touring sadly I was working so I couldn’t join them, but eventually they made their way to my house. I think they had a good experience. I have read both of their blog entries about coming to Bethlehem and it seems to have made them contemplative, which is definitely a step in the right direction… contemplation and questions is what lead me to where I am today. I am pretty sure some more friends will be coming to visit me, and I relish the opportunity to show them Bethlehem and the west bank and especially the checkpoints and the wall. I think it’s important for people to see the wall up close and from the Palestinian side, it really opens your eyes.

Saturday I went to lunch at a Palestinian family’s house with my roommate Bethany. It was very nice and they didn’t even mind that I was a vegetarian they just laughed at me and made a few jokes at my expense. That evening we went to a conference being put on by ICAHD.  It was comparing the South African apartheid to the Israeli occupation. At first I thought they were going to just try to show the similarities, and say it’s the same thing, (which is very annoying to me since they are very different), but they actually did a very good job of talking about the similarities and differences, and how we can learn from the truth and reconciliation commission and try to do a better job if Israel and Palestine ever even get to that point. It was a very interesting evening over all, and I got to say hi to Jeff Halper and he remembered me, which is always nice.

Sunday Rachel took Bethany and I to the cellcom store in Jerusalem to get our Internet fixed and also to the grocery store. Most grocery stores in the west bank are very small and you often have to go to a few to get all the things you need or want, so its always a little exciting to go to a grocery store in Jerusalem it seems soooo big it’s a little over whelming. At the cellcom store I think I got hit on by a very friendly soldier. He wanted to know where I lived and what I was doing in “Israel” I didn’t feel like having THAT conversation esp with someone in uniform, so I told him I lived in Talpiot and was studying at Pardes (thanks Miriam and Naomi) and then I just sort of turned away and tried to end the conversation because I don’t like lying. I also don’t like that I have to lie to have a normal conversation here but I guess that’s what I’m trying to fix.

The last few days have been a bit hectic. I have been given a lot of responsibilities after Jason left and so now I am preparing to build things when I have no experience what so ever building, especially a composting toilet made out of tires. This was a lot more fun when Jason was in charge and I just did what he told me, but I guess this is good experience for me, and will build character. We’re supposed to pour the floor of the bathroom tomorrow and I am just a little bit terrified that nothing with work the way we think it will and it will be a huge disaster, but I’m hoping for the best, and either way when its all over it will be thanksgiving. I just made two pecan pies and my apt smells amazing. I can’t wait for all the deliciousness tomorrow.

                I love thanksgiving.  In my family we have always gone around the table before we eat and said the things we were thankful for, and this has always made this time of year a time of reflection for me. In my family we know about the small pox, land stealing and general crappiness of the way the native Americans were treated, so there is no thought to celebrating the pilgrims and Indians and how nice they were to each other. For us it has always been about being together, which is harder than one would think, and thinking about all the blessings in our lives. It is strange to be in Palestine of all places for thanksgiving. I would like to say I am thankful for the fact that no one is trying to take my land and give me small pox, but this is made more difficult when someone is trying to take the land of Palestinians all around me.  Last week there were two house demolitions in East Jerusalem. This has nothing to do with security these were not the homes of terrorists, just normal families who built with out the impossible to get building permit from Israel. Soooo  I think im going off on a rant again. I just hope this thanksgiving you will think about all the things we take for granted, like food, water, and a roof over our heads, and give some thought to those people who do not have the luxury of taking these things for granted.  As Americans we may see what happened to the native Americans a bad thing that happened in the past, but it still happens every day all over the world, so just remember that as you’re slipping into your food coma tomorrow, and maybe just maybe think about what you might do this year to cause a few more people to have a little more to be thankful for next year.
  

                                                         HAPPY THANKSGIVING ☺

Two week highlights and why the ministry of interior is evil

Shit its November!!!! I am not entirely sure how that happened. I’ve been here almost two months now which means only one more month until my first visa run, and I’m not even sure where I’m going yet. This is not entirely my fault.  I had a plan but its seeming like less and less of a good idea, so now I need a plan B. I’m starting to think hanging out on the beach at Akaba for a few days would be nice, esp since it will be cold by December…. But well see.  Ok enough of my silly dilemma of where to go play in the sun.

Since it has been two weeks  I will not do a day by day briefing, also the reason I haven’t written is because life has become not boring, but some what routine. Mondays I go to the office have some meetings do some planning with Saleem for our leadership program with the kiddies on Friday. In the afternoon I go scavenging with Jason for tires, bricks etc… to make the composting toilet. Tues, wed, Thursdays are workdays at the center, and Fridays I do programs with Saleem and then the weekend begins. I guess there is something to be said for daily life, but it just doesn’t seem so notable.  I guess there were a few highlights to the last two weeks….

-    Thursday I finally made Banana muffins from all the mushy bananas in our freezer. They were delicious and tasted like home, which is always nice.

-    Saturday was Halloween. My roommates and I scoured the old city of Bethlehem for cheap and fabulous costumes. In the end we were the Fantanas (the girls in the Fanta commercials) it was pretty hilarious. There was a big party in beit sahour with many of the internationals in the area. It was good times as we all tried to bring a piece of home to Palestine.

-    Monday I visited the old IDf army base across from the park we have our climbing tower at. Settlers have been coming here and protesting and being generally nasty. The graffiti was not nice, but Jason and I managed to scavenge some good haul.

