Almond and Lemon Trees

The almond trees are in bloom, light blossoms cover the branches and men are selling the raw green nuts off of carts near Manara. Winter was short and is a faint memory these days as the sun comes out to warm my face. The months seem long yet but weeks are passing in a blur. I can't decide how I will feel when I finally leave this place. I'm looking forward to summer maybe a little too much, I must remember to live in the present. The tree in my backyard is heavy with lemons, I'm tempted to pick all the fruit and make lemonade. Maybe once the heat comes I will no longer be able to resist.

Nablus

After having a delicious meal of hummus, pita and fool in Ramallah I went to Nablus last weekend and walked around the Old City. I saw an amazing stall where a man was selling dozens of different types of pickled vegetables, the neon pink and yellow mounds were beautiful, unfortunately it was too dark for me to get a good picture. Had some delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. There was a lot of raw meat sitting around.

A Sense of Hope

Friday night I walked down to the Manara to see the demonstration. Palestinians of all ages stood in a group between the building where Stars and Bucks is and the Bank of Palestine cheering and chanting. It was cold but there were a few hundred gathered together, chanting in Arabic 'down with the regime' and 'freedom for Gaza and Jerusalem.' I could feel the energy in the air and I kept smiling. A woman handed out candy bars and the guy next to me passed me one. Other people threw candy in the air. Men waved large Egyptian and Palestinian flags. The fall of Hosni Mubarak has lit a spark but there's still a long way to go. A friend of a friend leaned over and said to me 'feel sorry for our country, they can't celebrate Egypt only, they have to do something for our country too.' My friend Tala says that no Palestinian with a brain is going to try to start a revolution the way the Egyptians did because it just won't work. A new government has to be put into place and it's going to take time. But after so much time of stagnant tension, there's truly a sense of hope in the air.

Back to work

Well I'm back in the West Bank. Leaving India was hard, it's going to be quite different the next time I go. My trip went fairly well, I talked to this interesting guy from Germany who had been doing a year long program on Leprosy education. We talked about Germany and how he always feels sort of ashamed saying where he's from because of history. He also said that a lot of Germans feel sympathetic towards the Palestinians but can't be seen as being anti-Israel in any way. He was reading Shantaram.

On the flight from Mumbai to Istanbul I was lucky to see two empty seats so I changed seats and slept for most of the 7hr flight. In the airport I bought a few more pretty coasters and then went to wait at the gate. There was a group of students doing study abroad who had been in Cairo recently but had to leave because of everything that's going on there. I talked to a few of them about their program, they were all very nice and it was sort of nice to talk to some Americans my own age doing similar things.

When I arrived in Tel Aviv luckily the line at Immigration wasn't long but I'm still on a tourist visa and will have to leave and come back in three months. My taxi plans got a bit mixed up so I waited in the airport for an hour so he could come get me and then I was finally one my way. The sky was beautiful as always. cloudy with patches of light shining through. My apartment looks the same. Today is a day to rest and then it's back to the grind tomorrow.

I'm in India, Pune, my home away from home for the holidays. I got my wisdom teeth out, I went to the doctor, cheap medical care is where it's at. But everyday I go online and read about the riots in Egypt, the shootings in Hebron, the building tension, and part of me wants to be there. I wish I could be that passionate about something, I want to watch history in the making, not from afar but up close and very personal. My mom says if things start going south with Israel/Palestine then I'm not going back but I wouldn't want to stay put, I would want to be part of something meaningful. I'm not necessarily a joiner, I'm not an activist but I want to be a witness.

I think if I had the balls for it I would be a war journalist, unfortunately I'd probably die on day one so I've never seriously considered pursuing that path. Then again if I had the money I'd also go to culinary school to get a pastry chef degree...it's not exactly like I know what I want to do with the rest of my life.

The passion, the uprising sweeping parts of the Middle East has created concern over a domino effect. In Egypt if Mubarak falls the Muslim Brotherhood basically stands next in line for the throne. What would that do to the region? The world? Do you think the people in the streets are thinking of that or are they just so overcome with a desire for freedom that they are ready to walk straight into a tighter prison?

I wonder if this is a true revolutionary beginning or just a ripple of dissent...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/02/free-gaza-youth-manifesto-palestinian

1/11/2011

Wow I can't believe it's already 2011! Happy belated New Year!

Christmas break was pretty nice, I went to Egypt with a coworker. We went to the coast and the water was just amazing, it was so clear and blue. There were reddish rough mountains like the texture of the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley. We stayed for a few days, hung out on the beach and went snorkeling. It was beautiful.

Before that I went to an Israeli prison to sit in on court hearings with a field trip from school. The "court rooms" were tiny buildings with three prisoners going through at a time. It seemed like a pretty chaotic system but I suppose they have it worked out.

This past friday I went and saw an amazing musician at a bar in Ramallah. His voice was awesome and his style sort of reminded me of Jack Johnson but Dan told me the lyrics are more critical of culture and politics.

Work has been pretty hectic, finals are hitting the kids hard and they're all rushing in to get their papers edited. It's tiring.

I leave for India on Friday, I can't wait!