Midnight: We arrive in a Bedouin town in southern Jordan. We pile out of the bus. We put our backpacks into a pickup truck and we hop into Toyota. Off-roading through the Wadi Rum desert, we scream and hold on for dear life as our driver laughs and presses down on the gas pedal even more, sending sand flying up in our wake as we speed through the desert darkness. Half and hour later, we pile down and are received with a hot Bedouin meal inside a large tent on the sand. Dinner at 1:00 AM, Bedouin style. Chicken, rice, veggies, tea, and these amazing fig cookies send us off to bed. Five girls, three beds (they were a little short in the Bedouin camp), but we're exhausted so it's no problem.
The morning light did NOT wake us up, as Bruce anticipated, so he had to come barging in at 10 AM to get us moving for breakfast in the smokey big tent. I love Bedouin tea. Another off-roading adventure and we pile out for a mountain-top hike. Gorgeous views of the famous Wadi Rum--blue skies with white clouds topping off the reds, oranges and browns of the mountains and desert floor, which is spotted with green shrubbery. The hot sun pounds down on us and we feel on top of the world. Lunch is prepared by our Bedouin guides and eaten atop a flat rock, where we nap in the sun afterwards. Back to the camp, then I find myself climbing another mountain with Chris Lim and Sarah Iskander to see the sunset over the desert. Class meeting, more tea and hookah, then back to that cozy bed.
The adventures really begin the next morning. "Exit Wadi Rum by camel"--that's what our syllabus says. Oh boy. First off, Lim chooses a nice healthy looking camel. The camels are tied in groups of three. There's one more healthy-looking one and one very old, sickly, foaming, biting, gross-looking one. Of course, me and Audrey are fighting over who gets the ugly one...but then I just hopped on the healthy one and cut her off. She gets the sicky!
Later, Audrey is untethered by a Bedouin man and her camel proceeds to go absolutely crazy. It starts running in circles, sitting down and standing back up, trying to throw her off, and then runs straight out into the desert. We're cracking up, but also kind of worried she's going to fall off. She manages to stay on though, and Later, Audrey is untethered by a Bedouin man and her camel proceeds to go absolutely crazy. It starts running in circles, sitting down and standing back up, trying to throw her off, and then runs straight out into the desert. We're cracking up, but also kind of worried she's going to fall off. She manages to stay on though, and gets tied back up to Lim as punishment.
Riding a camel is just what it sounds like: bumpy, slightly uncomfortable, hard to steer, kind of smelly. But boy do you look awesome. Especially our group, in our kafias with the gorgeous desert backdrop. It also goes very slowly. It takes us over two hours to get out of the desert. In that time, I decide that my camel (I named him Buddy) and I were going to try to escape. We untie ourselves from the others and I start digging my heels into his side and clicking my teeth at him like the Bedouin guys are doing. After a while of trying, he finally begins picking up the pace...now he's trotting...then he's running! I'm literally getting air off the saddle, bouncing up and down a good foot or so--there's no stirrups so it's hard to stay in the saddle. As I'm hanging on for dear life, I can't really steer, so Buddy heads off the path and straight into the desert. A small Bedouin man is running after me yelling "La la la!" (which means "no" in Arabic) and "Stop stop!" But I can't stop. It's not till Buddy gets bored and slows down that the man catches me, leads me back to the group and ties me behind Bruce. I'm chained up to the professor for the rest of the journey (which turned out to be fun anyways).
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Thank you, Iskanders!
First of all, this family is awesome. Sarah and her parents are some of the most hospitable people--taking all 20 of us into their apartment for dinner, letting us use the phone to call home and say hi to our moms, and entertaining us the whole evening. It extends even further.
After a trip to a shopping mall in Cairo for gifts (the biggest mall I think I've ever seen), we drove out to the Iskander's beach house on the Red Sea. They put us all up for the night, fed us in the morning, and let us use all their beach toys for our beach day the next day. Super great family. We enjoyed more swimming and beach volleyball (it never gets old) and an amazing seafood lunch. We heard from two of Sarah's uncles, both of whom are pastors, about Islam and Christianity in the Middle East, and about Christian Zionism and the obstacles it presents in the Middle East. Fascinating talks. Josie and Sarah's family made us all dinner again, as we tried to catch her little dog Mocha (who was terrified of all of us).