-    Tuesday we had a group of middle school kids come from the Anglican school in Jerusalem come to “help” at the center. They were not very helpful, and it was raining most of the day so it was not nearly as productive as we had hoped, and I was covered head to toe in mud by the end of the day… oh well

-    Thursday we built the inner supporting walls of the toilet. I learned to mix cement and lay bricks  (definitely resume boosters)

-    Friday night I saw a movie and made some new friends… always a plus

-    Saturday I played tour guide in Ramallah and Birzeit for some of my new and less new friends

-    Sunday I spent way too much money at the shuk and a Super Sol

Ok so those were the positive highlights and now the biggest not positive at all highlight. Jason (my boss sort of) and Sarah were in the process of applying to extend their visas just until December 30th. They have been here for three years, and were planning to go home December 30th. They already had a plane ticket and everything. Last week they found out they had been denied and have to leave by the 16th of November. This is very sad, and really just ridiculous. They were going to leave in 6 weeks any ways. Now they have to change their plane tickets and they are missing the wedding of a close friend. The ridiculousness and cruelty of the ministry of interior in Israel never ceases to amaze me.  It just seems so unfair, but they are afraid if they stay past their kick out date they wont be allowed back for 5 or 10 years, which is just not worth it. I am not sure what all this means for me except maybe a little more responsibility.

It just makes me so mad especially when I just read in haaretz about this crazy settler (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1125062.html) who was just arrested for the murders of two Palestinians and possibly others. He was also  arrested in Israel in 1997 and told the authorities that he came to Israel specifically to kill Palestinians as revenge for suicide bombings…. Then two years later he was allowed back in to the country!!!! This is just mind boggling to me. Jason and Sarah are good people who have been trying to help in Palestine for the last three years. They can’t get a 6 week extension of their visa, but a self proclaimed homicidal maniac can get in easily and then gain citizenship. Excuse my language, but that is just fucked up, and really something to think about when told that all this crap is for security, whose security?????

More scooter injuries, and teaching Palestinians that vegetarians don't eat chicken

Thursday I rode the scooter to the center with out incident (go me!!!) and there was much stuffing of tires to be done to buid the wall of our composting toilet. This work is a bit tedious but time goes by relatively quickly when I have Jason and Saleem to entertain me ☺ some of the people from Bustan Qaraaqa (http://www.bustanqaraaqa.org) came by to help with building and stuff. Alice is the one who actually knows what she is doing. So she comes and makes sure were not building a death trap and helps with a lot of the labor as well.  Jason didn’t need his scooter that night so I got to drive it home once again. When I got home I had a facebook message from my new friend Jeremy. Apparently because his father was born in Israel the Israeli government is forcing citizenship on him if he wants to work here. Sooo he was inviting people to a mock aliya party on Friday night. It turns out we were going to the same place for Shabbat services/dinner any ways so I told him I was in.

Friday I fell on the scooter….. again ☹ I was driving it to the site where I was supposed to help Saleem with the impact program which works with a group of teenagers to help them with their leadership, teamwork and communications skills. These kids will eventually be ambassadors of the Palestinian cause in other countries so we are supposed to be giving them the skills to tell their story to foreigners. I fell on the scooter while trying to go down a very steep unpaved hill. I tried to slow down but it skidded and I fell….. oh well I guess its part of the learning process. My knee was killing me since I had now fallen on it twice, but it still worked so I wasn’t too worried. I hobbled the scooter the rest of the way to the park and then met up with Saleem. We did programs with the kids for about an hour and a half. It was supposed to be 2 hours but they were 30 mins late (welcome to Balastine) They were working on trust with in the group that day so we did a lot of excercises for that and then they spend some time talking about what they did and how they felt about it. I only understand about 25% if that so I didn’t always know what was going on but I got the general gist and was able to be helpful and talk to them a little. After the program was over I went to girls lunch and then Bethany gave me a ride to Jerusalem on her scooter. 
I went to Shabbat services with Miriam and Naomi at the Jewish renewal community. They were pretty great. There was lots of singing and music and dancing and just general enthusiasm for praying.  We also participated in the potluck afterwards. It was very tastey and all veggie which was great for me. Afterwards we met up with Jeremy and some other friends on the Tayelet to drink wine and talk about political things. It was a very interesting and fun evening.

Saturday I slept in and then went back to Bethlehem. I had a pretty chill afternoon/evening. At around 9pm Rachel and Audra picked me up to go to a pork BBQ. It turns out we were the only women and foreigners there, which I think Rachel and Audra knew but I didn’t really think about it until we were there, but every one was very nice no sketchiness.  When I told the host I was a vegeatrian he said no problem we have chicken. I thought he was kidding but 20 minutes later he was trying to give me chicken so I had to explain I didn't eat that either. I am always afraid of being rude they were pretty cool about it, they even grilled onions and tomatoes for me because they were afraid I wasn’t going to have enough to eat. We stayed til after 1am, so I crashed pretty soon after I got home.

Sunday Bethany and I sat around in our pajamas all day. We did a bunch of Arabic studying, but all in PJs. I got dressed for about 30 mins to go buy groceries, but then came home showered and put the PJs right back on. Im so glad I have a full weekend.

Monday I scootered to the office for staff meeting, and then there were lots more meetings about the impact program and the center. In the afternoon Jason and I did more tire scavenging. For dinner that night I went to some friends of Bethany who were making Mexican food. It was delicious. They are going to have dinners every Monday from now on, so that should be nice. I also recruited one of them to volunteer at the center on Thursday (woot!) After dinner we hung out with Katie  for awhile and then bed time.

Today I woke up with some “tummy problems” basically I needed to stay with in close proximity of a bathroom, and since were still building the bathroom at the center I told Jason I wasn’t going to make it.  I barely ate all day, but I just ate some noodles and seem to be okay so far. Hopefully I will wake up tomorrow problem free and be productive.

