Meeting New People

Today was a little less eventful and much more fun than yesterday. I'll just post about half the story now and finish it later... Too much to write!

This morning, Susie let me sleep in, which was the greatest thing ever. I had my first lazy morning in a while, sleeping until about 9:30 or 10 and getting ready really, really slowly. It was extremely cold in my hotel room when I woke up, so I took a bath instead of a shower. It's funny how the days are just gorgeous here, but the nights get cold enough that not having any heat makes things pretty difficult. When I was ready, I popped over to Susie's cousin's house and joined them for one of those absolutely fabulous Palestinian breakfasts that are heaven to me and completely run-of-the-mill for them. Hummus, fish, tomato salad, fresh bread... Yum. Why can't we eat so well in Philly? (Samer, we just have to start feeding ourselves more luxuriously, because I'm going to be totally spoiled by the time I return!)

After breakfast, Susie, her cousin's son Amir, and I headed out to Ramallah to pick up her friend Esperanza (the writers' dinner in Haifa sort of got thrown out the window, but hey, that's how life in Palestine is, and I'm happy to just go with the flow). On the way, I got my first glimpse of the Wall. It was so ugly, and this wasn't even the worst section of it. (Pics of the wall and checkpoint are to the right and below.)

Some of that creative Palestinian graffitti:

We drove out to Ramallah, and, of course, Susie got completely lost. Now, normally I would make fun of her, but in this case I didn't blame her one bit. So few streets here are actually labeled, and I know that when I have to drive around from city to city I'm going to get lost a few hundred times as well. (I too am very practiced at losing my way on unfamiliar roads...) The good thing is that Palestinians are infinitely helpful, and, with the help of a number of really great direction givers, we made it to pick up Esperanza.

Esperanza took us to her family home in Kobar, a beautiful little town nestled in the slope of one of the vast, unending strings of mountains that are all you can see in this part of the West Bank. Esperanza and her family were kind and inviting, and the view from their house is beyond spectacular (picture to the left). We had an incredible lentil soup with onions and Esperanza's mother's homemade bread. I could have fainted with the deliciousness of it! (Can you tell that I am a sucker for awesome food?) We got to hang out with Esperanza's sister Sara and her gorgeous neices (pictures below), and, with Amir's help, I had some nice conversations with Esperanza's mother. Oh, how I lament not being able to speak and understand more Arabic!

Esperanza, her neices, and Susie:

Esperanza's baby neice:

Esperanza's mother:

After a few very pleasant and relaxing hours in Kobar, Susie, Amir, and I left to go to Nablus. On the road to Nablus, we saw a number of really hideous looking settlements. I think Susie is writing a little more about the topic of Israeli vs. Palestinian houses, but I should just say that Palestinian houses are built in the context of longstanding communities that fit within the landscape of the surrounding natural environment. Israeli settlements, on the other hand, look more like suburban housing development that got plopped into the mountains. All the houses look alike, and stylistically they just don't seem to fit with the region. Below are some pictures I took from the car today.

First, the Palestinian houses:

Now the Israeli settlements:

When we got to Nablus, we had to park our rental car, which can't enter because it has Jerusalem plates, at a checkpoint right outside the city and wait for Susie's friend Shaher, who picked us up and drove us into the city with him. First, he brought us to PfP's playground in Nablus. I was so excited to see how well the people of Nablus have kept up the playground PfP donated to them (picture to the left). And, not only was the playground in great shape, but there was a new park with great landscaping and several more playgrounds around it! A bunch of children and their parents were playing on one of the playgrounds, and Susie, Shaher, Amir, and I went down to look at and take pictures of the PfP equipment. Amir and I even got a little use out of the playground!

After that, we swung by to pick up Shaher's friends Ahmed and Mohammed, both of whom are currently university students, and we had a great time together eating the delectable sweets that Nablus is known for. I have to admit that I've never been a knefe fan, but, man, that knefe was incredible. I, of course, at way, way, way too much (what a surprise) and washed it all down with an aromatic cup of Arabic coffee. Most of all, though, we had a great time with these three amazing men. I will write about them more later, as I'll be hanging out with them again on Tuesday.

Shaher at the sweets shop:

Me sticking my tongue out at Amir:

Amir kicking back:

From left to right, Amir, Shaher, Ahmed, and Mohammed:

One last reflection. I don't know if I've ever seen Susie this happy and carefree in the entire time I've known her. There is something about this land, about the people who have inhabited it for countless generations, and about the hope and optimism that is embedded in their small acts of resistance to the daily suffering of occupation... The hope and connection to a bigger history are infectious, and I can see why Susie feels so right here. And even though it is considerably more difficult for me to navigate this context, I feel it too.