The end of the evening was a somewhat sober note: I viewed the documentary "Arna's Children"--which was directed by Juliano, the director of Jenin Freedom Theatre recently shot and killed. First of all, it was sad to see because of recent events. And second of all, it followed the theatre kids through the Second Intifada, where most of them died trying to fight the occupation. It was glimpse into the lives of children growing up in occupied refugee camps, and a reminder that there is still much work to be done in Israel.
A five AM wake-up jolted us out of bed the next morning, as we headed onto the bus. Destination: border crossing and ferry to Jordan. Goodbye Egypt, I hope to return someday soon!
After a trip to a shopping mall in Cairo for gifts (the biggest mall I think I've ever seen), we drove out to the Iskander's beach house on the Red Sea. They put us all up for the night, fed us in the morning, and let us use all their beach toys for our beach day the next day. Super great family. We enjoyed more swimming and beach volleyball (it never gets old) and an amazing seafood lunch. We heard from two of Sarah's uncles, both of whom are pastors, about Islam and Christianity in the Middle East, and about Christian Zionism and the obstacles it presents in the Middle East. Fascinating talks. Josie and Sarah's family made us all dinner again, as we tried to catch her little dog Mocha (who was terrified of all of us).
The end of the evening was a somewhat sober note: I viewed the documentary "Arna's Children"--which was directed by Juliano, the director of Jenin Freedom Theatre recently shot and killed. First of all, it was sad to see because of recent events. And second of all, it followed the theatre kids through the Second Intifada, where most of them died trying to fight the occupation. It was glimpse into the lives of children growing up in occupied refugee camps, and a reminder that there is still much work to be done in Israel.
A five AM wake-up jolted us out of bed the next morning, as we headed onto the bus. Destination: border crossing and ferry to Jordan. Goodbye Egypt, I hope to return someday soon!
The Giza Pyramids
Giza is to Cairo as Goleta is to Santa Barbara. According to Westmont's policies, we weren't allowed to enter downtown Cairo because of safety concerns. But Westmont didn't know we could basically see the buildings of downtown Cairo from our location in Giza. Oh well. Giza felt about as safe as LA--which means that you always run the risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but there was nothing perpetuating a more violent society here than at big cities at home.
Our morning climb was rewarded with a delicious steak, mashed potatoes, and vegetable dinner and then a treat for our ears: hearing from one of the leaders of the Revolution! We listened to him speak about the planning and motivations for the Egyptian Revolution, which was led by a youth movement. Originally, they had just planned a protest in the streets. But as police violence increased, the revolutionaries realized they should ask for more rights and eventually, the removal of Mubarak as President. The Egyptian Revolution is noteworthy because it took place so fast--Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, and other places are still having street protests but no real results yet. Egypt's massive protests were successful in turing the tide for the Egyptian people. We also heard about how this is a decisive point for Egypt's future--if the wrong people come into power in the upcoming elections, it could be bad. That's why people are hopeful in the youth movement, because the youth tend to be less religiously-motivated and more socially and economically motivated. All in all, it was a fascinating talk.
After a night in the 5-star Grand Pyramids Hotel (I could see the pyramids from my room), and the best breakfast we had had in a long time the next morning, it was off to the Giza Pyramids! A dream come true for most of us, we took a billion photos and marveled at the HUGE size of the pyramids. We got to go inside one of the smaller ones, which was neat (and really stuffy). And we had a great group photo shoot with the three larger Giza pyramids and the city of Cairo in the backdrop. We also visited the Sphynx, which was super interesting. That's where we took our Freebirds photo. Look for us on the wall this summer!
Wrapping up our awesome day in Giza, we headed to the Iskander's apartment for dinner.