A Ropes Course is Born, Haifa, Picking Olives/meeting a nice settler, trials and tribulations of driving a scooter in Palestine

21/10/09
Monday I was in the office all day with Rachel helping her do research for a grant.  I was looking up articles on ethical leadership. It was actually pretty interesting, but that was a small problem because I wanted to read all the articles instead of just skimming them so I didn’t find as much as Rachel wanted I think, but at least I was some help.  In the Afternoon Jason wanted to borrow Rachel’s car so he could go to Hebron to buy some parts we needed for the ropes course, and Sarah (Jason’s wife) needed their car to pick up her mother who was coming to visit. So Rachel gave Jason her car and we also ended up taking Hibba (sarah and Jason’s 1.5 year old daughter) to the office with us for the rest of the day. Needless to say I got even less done when I was being distracted by an adorable toddler, but I think it was ok in the end. Eventually we went back to Rachel’s apt we kept Hibba until Sarah came back from the airport and then Rachel was nice enough to give me a ride home when Jason came back. I want promptly to bed because we were starting the next day at 7am.

Tuesday Rachel picked me up at 6:50 AM!!!!!  I am not a morning person having to get up this early is just not nice ☹ but I some how managed. When we got there we had to wait awhile any ways because the welding guy wasn’t there so we did more cleaning and tied knots for all the ropes that would need to go up eventually. We worked hard all day. Attaching cables to the beams and getting the beams ready to go up. Eventually the guy with the crane came to put the beams up everything was going well until the last beam was going to go up and we found out that the way the holes had been made in the beam was wrong and we had to take the beam down and take off and re attach the eyes on the beam this was pretty sad and then on top of all that the crane dropped the beam on a tree and a wall while it was moving it so the tree was sad and the wall has a hole in it now. Jason and Ben were pretty pissed about this but they managed to keep calm. At this point it was almost dark so we decided to end for the day and all go have dinner together, and then pass out to get some sleep for the next 10 hour day.

Wednesday started pretty much the same as Tuesday. I was supposed to climb up the beams to do more cable attaching but I climbed about half way up and my fear of heights got the better of me so I decided I would be more useful on the ground. So I spent most of the day attaching and detaching tools to ropes for the people who do not have ridiculous height phobias. At the end of the day we had got a lot done and it was actually starting to look like a ropes course. I went home and collapsed.

Thursday was same as Wednesday but we finished by 3:30 it was a great feeling to have finished with time to spare. It was also a great feeling to see what we had created. The center isn’t ready for kids yet, but the ropes course looks great and with a little more work well have the only ropes course in Palestine ☺ The center where the course is will also have a composting toilet, permaculture garden and chicken coop. These will be used in several of the other programs PAIDIA does and I can’t wait to see the finished project.

Friday I went to Jerusalem and met up with Yvette and Jean Marie who I studied at Birzeit with last year. Yvette was just visiting and Jean Marie is studying at St. Annes church in the old city. We all hung out and chatted at the church. It was really interesting. Yvette is from The Netherlands and she is working in their foreign affairs office focusing on Somalia. It was interesting to hear about her adventures in Somalia, and the work she is doing, but we also talked a lot about how countries and NGOs throw all this money at places like Somalia or even Palestine (which is no where near as dangerous) but they wont send their staff their for security reasons. Because of this these countries and NGOs have no idea what is happening with their money, and a lot of the time its not getting to the people who need it the most or the projects being funded are not being finished. This is one thing I had not thought a lot about before. I realize in some places it is too much of a risk to send people, but when USAID gives tons of money to random projects in the west bank but then wont allow any of their employees to go see if the projects are being done its ridiculous. There is a playground close to one of PAIDIA’s sites that was funded by USAID and it is basically a death trap for children.  It is not unsafe to send people here to check up on projects. I live here and have never felt unsafe. So I think if I’m okay the USAID people will survive as well.
Our chat went on to several other topics of international affairs and some how ended in Yvette and I lamenting our singledom (we have to think about ourselves sometimes) Yvette was going to Tel Aviv and I was going to Miriam and Naomis for Simchat Torah so we said our goodbyes and cya laters and went in our separate directions.

Fri night I went to Kol Haneshama (a reform synagogue in Jerusalem) with Miriam. It is impossible for me to go to this synagogue with out seeing someone I know, but Fri night was crazy. There were sooo many OSRUI (the camp I went to/worked at for many summers) people there. It was nice to see so many familiar faces. I saw Sally and Rabbi Michael Klein Katz. They are probably the nicest and warmest people I know. I promised Sally I would email soon, and we would make plans. Eventually everyone went out in to the courtyard and danced around with the Torah. For those of you who don’t know Simchat Torah is the holiday in which we finish reading the Torah and begin again. So you are supposed to rejoice with the Torah. Its pretty fun. After services Miriam and I met Naomi and the apt of one of their friends for dinner. I was surprised to see Michelle who taught Hebrew at Beth Emet with me this past year. She is living in Ashkelon and was visiting these same friends who apparently all went to Northwestern. The dinner was great and the company was even better. Naomi and Miriam are very good at picking their friends (and Im not just talking about me)

Saturday morning Naomi and I went to Nava Tehila for services. They are a Jewish renewal community. It was amazing. There was lots of singing and dancing and at one point they unrolled the whole Torah and had people hold it up with their Tallits or Shawls. Then there were people who knew what they were talking about in the middle who had you point to a random spot on the Torah in front of you. They then read you what you had pointed at and then made a blessing for you based on what you pointed at. It was a very cool experience, and Im planning to go to them for Shabbat with Miriam and Naomi when they have Kabbalat Shabbat.  Oh also while we were holding the Torah the guy next to Naomi started talking to us. Naomi asked him what he did and he said human rights work. So the night before one of the girls hosting dinner asked me (because I live in Bethlehem) if I knew a person named Jeremy Siegman who worked at Btselem. At The time I did not, but it turns out this guy was that Jeremy (such a small work esp. in Jerusalem) Jeremy gave me his email so we could stay in contact because us lefty Jews need to stick together. The rest of Saturday was pretty uneventful. There was some reading and dinner making and I watched Milo and Otis for the first time with Naomi. (that movie is F***ed up!)

