Jump Mountain and Tiberius

Saturday was a jam packed day for us. One of the roommates had to work, but myself and Hali, the third roommate were off that day. Our host dad said he would take us to the Old City to go shopping in the market for souvenirs and gifts. So we got up early to go and picked up one of his cousins, Abu Firaz. Abu Firaz´s son was the one that got married a couple weeks ago. We could have gone to the market any day by ourselves, but Burhan knew a lot of the shop owners and said he would get us good deals on everything we wanted to buy so of course we were happy to hear that. It was great because I got almost everything on my list and we did some site-seeing too, stopping by some old houses and churches. We even went to an old pottery factory which was cool.
On the way home, Burhan asked us if we wanted to go to Jump Mountain and we said sure. So we made the short trip there and walked to the top which was only a 5 minute climb. What´s cool about this place is that all three faiths share this spot because it is mentioned in all three holy books for Christians, Muslims and Jews. It is a beautiful spot with views over looking all of Nazareth and the surrounding areas. You can even see Mount Tabor and some old caves. It was pretty windy, but the skies were clear and it was very enjoyable. We of course took some time to take some goofy photos before we left.
After dinner that night, Abu Firaz´s middle son, Ameer, asked us if we wanted to go to Tiberius and go swimming in the Sea of Galilee. We gladly accepted because it was a very hot day and swimming sounded really good. I requested the Jeep Wrangler as our transportation and he said ok. So my three roommates and I hopped in the Jeep with Ameer and drove to Tiberius. The ride there was so fun, cruising along in his 1981Jeep Wrangler with the wind blowing in our faces and the music turned up. The scenery made the drive just about perfect. Once we got there, Ameer turned off on a little side road and we were all wondering where exactly we were going. At the end of the little road, he started to go off road and over the rocks, stopping in a little clearing near the sea, which they call a lake. The water was perfect! The views were too and we had a blast swimming and playing marco polo and flying a Spiderman kite and just hanging out. After our swim we sat on the rocks with drinks and snacks and watched the sunset. It was awesome. Then we got back in the car and got ready to go, but the gate had been closed so Ameer went to drive around it and we got stuck. Eventually we got the Jeep unstuck and made our way home. Then we spent the rest of the evening hanging out on the roof of Ameer´s building with some drinks which was the perfect way to end an adventure filled day.

Hirbawi

I love home stays. I get a warm fuzzy feeling when someone has genuinely opened their home to others. Plus they take you places.
As many may know the kuffiyeh, the white scarf with black checkers, has become synonymous with Palestinian solidarity. Unfortunately, somewhere during the past 5 years or so it has also become trendy. Which not only means there are a lot of folks wearing it without any idea of what it represents, but that there is a high demand for them. Since there has been a high demand, China has been manufacturing A LOT of them for cheap. It's what China does. Between that, and the fact that occupation makes exporting difficult, there is one kuffiyeh factory left in the West Bank. Yes, just one.
Enter the amazing home stay I have been blessed with. I asked the dad if he could take Derek, Jenna and myself there some time. The factory is just outside of the center of Hebron, and when we arrived it was closed, but luckily a Hirbawi (the family that owns the place) was there and the dad asked politely if he could open the shop for us. So Hirbawi did.
The factory has 15 machines, but because of the decline in demand only 2 machines are running.





I was so very excited to be in there, but it was sad to see all the neglected machines.

Since we were going to Hebron, the family wanted to make an evening out of it, so two other families met up with us and we had a wonderful barbecue in this place that overlooked a valley and by night fall we could see the lights on the coast. It was beautiful.


Oh, and Derek made friends with a snake.

Aida Camp

Here are some pictures from Aida camp, another Bethlehem refugee camp. Apparently, Pope Benedict XVIXXVI (I'm not good with Roman Numerals, or Catholic facts for that matter) visited Aida camp and received a very warm welcome. The graffiti in the camp is as unique as anywhere on the Bethlehem wall. The Key above the gate leading to Aida has a "not for sale" sign on it, and stands as a promise that the Palestinians will return to their homes. The "Right of Return" is a very powerful sentiment among the Palestinian refugees, and most of the families still have the keys to their former property that they lost in '48, '67 and beyond. The key above Aida symbolizes these keys and the "Right to Return" is not for sale, nor to be bargained away in a peace process. Obviously, this is a very contentious issue, and a problematic one since the homes and properties of the refugees are being used by Israelis, who are equally adamant about their ownership rights. Apolitically, the key is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the biggest in the world.

Morning Mosque Madness

There is a beautiful mosque located in Azzah camp that is pictured in this blog. Its crescent-topped minaret triumphantly pierces the crystalline sky. And the damn thing is the bane of my existence. You see, this picture is taken from my window, and the morning prayer (somewhere between 3:30-4:30 a.m. depending on the sunrise) slices through my apartment, reverberates off of my consciousness, and eviscerates my peaceful slumber. Needless to say, it is the most intrusive alarm clock that I have ever known. When the Prophet was negotiating with God the number of times each day a Muslim should pray, he should have played harder ball with the start time.

Haifa

Last week, one of my co-workers invited myself and the other two interns to go to a lecture at Haifa University. The topic had something to do with Palestinian history. Needless to say, we didn´t actually attend the lecture because it was all in Hebrew and the three of us don´t speak Hebrew and our co-worker didn´t feel like translating or sitting through a lecture in Hebrew. The crowd there was older anyways and not students like we thought it would be. We got to walk about the university grounds with Samah, who graduated from there. The views were amazing! The Mediterranean was gorgeous and all I wanted to do was run down to the beach. My roommate and I were talking about how tempted we were to pick up and study at Haifa University just for the views. The campus itself was really nice and not very expensive. Oh to be an undergrad again and be able to study abroad for a whole semester or the school year! We decided to go have dinner at a restaurant near Ben Gurion Street that my co-worker knew. Before we sat down for dinner we took pictures of the Bahai garden which was beautiful! I want to go back so I can take a tour of the garden. The restaurant was a really cool place with very lounge-like outdoor seating. Two of my host sisters that go to school in Haifa came to dinner with us which was great because I hadn´t seen them much the previous weekend. Haifa is so pretty and I can´t wait to go back to stay with my host sisters to see the whole city.

A Limerick on the Conflict + Haiku

I figured that someone needed to keep up the fun-filled rhyming postings.

The conflict here is incredibly contentious
To say you understand would be dreadfully pretentious
What the Palestinians need, is probably a deed
But the Israelis have rights and a practical need
To pick one or the other is so shamefully self-righteous

I can also do haiku...

The perpetual conflict
Clueless gringos postulate
Outside there's silence

My aviator glasses…
Will have people flocking in masses.
The way they fit just right
Not too big and not too tight.
I feel so cool when I’m walking down the street
The sensation I get helps me ignore the heat
Aviator glasses, how did I not find you before?
My time without you is now seen as a bore
Thank you Eilat for rewarding me with this prize
I feel my ego on the rise ;)
So world look out when you see me go by
The vibe from these glasses might bring you to cry.
Thank you aviators for being so great
There is nothing similar that can equate!