Nakba

May 15, 2011

Tomorrow is the Nakba, the day Palestinians mourn the creation of the Israeli state and the mass deportation of Palestinians and the destruction of their villages. The university will be closed which is unfortunate because it was closed all last week after a man was killed nearby setting off more local conflict. As my friends from work and I drove home today we could already see the beginning of activity. A dumpster on it's side flanked by burning tires blocked off one of the roads. As we passed Qalandia we noticed about 20 Israeli soldiers surrounding the refugee camp. Further down the street young men began to hurl rocks at the standing soldiers, the nearby shops were all closed, my friend drove faster. A mass of young men stood on the sidewalk waiting, casual yet ready for anything. "It's starting," my friend said.

Yesterday my friend's boyfriend got stuck for over three hours at Qalandia waiting to go to Jerusalem. Soldiers were throwing tear gas and traffic was at a stand still. Demonstrations have begun all over the West Bank. Men under 45 without a blue (Jerusalem) ID were not allowed into the Old City to go pray at the Mosque. Already there are reports of teenage boys being shot. This year, with all that is going on in the Arab world the Nakba has the potential to get out of hand. Hopefully the cost will not be too high.

Dome of the Rock

My mom and I went to Jerusalem and visited the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock over spring break. The Wailing Wall wasn't very big but there were a lot of people praying there, tiny notes were stuck in the cracks between the stones, letters to God. At the Dome of the Rock children were playing soccer in the open space, it's an absolutely gorgeous building. From far away it looks brand new but when you move closer you can see signs of age.

Limonana Summer

The heat is starting to set in but this definitely helps me cool down. It's basically lemonade with mint, it's delicious.

I feel
heavy.
Weighed down
by decisions.
Lack of
accomplishment.
Do you miss
the things
you will never
complete?
If not,
I will
miss them
for you.

Each And Every One

Spring break is next week and my mom is coming to visit. It should be interesting to travel around a bit more, I haven't done much of that since I've been here.

I'm looking forward to getting out of here though, not that it hasn't been nice but this is probably going to be my last summer home and I'd like to savor it. I want to sit on the dock and eat Waterfront pizza, I want to go to The Rose and eat their delicious popcorn, I want to sit at Dogs-A-Foot with Sumi and drink tart lemonade, I want to get a scoop of Oreo Mint at Elevated Ice Cream, I want to drive around town with the windows down listening to the radio, I want to watch the sun set at Fort Worden, I want to drink a margarita on the deck at Sirens, I want to be with my friends and my family, these moments are summer and home to me and I'm looking forward to each and every one.

April showers bring May flowers

Happy April! It's been so sunny and warm lately but today we had a reminder of winter with rain and cold. However, the tiny pink blossoms outside my door looked beautiful covered in raindrops and I got to wear my kickass brown boots so it wasn't too bad. Work was slow and I resumed my attempt at reading The God of Small Things, I didn't get very far...

One of my students told me he might be dropping out because he's not getting along with his girlfriend. He wants her to wear the hijab and not talk to other boys and she's saying no. And he wants to marry her but can't unless she does these things. Ah young love, drama drama drama.

On the way home today the small car in front of us had five sheep squished together in the back. I felt bad for them because I could see them losing their footing every time the car went around a corner. They were really cute though.