Sunday morning I headed to Haifa to see my pretend family. This as always involved a lot of eating, movie watching and a little bit of debauchery. I was there until Tuesday afternoon. It was great to see everyone, and hang out with Danit. Going to Haifa or even just west Jerusalem is like stepping in to another world for a while. I thought a lot about this on the bus on the way back to Jerusalem.
I often feel a bit torn inside when I move between worlds. A part of me is relieved when I enter Israel. It is nice to be in a place where I can be anonymous. No one stares at me or shouts at me because I happen to have blonde hair and I can wear whatever I want. I also enjoy some of the comforts like ice coffee, sushi and movie theatres, but I also always have this over arching feeling of guilt. I feel guilty that I can come here whenever I want when many of my Palestinian friends cannot, and I also often feel guilty for enjoying the Jewishness of Israel. I know in my heart that the only fair solution is a one state solution. Although, I am very doubtful that it will ever happen. It is also sometimes hard for me to reconcile what I know to be right and what my inner selfish child wants. I grew up as a Jew in a Christian country (yes America is a Christian country) It is an amazing feeling to be in a country where the average shop owner will wish me a happy new year on Rosh Hashanah, and the language I have been struggling to master since third grade rolls off tongues and is written on every street corner. I carry the full knowledge that another people had to pay dearly for these small comforts, and so I continue with my inner struggle and hope that people somewhere smarter than me are going to find a way to figure all this out.

Wednesday and Thursday we had meetings at work and worked at the center. There is so much work to be done before its ready, but I know it will be amazing once it is.  Thursday we started work on our composting toilets (here is some info on that - http://www.lowimpact.org/factsheet_compost_toilets.htm) we are building the bathroom out of old tires and trash and rocks and other found items. It is pretty cool, and I promise to put up pictures when we make more progress. Thursday night we had a little bbque and I went home and passed out.

Friday I didn’t have to go to work (woohoo!) I only got up to go to the Friday girls lunch at 12:30 (10 mins from my apt) Then I went home with the intention of writing a lot I got about 2 days done when Bethany came home and then Katie and it all went down hill from there. We all hung out and generally bonded until about 6 or 7 when we decided we needed wine and cookies. So we went to the store got some wine, went home and made cookies. It was quite lovely. It was nice to actually be home for some of the weekend and hang out with my roommates who I love more and more every day.

Saturday Jeremy came to Bethlehem. He works for Btselem and has been to the west bank a little bit but he hadn’t been to Bethlehem. So we met up and wandered through the old city of Bethlehem to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. It was very hot and crowded, but I was a good hostess and we waited in line to go to the little room where the birth was supposed to have occurred.  Jeremy and I talked a lot while we waited and got better acquainted. After the church we walked back to my apt. We only stayed for a bit because I was going to Jerusalem with Bethany to stay at a friends apt to get up early Sunday morning and pick Olives. On the way back to Jerusalem at the checkpoint a soldier asked Jeremy if he was Jewish and he made the mistake of saying yes. The soldier took his passport and told him to stand to the side and kept telling him it was dangerous for him to be on the Palestinian bus. So me being me I told the soldier I was Jewish too and it wasn’t dangerous I was so mad. Eventually the soldier gave us our passports back and we got back on the bus but the whole thing was ridiculous. In Jerusalem we parted ways. I went with Bethany to her friends apt in the old city. Its just inside Jaffa Gate which is actually a great location now that I think about it. We went with her friend Meta and crashed someone’s birthday party, which was quite fun and delicious and came home around 10 to get some sleep before our big day of olive picking.

Sunday was hot and sunny (surprise surprise) we filled our water bottles and headed to the meeting point for the group to go pick olives. Picking olives isn’t that hard in it self but just being out in hot hot sun even for a few hours was enough to drain my energy. We picked from about 10 to 3 with a lunch break. We got a lot but apparently this season is less than last season, but I think it was expected. The place we were picking is just west of Jerusalem. It is next to a settlement. At one point a security guard from the settlement came down to us and asked us if we owned the land. Of course we don’t so we called the real owner, who apparently has a good relationship with the people of the settlement. The security guard had thought we were other Israelis stealing his olives. It was kind of weird. I always assume any confrontation with settlers will be negative. This time I guess you could say it was positive, but the guy still lives on a settlement so he can’t be fully redeemed. While picking olives I was invited to a dinner that Bethany had already been invited to, so we went back to Jerusalem took showers rested and went to dinner. Which was amazing! Then we got a ride to the checkpoint and walked home from there.

Monday there were lots of meetings in the office. First, one for all the staff, then me with Jason and Erich to talk more about the stepping stones program, then with me, Jason and Saleem about the impact program, then going to see the guy at the center where we have the impact program. Eventually lunch happened. After that Jason and I drove around beit sahour looking for tires and bricks to use for building the composting toilets. This was kind of fun. It’s amazing how many tires are just lying around in Palestine. I will never cease to be amazed. We finished around 5 and Rachel was driving to Bethlehem so she gave me a ride home (woot)

Tuesday I met Saleem at the climbing tower. We had to take off the lower handholds because kids kept climbing on them when we weren’t there and they could fall. That took FOREVER but eventually we finished hung out in the office for a bit, and then headed to the center for more manual labor. We worked all day until about 4:30. I ended up walking home, which is all up hill. This is only the second time I’ve had to walk. I guess its good exercise but I’m so tired by the time I get home. When I got home Bethany told me she was going to the AIC (Alternative Information Center) google it. One of the founders of the AIC café in Beit Sahour was giving a talk on advocacy work for Palestine when you go back to your country of origin. It was very interesting, but I was pretty exhausted so Bethany and I went home as soon as it was over.