Our morning climb was rewarded with a delicious steak, mashed potatoes, and vegetable dinner and then a treat for our ears: hearing from one of the leaders of the Revolution! We listened to him speak about the planning and motivations for the Egyptian Revolution, which was led by a youth movement. Originally, they had just planned a protest in the streets. But as police violence increased, the revolutionaries realized they should ask for more rights and eventually, the removal of Mubarak as President. The Egyptian Revolution is noteworthy because it took place so fast--Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, and other places are still having street protests but no real results yet. Egypt's massive protests were successful in turing the tide for the Egyptian people. We also heard about how this is a decisive point for Egypt's future--if the wrong people come into power in the upcoming elections, it could be bad. That's why people are hopeful in the youth movement, because the youth tend to be less religiously-motivated and more socially and economically motivated. All in all, it was a fascinating talk.
After a night in the 5-star Grand Pyramids Hotel (I could see the pyramids from my room), and the best breakfast we had had in a long time the next morning, it was off to the Giza Pyramids! A dream come true for most of us, we took a billion photos and marveled at the HUGE size of the pyramids. We got to go inside one of the smaller ones, which was neat (and really stuffy). And we had a great group photo shoot with the three larger Giza pyramids and the city of Cairo in the backdrop. We also visited the Sphynx, which was super interesting. That's where we took our Freebirds photo. Look for us on the wall this summer!
Wrapping up our awesome day in Giza, we headed to the Iskander's apartment for dinner.
Egypt: We made it!
After months of debating whether or not Westmont would let us go to Egpyt because of the Revolution and perceived violence, we were ecstatic when we went through that border crosser. We finally made it! Driving through the Saini to Dahab, we got our first glimpses of Sarah's country--bright blue Red Sea on one side, huge rocky reddish brown mountains jutting up on the other. Once we arrived in Dahab, a small beachy resort town, we had an awesome Middle Eastern style dinner, on rugs on the floor perched on the edge of the sea. Our Octopus Hotel in Dahab left some things to be desired...like maybe no cockroaches next time, or air conditioning that doesn't sound like a Storm Trooper invading our room, or fresh water instead of salt water for the sink and showers. But nothing could bring us down, we were in Egypt!
Our first day was another amazing beach day at a nearby resort. Swimming, beach volleyball, I even tried wake-boarding...the weather was hot and the water was perfect and clear. It was like a vacation in Hawaii, except everything was cheaper and you said "shokran" instead of "mahalo" to thank people. We stayed all day on the beach and then headed back to our rooms for about three hours of sleep.
12:30 GET UP! It's time to hike Mount Saini! Onto the bus, trying to fall back asleep, then off the bus again and into the cold. It's 3:00 AM, time to start the hike. We follow our Bedouin guide, stumbling in the dark up, up, up. Scrambling over loose rocks and sliding on sand, trudging past huge black rocks--oh wait, those are sleeping camels. Higher and higher we go, and finally at about 4:15 we reach the last section of the climb: the dreaded stairs. Flashbacks of the difficult Masada climb whip through my brain as me and Reyn push ourselves up 700-something stairs, not letting each other fall behind. Around 5:00, totally out of breath and swearing to tell Coach Larralde about this when he claims I didn't work out on my semester abroad, we are rewarded with a gorgeous view of the sunrise and surrounding mountaintops and valleys. Group photo time. We read about Moses and the Ten Commandments, given atop this holy mountain thousands of years ago, drinking Bedouin tea and trying not to freeze in the cool morning sun. Another hour or so of stairs down the mountain, and we reach St. Catherine's monestary, a historic old place where we eat breakfast. Then it's a six-hour bus ride to Cairo--I mean Giza.
Our first day was another amazing beach day at a nearby resort. Swimming, beach volleyball, I even tried wake-boarding...the weather was hot and the water was perfect and clear. It was like a vacation in Hawaii, except everything was cheaper and you said "shokran" instead of "mahalo" to thank people. We stayed all day on the beach and then headed back to our rooms for about three hours of sleep.
