The snowy town of Beit Sahour

These 3 weeks will be interesting! After hotel hopping around Egypt and Jordan at a frantic rate, we now get 3 consecutive weeks at Palestinian homes in Beit Sahour, a suberb of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Phil and I are living at the Shomali house about a mile and a quarter from ATG (Alternative Tourism Group) where we have our daily classes, lectures, and tours. It's been fun to have other students living nearby our house to hang out with their families in the evening. Today is special because the snow has canceled ATG giving me extra time to blog! Schools have been canceled for a few days or the teachers have been on strike, but until now we've always had ATG.

It has been really nice to settle down these last 4 days. Phil and I have our own appartment in the basement of the Shomali house, but it has been more fun to spent time upstairs watching Arabic TV or just talking with my host dad. We've learned a bit of Arabic, so I can pratice a bit on my family. We don't know the letters yet, but I can say sabah ilheer every morning to greet my family!

Driving to Israel from Jordan was interesting, but I'd say boring as well. We stopped on Mt Nebo but this ever-present rain storm chased us away from the lookout and severely reduced our visability. Then we got our exit stamps, drove across no man's land and the tiny Jordan River and made it to the Israeli border. We all made it through in less than 30 minutes. I guess I should be thankful for an easy crossing, but I say it was boring. We skipped all the lines, they didn't check our luggage at all, and the only decision we faced was whether to get our passports stamped or a slip of paper to slide into our passports. I would have rather experienced a real border crossing.

We saw Jericho and the Dead Sea and we drove up the Mount of Olives to see old Jerusalem and all the sights, but all that was only a glimpse. Later in the program we'll live in Jerusalem for 2 weeks. Now we live in the oppressed West Bank. We were given tours of the illegal settlements, the fences and the wall on our first day. It certianly seems unfair an quite oppressive, but the Palestinians here seem to live a normal life, except for the fact that they can't travel 5km away to see Jerusalem and any extensive travel is a hassel barely worth dealing with. I'm sure I'll experience even more of this in the next few weeks.

Our experience at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was interesting! See, we actually got kicked out. We were having a nice little tour from Imman, an ATG worker, when Linford saw the perfect opportunity for a joke. He said it, we laughed as has happened hundreds of times this trip. Then they kicked us out. No laughing in the Church of the Nativity! Remember that. After we stood outside for a while we were able to go back in and see the cave when Jesus was born and the alter of the 3 magi. It's a great church with fantastic history!

We also went to Bethlehem University, walked along the Separation Wall, saw the Shepherds Field, and experienced Palestinian cuisine and music. All of those stories will have to wait until later though.

As for my journaling, this steady home situation has allowed me to write a lot more. It has been incredibly good for me as I sort out my surroundings and experiences and my health. I haven't exactly been healthy for a while. Actually, I've been downright miserable, but there have been plenty of distractions so I've been able to continue enjoying life! If someone wants to hear more about my journal entries these last days then they'll just have to ask me when I'm home. Sorry.

I keep singing too! A lot of Bebo Norman recently, but I had a Celtic Woman stuck in my head randomly the other day. I can't even remember which one it was! Life is good!