Wednesday I walked to work. Jason, Saleem and I made a plan for the impact program on Fri morning. I am very excited I finally get to play with kids and practice my Arabic more. After the meeting I drove with Jason back to his house to get his car with all the center supplies in it. I drove his car to the center and he drove his scooter, so I could practice driving it later on. We worked most of the morning. I was exhausted so I didn’t feel I was getting much done. At lunch I drank about half a liter of coke zero. That helped a lot. After I ate I went back to the center and practiced driving the scooter. I basically mastered turning etc… I came back and Saleem came too and we did more work. We almost finished laying the base tires for the walls of the bathroom.  This is very precise work so it takes a long time and then you have to fill each tire with rocks and dirt so they will make a strong wall. We finished around 5. Since I had mastered the scooter I decided to drive it home. All was well until a car stopped suddenly in front of me. I tried to stop suddenly as well but that doesn’t work so well on a scooter and I ended up falling over. I must say it’s a good thing I had a helmet on. I don’t think ill ever drive with out it. I was fine just a few scrapes but I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t had a helmet on I would have hit my head on the ground. Some guys came and helped me up. I took a few minutes to collect my self, hopped back on and drove the rest of the way home with out incident. So now I know I always need to keep a lot of space between me and the car in front of me, and hopefully Ill survive this adventure in scooter driving in Palestine. Once I got home I took a shower sat down and wrote all of this. I hope I wont leave this much time between posts again, but things are busy here. If you’re still reading this I love you…. I guess that’s all for now.

Driving, Beer and building a ropes course

Oookay so the volunteer BBQ wow that seems like a year ago but I guess it was only a week ago. It was quite fun. I ate an absurd amount of grilled vegetables, belayed some people on the climbing tower, played with Hibba and some other children, and generally had a lovely time. Everyone here is so damn nice it’s hard to get over it. After the BBQ some of us went over to Jason and Sarah’s just to hang out and chat for awhile and eventually I got a ride home from Rachel and the promise of a ride to Jerusalem the next day (woot!) I packed and went to bed.

Sunday Morning I was dropped off a few blocks from Naomi and Miriam’s apt. We all just hung out for most of the day and then cooked a very early dinner because kol nidre started at 5 (ew) we ate a lot in an attempt to stay full until the next evening (epic fail) and then headed to services. We went to Kedem which does not associate with any particular stream of Judaism but I would describe as orthodox egalitarian with a good amount of singing so maybe a little Carlbach thrown in there too. (if you have no idea what I’m talking about look it up it will be educational) After services we walked home and this was an event unto itself. No one drives in Jerusalem on Yom Kippur, unless it is a medical emergency, so every one just hangs out in the street. We saw people just sitting in the middle of the street. Also you see bikes everywhere. It was quite a sight. I wish I could have taken a picture, but that would be a no no on Yom Kippur. Eventually we made it through the throngs of people back home. Then, I met Chelsea who is a friend of Sarah’s (Naomi and Miriam’s roommate) who is also a Jew living and working in the west bank. She is working in a school in Nablus. This is to me most impressive. Places like Ramallah and Bethlehem are pretty cushy compared to Nablus so to be there long term is very commendable.  We exchanged information and hopefully will be in contact in the future.

Monday Morning was more services; Kedem in the morning from 9am to 1:30 and HUC (reform) in the afternoon from 3:30 to 6:15. Im pretty sure I have never prayed so much in my life. Kedem was my first non reform Yom Kippur service. It was nice. I liked that it was less of a show and more of a community service, but so so so long and so much standing. The HUC service was more familiar, but I was getting faint toward the end so it was not so enjoyable. After the service we had some Juice and challah and then went to a Pardes apt for a breakfast themed break fast (hehehe) the food was delicious as food always is when you are starving, and I met some more nice and interesting people. We were all tired so we took a cab home from dinner. Miriam and I tried to finish watching the second episode of Glee we had started Sunday, but the Internet was having issues so eventually we gave up and went to bed nice and early.

Tuesday Morning I got up and left with Naomi and got a bus back to Bethlehem. I hung out at home for a bit and then headed to the office in Beit Sahour.  It turns out there wasn’t a whole lot for me to do that day, but I helped Jason and Saleem with some organizing and some stuff at the site. It was probably good they didn’t have a lot for me so I could go home and do laundry and some other things before Yousef came to say good bye (again) before he left for school in Cyprus. He couldn’t stay for too long because apparently he had borrowed/stolen his brother’s rental car to come (silly boys) but we hung out for a bit said our good byes and that was that.
Bethany had just gotten back from Jordan that night and gotten another three months, so she made this delicious chocolate sauce and we ate it with ice cream to celebrate, so I guess it was a bitter sweet evening. I had to be at the site the next day at 9am so after some roommate bonding I went to bed.

Wednesday was a long hard day. The backhoe guy came to dig holes for the cement for the posts for the ropes course, but he made them too big, so first we had to build walls in all the holes to make them smaller. Then the cement guy came and the truck could only reach some of the holes, so we had to carry cement in buckets to a lot of the holes. If you have never had to do this, cement is really really heavy. At first I could barely lift a bucket but eventually my super human strength took over and I over came my lack of upper body strength. We didn’t finish until it was dark. Jason was nice enough to give me a ride home. I went straight to the shower. Made some dinner and passed out.