12:30 GET UP! It's time to hike Mount Saini! Onto the bus, trying to fall back asleep, then off the bus again and into the cold. It's 3:00 AM, time to start the hike. We follow our Bedouin guide, stumbling in the dark up, up, up. Scrambling over loose rocks and sliding on sand, trudging past huge black rocks--oh wait, those are sleeping camels. Higher and higher we go, and finally at about 4:15 we reach the last section of the climb: the dreaded stairs. Flashbacks of the difficult Masada climb whip through my brain as me and Reyn push ourselves up 700-something stairs, not letting each other fall behind. Around 5:00, totally out of breath and swearing to tell Coach Larralde about this when he claims I didn't work out on my semester abroad, we are rewarded with a gorgeous view of the sunrise and surrounding mountaintops and valleys. Group photo time. We read about Moses and the Ten Commandments, given atop this holy mountain thousands of years ago, drinking Bedouin tea and trying not to freeze in the cool morning sun. Another hour or so of stairs down the mountain, and we reach St. Catherine's monestary, a historic old place where we eat breakfast. Then it's a six-hour bus ride to Cairo--I mean Giza.
Finishing up Israel
Well there's been a bit of a break in the blogging here for me, sorry guys! We had a pretty packed last few weeks, combined with very few opportunities for Internet. Now I'll play catch-up to keep you all in the know about where I've been recently.
After the Jesus Trail ended, we explored Capernaum and its surrounding areas. We visited the Church of the Beatitudes, on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee where Jesus is thought to have preached his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. This church visit was quite eye-opening for me, because after seeing the inside our group met outside in the gardens to read the Sermon on the Mount. It was ridiculously windy and bright, I could barely read the words on my Bible or hear Bruce reading a few feet away. After a three-day hike through the land Jesus would have walked, this hit home. These experiences were showing me the humanity of Christ--he had to walk through mud and probably got splinters, he maybe even had to shout and lose his voice to preach on this mountaintop so people could hear him over the wind.
After leaving the Galilee area, we made our way up through the north of Israel to the Golan Heights, a plateau area at the center of Israel and Syria's border disputes. Israel has claimed control of the Golan, and uses it as highly militarized area to keep the border secure. Thus, many Arab Israelis have been forcefully evacuated from this area as well, contributing to the refugee problem. Currently, about 20,000 Israelis and 20,000 Druze live in the Golan. (The Druze are a splinter sect of Islam, but they are loyal to Israel so allowed to remain in their homes).
The Golan was gorgeous! We hiked through some old Roman ruins, temples and waterfalls--all surrounded by bright green plants and trees. Though my blistered feet didn't really want to do more hiking.
After the Golan we headed back down towards Jerusalem again, stopping at Acco (a town on the coast with remains of Herod's manmade harbor), and Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv was an experience all its own--it was basically Israel's Santa Monica, with beaches and shopping and rollerblading and sushi. We had a much-needed free day and spent it playing volleyball and swimming at one of the beaches. Relaxing in a city like this, it was easy to see how some Israelis are so ignorant about the conflict--they just don't know or care what human rights are being obstructed a few hours away because they're living normal lives in a very Westernized city. The "burden of knowledge" (as Chris Lim puts it) expands to more than just the Israeli-Palestinian conflict though. How can I criticize ignorant Israelis when I might not know all about human trafficking in LA or something similar to that? I'm putting huge responsibility on myself now, to be aware of what goes on beneath the radar around me and act on it. "Once you see, you can't un-see."
To bookend our month in Israel and Palestine, we ended up back in Jerusalem. This time staying in a French convent on Via Dolarosa, we were awarded gorgeous nighttime views of the Dome of the Rock from our roof. We spent the last four days in this amazing city seeing the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, and the Israel Museum. We also had our Palm Sunday here, observing a procession through the Old City streets of pilgrims and tourists from around the world. And we got to spend some time also in West Jerusalem and Jaffa St, where we actually had an assignment to interview Jews. We asked them questions about Israel, security, Palestinians, etc. The most interesting responses I got from my street interviews were to these questions:
*What do the Palestinians want from Israel?
--Five of my six interviews had the exact same answer: "They want to kill us."
