Correction

sooo apparently I was misinformed. The reason the settlers refer to the structures at osh Ghrab as illegal is because technically the land still belongs to Israel. The land was confiscated by the IDF and they left but the confiscation order doesnt have an exiration date so until there is an official order for the land to be returned to the ownership of the municipality it is technically Israeli land. This however does not change the fact that the land was taken in the first place and as far as I am concerned is really Palestinian land and in no way are the settlers entitled to take it over for their own purposes.

Anarchists, left-wingers and international activists

wow a whole month has gone by. Its amazing how time flies when you’re not blogging ☺

Its not that nothing has happened I just lost my desire to write for awhile, but now it’s back in full force. I think, due two a few recent events. First was the detention and deportation of an American friend of mine, and the continued detention of another friend. Here is an article about the situation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8458566.stm

If you read my earlier posting about visas you already know the situation here, and how hard it can be to get a valid visa if you are an international who is here for other than “legitimate” reasons. Ma’an is a Palestinian News agency, but Israel does not grant work visas to their journalists. Jared has been here on three month tourist visas for two years he is known by the IDF and many government officials because of his job, and it is only now that Israel claims they must deport him because he is a security threat. Jared was scheduled to have a hearing today. I haven’t heard any news yet on what happened, but it seems more than likely that he will be deported just like Faith was a few days ago. These two people are as far from a security threat as I could possible imagine. They are just internationals trying to live and work/volunteer in the west bank and according to Israel that means you are a security risk.

The other event is actually retaliation to something some friends and myself did. In Beit Sahour is there a very nice park called Osh Ghrab, where Paidia has our climbing tower. Across the road from the park and up a hill is an abandoned army base. When the IDF left this base the ownership of the land reverted back to the Beit Sahour Municipality, but there is a group of settlers who are trying to reclaim this land and take it over. They call it Shdema. They meet there almost every Friday and make speeches and are generally not nice. There used to be racisit and nationalist graffiti all over the site on the old buildings that said things like “this land is only for Jews” etc… Last Friday my self and some other people (mostly Jews) went to the site and spray painted versus from the bible and rabbinical sayings that pertain to how what these settlers are doing is against Jewish ethics and values. Such as Do not steal, do not covet your neighbor’s house etc… ask me if you want pictures. While we knew this was unlikely to unharden the hearts of the settlers we thought it may be the only way to get through to any of them. We also knew it would upset them to see they were being fought with what they think of as their own words. Sadly, we did not foresee their reaction. This past Friday they decided to retaliate by going to the Park across the road and spray painting Jewish Stars and other sayings similar to what used to be on the army base buildings all over the park. IDF soldiers that were present at the time allowed this to happen and did nothing to stop them. Arutz Sheva an Israeli right wing news agency did an article on it. (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135548)

In it I, and my friends are referred to as anarchists, left-wingers and international activists. While I don’t see any of these names as insults or negatives I do think it is interesting that they lump them all in to one category, and also that they don’t think for one moment that this was done by fellow Jews, some of whom are very pro Israel, just not pro crazy settler. In the article the settlers are referred to as Nationalist Activists and it talks about their “ongoing effort to make sure the recently abandoned military base site does not fall into enemy hands.” It also says “Shdema activists went down to the illegal structures the Arabs built at the foot of Shdema and spray painted all of the Arabs' illegal structures from within and without, on the walls, doors and floors.”

It is utterly amazing to me that someone who calls them self a journalist can actually print something like this. This land legally belongs to Beit Sahour. Im not sure what laws they are looking to when they site the buildings and climbing tower at Osh Ghrab as illegal structures. I would like to just dismiss these people and say they are the crazy minority, but they are growing and it scares me and makes me wonder if peace will ever be possible here as long as these people filled with so much hatred are allowed to have so much freedom and power.

On a lighter note, before all of this happened I had Christmas in Bethlehem! This was quite the experience. I went to my first Christmas mass at the Lutheran Christmas Church. It was nice. They had the service in Arabic, English and German, and we ended with a candle light procession while singing silent night to a reception. Then we had dinner with all 20 of us, Katie, Bethany and I all had guests. At some point all the lights went out and when they came back on there was some guy dressed as Santa Claus giving out hats, masks and noise makers. I wasn’t sure if it was Christmas or Mardi Gras. After Dinner we went to Manger Square, which is a large square outside of the Church of the Nativity. There were a bazillion people there. They had built a large stage and there were concerts and performances going on. It was pretty great. We ended the night with wine and cookies at our house. I think over all a pretty great Christmas. One thing I have learned while here is that there are three different dates for Christmas. The catholic/protestant one is Dec 25th. Then there is the Greek Orthodox Christmas, which was a week ago, and last but not least is the Armenian Christmas, which is on Tuesday. The one on the 25th is the most celebrated, but the lights stay up until after Armenian Christmas. So If you live here you get three Christmases…. Its almost as good as eight days of Chanukkah ☺

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.