Thursday I woke up with a cold (poop) but I still went to the site at 9 to help Jason put water on all the cement holes. Apparently you have to keep cement wet while its drying… who knew. So we did that and then some more clean up of the site. Rachel and Bonnie were there too. After some clean up we decided to go to Jason’s and measure out the cable we had and also we had to build a bed for Ben the guy coming to build the ropes course. After that we were going to take a break and meet at the site again at 2pm when more volunteers were coming, but I was feeling like death on a Triscuit, so Rachel drove me home and I stayed there. I sat on my butt and drank tea and watched TV until bedtime. (this is what I do when I’m sick)

Friday I was feeling a bit better. Jason called me at 8:30 to see if I would be willing to take his car to tel aviv to pick up Ben (the ropes course guy) at the airport. I was half asleep so I said sure why not. I had driven for the first time ever in Israel or Palestine 2 days before and that was only in Beit Sahour. I was a little nervous, esp since Jason’s car is in a sad state, but I guess there is no time like the present to get over ones fears of driving in Israel or Palestine. I got the car from Sarah when we all met for our girls lunch in Bethlehem. First I had to get gas, which wasn’t so bad because Palestine is like New Jersey in that you don’t ever get to pump your own gas. Then I went home for a few mins to make a sign for Ben. Jason called right before I left to tell me I needed to put water in the car so it wouldn’t over heat on the way (good to know) and then I was off.  It wasn’t too bad. The car had some issues going up the big hills, but we made it. The airport was a zoo, but Ben saw my lovely sign and I only had to wait about half an hour.  On the way back to Bethlehem it was a little scarier. The car actually died a few times, but I was able to bring it back to life (woot) and eventually we made it to Jason and Sarah’s house. Jason drove me home. I made dinner hung out with Bethany for a bit and then went to bed.

Saturday I slept late did some cleaning and then met up with Rachel, Audra and Saleem at Café Sima up the hill from my apt. We hung out for a bit and then Rachel and I drove to Taybeh for the Taybeh Festival. In case you are wondering, Taybeh is the only Brewery in the west bank. It makes pretty delicious beer, and every October they have a festival. It was pretty fun. I think almost every international in Palestine was there. There was good music and food, and at around 7pm half of Birzeit showed up. This was the best part for me. I finally got to see Omar!!! And Tamer showed up too. And Ahmed and William and everyone (well minus one) It was so nice to see Birzeit people. I also ran into Chelsea the girl who lives in Nablus and Rachel also found a crew she knew. It was a pretty good night all in all, but sadly the Beer drinking did not cure my cold. Rachel and I were really hungry when we got back to Bethlehem, so we got pizza at Mundos. And then I went home and passed out.

  
Today  (Sunday) I did a lot of shopping. I have barely done any cooking since Ive been here and this must be remedied. I also finally found Zaatar, which was very exciting. We were supposed to start working on the ropes course tomorrow at 7am but Jason just called me to say we didn’t get the posts and beams we need yes, so we are just going to meet at 9am in the office to figure out plan B and hopefully we will be able to start Tuesday or Wednesday and just work ridiculously hard to get this thing up before Ben has to leave on Thursday night OY VEH!!! Is all I have to say. Its going to be an intense couple of days.  As Jason Said a few days ago Palestine is wonderful its just really hard to build anything here. This is true I guess and even more true if you’re an American trying to build something. I hope everything will work out in the end and by the end of this week we will have a ropes course. Inshallah, Bezrat Hashem etc….

DO NOT GET IN FIGHTS WITH PALESTINIAN TREES!!!!!

Lesson of the week….. DO NOT GET IN FIGHTS WITH PALESTINIAN TREES!!!!

And if you want an explanation you’ll just have to read a little further ☺

Sooo lets see I left off the night before I was to start my volunteer work for PAIDIA, and its been quite the crazy start. PAIDIA has been planning a three day carnival for the past few months and it began on Monday. So I got to the office around 9am there was a meeting about lots of things, and then I had a short meeting with Erich (the boss) about what I was going to be doing for the year, and then we went in to carnival mode. I helped with organizing prizes and blew up a lot of balloons. Eventually we fit some lunch in there and then headed to the park where we would be setting up for the carnival. Starting from the moment we got to the park I spoke more Arabic in one night than I have in my life. There were lots of kids when we got there and they all wanted to know what was going on, so I did my best to explain in my sad sad Arabic that we were having a carnival. They seemed pretty excited and kept asking me more and more questions. I only understood about ¾ of them and could only give good answers for about half, but I think that’s ok for not using Arabic in over a year.
We spent a lot of time setting up for the carnival. I was assigned to the climbing tower. This was a lot of fun, but also very stressful. There is no such thing as a line in Palestine, so we did our best to keep kids organized in the order that they bought their tickets to climb the tower but it was pretty much a big mess. By the end of the night I was cold and tired and hungry but felt great about all the Arabic and seeing the kids so happy made up for everything else.

Tuesday I didn’t have to be at the office until 11, so that was nice.  The day went pretty much the same just with less meetings and we went to the site earlier to set up. Once the carnival began there was mass chaos ones again, but a good kind of chaos.  When I finally got home my roommates were watching the 2008 American music awards what they put on TV here never ceases to amaze me. I watched too for a bit and then passed out for the night.

Wednesday was the last night of the carnival. Rachel was ecstatic as this has been her baby from the beginning and she was ready to be done. I still didn’t have to go to work until 11, but then we went almost straight to the site to set up everything, and so this time we had just enough time to get dinner and breathe for a minute before all the kiddies came. Saddly it was a bit chilly and there were a lot less people there on Wednesday. We had a few climbers at the tower, but mostly I chatted with some other volunteers who came from Jerusalem University College.

It has been very interesting for me to meet so many people that are in Israel or Palestine mainly because of their religion.  I guess that is why I am here too, but it isn’t as forefront in my mind as it is for many of these people. I think it seems strange because when I was at Birzeit almost every one was a devout atheist, so I got used to the idea of that being the people who come here, but I was mistaken and its nice to meet Christians who are (as Eddie Izzard would say) relaxed and groovy, and not trying to convert any one, just wanting to help.

After the carnival I went with Rachel to take the students from Jerusalem home, and then she dropped me off at home, and I was welcomed with a plate of apple cinnamon muffins that Bethany made ( I love my roommates!) now they were watching the 2009 Grammys I think, but I was too tired to pay much attention, and I went to bed pretty soon after getting home.