*What is Israel's biggest threat?
--Some said the Arabs, others said the disunity of the Israeli people and the government's selfish nature
*Should the Palestinians get their own state?
--Most said no, one said "Sure, but not here. They have 22 other Arab states to go to and we only have 1 Jewish state." And one older gentleman said, "Yes, why not?" as if that was the most obvious answer to this question.
To end our time in Israel, we drove south through the Negev to the bottom of Israel, where we had a day tour learning about the Bedouin. Another problem all their own, the Bedouin are Israel's pastoral native population, traveling around the desert with herds in specific tribes. The Israeli government has tried to settle them into towns, most of which are ill-equipped and poverty-ridden. Some Bedouin have made their own villages, however the government refuses to recognize these are they are cut off from service like water, electricity, and schools. Of course, Israeli towns right next door receive all these services. We had lunch in an unrecognized Bedouin village, and talked with the locals about their situation. It was a sad story, but just another side of things gone wrong in Israel.
Our bus driver dropped us off, we put on our bulging backpacks yet again, and trudged out into the Eilat border crossing between Israel and Egypt, ready for the next adventure!
After the Jesus Trail ended, we explored Capernaum and its surrounding areas. We visited the Church of the Beatitudes, on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee where Jesus is thought to have preached his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. This church visit was quite eye-opening for me, because after seeing the inside our group met outside in the gardens to read the Sermon on the Mount. It was ridiculously windy and bright, I could barely read the words on my Bible or hear Bruce reading a few feet away. After a three-day hike through the land Jesus would have walked, this hit home. These experiences were showing me the humanity of Christ--he had to walk through mud and probably got splinters, he maybe even had to shout and lose his voice to preach on this mountaintop so people could hear him over the wind.
After leaving the Galilee area, we made our way up through the north of Israel to the Golan Heights, a plateau area at the center of Israel and Syria's border disputes. Israel has claimed control of the Golan, and uses it as highly militarized area to keep the border secure. Thus, many Arab Israelis have been forcefully evacuated from this area as well, contributing to the refugee problem. Currently, about 20,000 Israelis and 20,000 Druze live in the Golan. (The Druze are a splinter sect of Islam, but they are loyal to Israel so allowed to remain in their homes).
The Golan was gorgeous! We hiked through some old Roman ruins, temples and waterfalls--all surrounded by bright green plants and trees. Though my blistered feet didn't really want to do more hiking.
After the Golan we headed back down towards Jerusalem again, stopping at Acco (a town on the coast with remains of Herod's manmade harbor), and Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv was an experience all its own--it was basically Israel's Santa Monica, with beaches and shopping and rollerblading and sushi. We had a much-needed free day and spent it playing volleyball and swimming at one of the beaches. Relaxing in a city like this, it was easy to see how some Israelis are so ignorant about the conflict--they just don't know or care what human rights are being obstructed a few hours away because they're living normal lives in a very Westernized city. The "burden of knowledge" (as Chris Lim puts it) expands to more than just the Israeli-Palestinian conflict though. How can I criticize ignorant Israelis when I might not know all about human trafficking in LA or something similar to that? I'm putting huge responsibility on myself now, to be aware of what goes on beneath the radar around me and act on it. "Once you see, you can't un-see."
To bookend our month in Israel and Palestine, we ended up back in Jerusalem. This time staying in a French convent on Via Dolarosa, we were awarded gorgeous nighttime views of the Dome of the Rock from our roof. We spent the last four days in this amazing city seeing the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, and the Israel Museum. We also had our Palm Sunday here, observing a procession through the Old City streets of pilgrims and tourists from around the world. And we got to spend some time also in West Jerusalem and Jaffa St, where we actually had an assignment to interview Jews. We asked them questions about Israel, security, Palestinians, etc. The most interesting responses I got from my street interviews were to these questions:
*What do the Palestinians want from Israel?
--Five of my six interviews had the exact same answer: "They want to kill us."
*What is Israel's biggest threat?
--Some said the Arabs, others said the disunity of the Israeli people and the government's selfish nature
*Should the Palestinians get their own state?
--Most said no, one said "Sure, but not here. They have 22 other Arab states to go to and we only have 1 Jewish state." And one older gentleman said, "Yes, why not?" as if that was the most obvious answer to this question.
To end our time in Israel, we drove south through the Negev to the bottom of Israel, where we had a day tour learning about the Bedouin. Another problem all their own, the Bedouin are Israel's pastoral native population, traveling around the desert with herds in specific tribes. The Israeli government has tried to settle them into towns, most of which are ill-equipped and poverty-ridden. Some Bedouin have made their own villages, however the government refuses to recognize these are they are cut off from service like water, electricity, and schools. Of course, Israeli towns right next door receive all these services. We had lunch in an unrecognized Bedouin village, and talked with the locals about their situation. It was a sad story, but just another side of things gone wrong in Israel.
Our bus driver dropped us off, we put on our bulging backpacks yet again, and trudged out into the Eilat border crossing between Israel and Egypt, ready for the next adventure!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Jesus Trail Photos
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| Turkish baths in Nazareth before the 3-day hike |
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| View of Cana |
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| Hiking! |
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| A little out of order...relaxing with tea after the baths |
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| Water break with Auds & Iskander |
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| The group at some ruins (before the hike) |
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| Goat eco-farm where we stayed the first night |
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| We got lots of mud on our shoes |
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| Kels and I at the Horns of Hatin |
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| This is what hiking with Paul & Chris looks like... |
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| Lunch break at Horns of Hatin |
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| Lunch time |
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| Overlooking the cliffs of Arbel |
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| Senior year house? :) |
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| View off the cliffs of Arbel |
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| Climbing down the cliffs |
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| Valley below the cliffs |
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| Magnum break |
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| Day 3: so excited to reach the Sea of Galilee! |
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Nazareth to Capernaum
Three days, two huge blisters, and one sunburnt neck later...I made it! We successfully completed the Jesus Trail last night, arriving here at a monastary in Tiberius where we're staying for two nights. The trail was awesome! Notes from the trail:
Day 1, April 17: We left Nazareth in the morning and hiked about 11-12 miles, up a nice easy hill and through some woods, then back down and along a highway to this eco-goat farm where we stayed the night. Stopped in Cana on the way, the spot associated with Jesus' first miracle of turning water into wine. Reyn stopped to go to the bathroom on a mountain, Amy & Lindsay decided to wait for him...and we effectively lost all three for the entire afternoon. They met us at the goat farm, which was neat, all organic and eco-friendly. Spent the night in tents (a trend of this semester)...which were loud and cold but not as bad as Tent of Nations Night.
Day 2, April 18: Muddy! Shoes turned into platforms with squishy mud. Hurting my knees. Made our own trail through wheat fields...scratches all over my legs...Did Jesus really walk on this old Roman road? Because that would be awesome! Maybe he tripped on these weeds too! Hiked up these little mountains, the Horns of Hattin, where we had awesome 360-degree views of the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, the Cliffs of Arbel and Jordan. Chatting with people and playing music on Audrey's speaker. Slipping and sliding down the Horns, sunburn on my neck. Got water from the Druze temple...dominated by an Israeli cracker that choked me for like 20 minutes. Made it to these cabins where we stayed the night. Sweet set-up: Senior Year House Dry Run (Amy, Kelsey, Amanda, me & Audrey). Sauna, pool, "hot tub", surgery on my blistered feet, group meeting, ping-pong.
Day 3, April 19: Man my blisters hurt. Shoot. Oh well, up the mountain we go for some SWEET views down the Cliffs of Arbel. Photo shoot. A new member joins the group: LIL FOO, the cutest Ibex ever! Down the mountain = adventure on handrails, ropes, scaling that cliff face. Exploring caves where Herod's enemies hid once in Biblical times. Gorgeous trails through this awesome valley--flowers and green and mountains everywhere. Falafel for lunch...Amy and Audrey bought a blow-up shark pool toy. Audrey = flower child with daisies in her braids. Hiking along the back of some kibbutz's orchard with music thanks to Sarah and Lim. Lim has great Princess Lea buns in his hair. We can see the Sea! Through the barbed wire fence, over more hills...finally we made it to Capernaum! Feet in the pool, making our own pasta dinner, some sort of strange rocket lights over the Golan Heights in the distance across the Sea of Galilee.