Thursday we needed to do some work clearing the site where we will be building a high ropes coarse. This is when I learned my lesson about trees. We were clearing lots of rubble and large branches. At one point I had to pull a dead branch from a tree. It took some effort but eventually I was victorious (or so I thought) then I lugged the branch to the large pile we already had and threw it on top of the pile but it bounced and whacked me straight in the forehead, which then bled a lot. All in all it wasn’t really that bad, but I learned my lesson and was much more gentle with the trees and their branches from then on. We worked until about 5:30 Then I went with Erich to get a bunch of food for a bbq at his house, (chicken for every one else and a giant eggplant for me yum!) we hung out and talked til almost 1am and since I don’t live in Beit Sahour I ended up crashing in the spare bedroom at Jason and Sarah’s house. Jason and Sarah have a 1 and ½ year old daughter named Hibba and a baby boy named Matthias who was born about a week ago.

So Friday I didn’t really get to sleep in, but it was ok. I got up and played with Hibba until nap time and then I went to a girls lunch in Bethlehem with Sarah and several other American women who are living and working in the area. It was quite nice, and very close to my house. So I walked home and basically hung out with the roommates until Katie and I went to a party at the Permaculture farm run by a bunch of Brits in Beit Sahour. Katie’s sister has a car and lives near by so we got a ride (woot) The party was pretty fun and I met some nice new people. The farm is pretty impressive if you want to know more about it you can look at their web site http://www.bustanqaraaqa.org. These people are doing really good and important work, and they know how to throw a good party ☺ We left a bit early because our ride was tired, but it was a good night, and now I have to get ready for the bbq for all the volunteers for the carnival. And Tomorrow is the night of Yom Kippur so I better start getting in to repent mode. ☺ To all my Jewish friends I hope you will have a meaningful fast this Yom Kippur. To all my other friends don’t eat in front of your Jewish friends on Monday they will not like you for this☺

A Jew in Palestine Part 2 Bethlehem Edition

14/9/09

So Ive been here for almost a week now and Im just getting the chance to sit down with my thoughts and attempt to get them down on paper (or I guess on screen) Ive been having a million thoughts go through my head since I set foot off the plane at Ben Gurion airport, but it is always hard for me to organize them in to something coherent and readable….. I shall do my best but I make no promises.

Before I get in to all the lovely things I have done so far this week. I wanted to share my thoughts on my first Rosh Hashanah here. One would think that with the amount of times Ive traveled to Israel and/or Palestine I would have been here for the high holidays before, but alas this was my first time, and I found my self to be both excited and conflicted. Which reminded me of feeling the exact same way a year ago when I was here for Pesach.

For most major Jewish Holidays Israel basically seals off the west bank. Only Internationals and Palestinians with permits, and who are over 45 If they are women and 50 if they are men are allowed through. This was particularly disturbing to me a year ago when I went to Jerusalem for Pesach, which is a holiday that celebrates the Jewish peoples deliverance from bondage, and subsequent freedom in a new land (this land). It is hard for me to see how the Israeli government justifies taking away one peoples freedom to celebrate their own. The general argument of suicide attacks could be given, but I have a suspicion that the real reason is so they wont need as many soldiers at the check points so more of them can go home for the holidays. Which is nice for those soldiers, and a complete disregard of the human rights of the Palestinian people.

This Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year) happened to coincide with the end of Ramadan. Israel promised that despite the border closing, they would still accommodate for the over 300,000 Palestinians expected to head to Jerusalem for the last Friday of Ramadan. But…….. “A report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affiars (UN-OCHA) noted that last week at least 60 percent of Palestinians were denied entry to East Jerusalem on Fridays, and noted that entry of eligible Palestinians ‘proved difficult due to physical obstacles and lack of adequate arrangements on the checkpoints.’" (http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=226653&MARK=border)

I saw this first hand when I was crossing through the check point from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. When I first got there the line was not moving at all, and eventually I figured out that this was because there were no Israeli soldiers at the gate. I was worried that they had just closed it and left for the weekend, but about 20-30 minutes after I arrived two soldiers eventually made their way to the gate to decide who got to go to Jerusalem that day.

Every one pushed forward towards the gate and was trying to show their papers to the soldiers. Most of the young men were turned away. I was trying to edge my way forward, but I haven’t quite got my Palestine balls yet and I was still being the polite American I was taught to be, so my progress was slow. Eventually a man next to me pulled my arm and yelled at the soldiers and pushed me forward. In effect basically saying “look she’s blond you can let her through” This was very nice of the man, but I always feel a little guilty getting special treatment at check points…. Any ways I made it through with no more problems and got a bus for the 7 min ride to Miram and Naomi’s street. Im pretty sure If there was no check point and I could drive straight from my apt in Bethlehem to Miriam and Naomi’s apt in Talpiyot it would take about 10 mins total. It took me about an hour this time and could have taken much longer, and if I were Palestinian I probably wouldn’t have made it at all.

In ten days Jews all over the world will ask the people in their lives and God for forgiveness for the wrongs they have committed against them. As someone who wants to work in the field of conflict resolution I both long for and worry about the day when Israel will have to ask for the forgiveness of the Palestinian people for the many wrongs they commit against them every day.

Ok now that Ive written my rant for the week I will let you know about all the not so angry things I did this week. Also, a reminder from last time, this blog is also for me to remember things so if I go in to boring details I apologize I want to remember everything!

Soooo I arrived on Monday night. I was picked up at the airport by Rachel, who works at PAIDIA. (in case you’re wondering what the hell im doing here check out pidev.org) We stopped at McDonalds on the way to Bethlehem from Tel Aviv. Not the best gastronomic start for my return, but I was too tired to argue. Rachel took me to my apt in Bethlehem. I met my roommates we all hung out for a bit and chatted, and then I was exhausted so I showered and passed out.

Tuesday Sarah, the person I have mostly corresponded with from PAIDIA, came to get me from my apt at 10 and gave me a little driving tour of Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, which is where PAIDIA is located. The tours were pretty quick as Sarah was scheduled to induce labor and have a baby later that day. I also met her very adorable daughter Hibbah, who was afraid of me at first, but warmed quickly. Sarah took me to a produce place and grocery store to get some essentials, which was basically tomatoes, cucumbers, pita and Humus. Then she took me home. I decided to finish unpacking. And plan for my excursion to Ramallah/Birzeit the next day.

Wednesday I left my apt around 1:30 to go to Ramallah. I was told by my friend Rima to take a bus to Jerusalem and then to Ramallah because that would be better. I think maybe she would be correct at other times but it is Ramadan so traffic is heavier and this time it was pretty horrendous. First of all I took a wrong turn on the way to the checkpoint so a 15-20 min walk turned in to almost an hour to get to the checkpoint. Then there was a very long line, lots of pushing and shoving. Finally I got through and got on a bus to Jerusalem. But this time it was almost 4 and traffic was rather slow. Then I got on a bus to Ramallah, and I thought everything was going to be a breeze from there, but it seems some things have changed since I left. It used to be that if you were driving in to Palestine you didn’t have to get off the bus, but this time they made us get off and walk through the checkpoint and then I had to catch another bus to Ramallah.

It was nice to finally be somewhere that I was familiar with. I met up with my friends Yousef and William and we went to the only restaurant open/selling alcohol in Ramallah during Ramadan. I was starving since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was about 5:30. So we got some pizza, and beer (ya know traditional Palestinian food) and chatted for awhile. Some how we got on the topic of marriage, and I was trying to explain to them that I didn’t think divorce was such a big deal, and you shouldn’t have to stay married to someone forever if its not working out. They both disagreed with me, but we had a good debate. Eventually we made it to Birzeit. I went for a walk by myself just to think and reminisce a little. It was a bit sad actually. I kept walking by peoples doors wanting to ring the bell and play with them, but knowing they didn’t live there ne more. After wandering for awhile and a quick email check at living stones I went back to William’s store, which he is very proud of, and hung out with him and Yousef for the rest of the evening.

I got back to Bethlehem Thursday afternoon, after some adventures in the old city. I then spent the rest of the day decorating and beautifying my room. It is now covered in photos of the last 4 years or so of my life and some pretty scarves. Then spent the evening bonding with my roommates which was very nice.

Friday I headed to Jerusalem for Rosh Hashanah and had the adventure described above. I got to Naomi and Miriam’s apt in the early afternoon. I helped them clean a bit since they were doing all the cooking. Then I went to dinner with Miriam to her cousin’s house. Most of the family was very nice and sane, until I was telling Miriam’s great uncle that I was from Chicago, and he said something about oh whos that guy from Chicago, and Miriam’s cousin who is our age says “Barak HUSEIN Obama” and the great uncle says oh yeah hes from Chicago, after which the young cousin says “originally from Kenya” Miriam and I just looked at eachother in shock. Seriously? Really? An Israeli Birther wtf! I can understand not agreeing with his policies, but a birther??! That’s just ridiculous. The rest of the meal went very well though and we definitely ate some delicious food.

Sat Morning I learned about synagogue hopping. We decided to go to Kol Hanishama (The reform synagogue) first and then left after the torah service to go to Kedem which is a egalitarian conservadox carlbachish shul. They don’t have their own building they they do have a lot of spirit. I am still not totally comfortable in non reform services, but I followed along well enough and knew mostly what was happening, and the singing was great. The best part was seeing OSRUI people at both services……because OSRUI people are EVERY WHERE! After the service we went to a pot luck lunch of mostly Pardes students. Pardes is I guess best described as an egalitarian yeshiva. I think most or all the teachers are men, but the students are mostly young anglo men and women of fairly liberal backgrounds. They are also also young people who have decided to dedicate this year and probably more of their lives to Jewish text study. They are all interesting and many of them funny, and I think a very good group to have around for holidays. Lunch was delicious and afterwards I vowed for the third time in a week that I would never eat again. Sat night Naomi and I decided not to go to services and to just got for a walk make our own dinner, and just generally chill. It was a pleasant evening that ended in Pecan pie….enough said ☺

Sunday morning I was awoken by Miriam to go to second day services I don’t normally observe the second day of Rosh Hashanah, but since the first day was on Shabbat they could blow the shofar, and I needed to get my shofar fix for the year, so I went with Miriam to another shul that was orthodox and also fairly egalitarian. There was a mechitzah (divider between men’s and women’s side) but it was down the middle and women participated in the service. There were also about a million babies and toddler, so when I got bored I had lots of cute faces to entertain me. After services Miriam, Naomi, and their roommate Sarah were hosting a lunch, so we went back to the apt and prepared for the guests. I have to say Miriam and Naomi pick their friends quite well. This was one of the most entertaining lunches of my life. Lots of laughing and fun stories. The only downer was when Avi, one of the guests informed the hosts that they technically lived on the Palestinian side of the green line. I kind of knew this already, but didn’t feel the need to tell them since there wasn’t anything they could do about it. Talpiyot (where Miriam, Naomi and most of Pardes lives) is thought of by most Jeruselemites as just a suburb of Jerusalem, but that’s how a lot of settlers feel about where they live.

Im not sure I would call it a settlement, but the conversation made me think about the fact that most Israelis and Jews even if they are fairly liberal still see all land to the west of the 67 green line as rightfully Israel’s and while that may be true legally. It does not explain away the 700,000 Palestinians that were kicked out of what is called “Israel Proper.” I think it is important that some day Israelis and Jews realize that while a two state solution may or may not be the answer to everyone’s problems the Palestinians had a lot more than the land east of the green line taken from them, and are owed something for this

Ok I went off on a political tangent again its hard not to do when im living here. But its passed my bed time and I start working at PAIDIA tomorrow so I need to get some sleep to make a good first impression. I realize this post is 4 pages long. Ill do my best to scale it down in the future, but like I said before no promises ☺