Day 1, April 17: We left Nazareth in the morning and hiked about 11-12 miles, up a nice easy hill and through some woods, then back down and along a highway to this eco-goat farm where we stayed the night. Stopped in Cana on the way, the spot associated with Jesus' first miracle of turning water into wine. Reyn stopped to go to the bathroom on a mountain, Amy & Lindsay decided to wait for him...and we effectively lost all three for the entire afternoon. They met us at the goat farm, which was neat, all organic and eco-friendly. Spent the night in tents (a trend of this semester)...which were loud and cold but not as bad as Tent of Nations Night.
Day 2, April 18: Muddy! Shoes turned into platforms with squishy mud. Hurting my knees. Made our own trail through wheat fields...scratches all over my legs...Did Jesus really walk on this old Roman road? Because that would be awesome! Maybe he tripped on these weeds too! Hiked up these little mountains, the Horns of Hattin, where we had awesome 360-degree views of the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, the Cliffs of Arbel and Jordan. Chatting with people and playing music on Audrey's speaker. Slipping and sliding down the Horns, sunburn on my neck. Got water from the Druze temple...dominated by an Israeli cracker that choked me for like 20 minutes. Made it to these cabins where we stayed the night. Sweet set-up: Senior Year House Dry Run (Amy, Kelsey, Amanda, me & Audrey). Sauna, pool, "hot tub", surgery on my blistered feet, group meeting, ping-pong.
Day 3, April 19: Man my blisters hurt. Shoot. Oh well, up the mountain we go for some SWEET views down the Cliffs of Arbel. Photo shoot. A new member joins the group: LIL FOO, the cutest Ibex ever! Down the mountain = adventure on handrails, ropes, scaling that cliff face. Exploring caves where Herod's enemies hid once in Biblical times. Gorgeous trails through this awesome valley--flowers and green and mountains everywhere. Falafel for lunch...Amy and Audrey bought a blow-up shark pool toy. Audrey = flower child with daisies in her braids. Hiking along the back of some kibbutz's orchard with music thanks to Sarah and Lim. Lim has great Princess Lea buns in his hair. We can see the Sea! Through the barbed wire fence, over more hills...finally we made it to Capernaum! Feet in the pool, making our own pasta dinner, some sort of strange rocket lights over the Golan Heights in the distance across the Sea of Galilee.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
3 days, 40 miles, 23 people...the JESUS TRAIL!
The past few days in Nazareth have been awesome! We visited the Nazareth Village, with live actors and a recreated village of what this place would have looked like when Jesus lived here. We went swimming in these man-made lake things and had a big picnic lunch. We explored more Roman ruins (probably the 20th Roman city we've seen this trip). Then today we had a free day! After days of heavy stuff, like hearing from settlers in the city of Ariel and the shooting at Jenin, it was great to have a relaxing day off. Nine of us went to a coffee shop for the morning, where we felt very Middle Eastern smoking hookah and playing badgamman (I did not spell that right, sorry). Then we had our second Turkish bath experience--so much better than the first! We got the full treatment--massage, steam room, sauna, jacuzzi, fruit and juice and hot rocks...all for about 15 bucks. I love the Middle East.
Tomorrow we're embarking on the Jesus Trail, a 3-day, 40-mile hiking trail going from Nazareth to Capernum, walking the roads Jesus walked. 23 people, 3 days, 40 miles, 23 tiny little backpacks...it's gonna be an adventure! So stoked!
Tomorrow we're embarking on the Jesus Trail, a 3-day, 40-mile hiking trail going from Nazareth to Capernum, walking the roads Jesus walked. 23 people, 3 days, 40 miles, 23 tiny little backpacks...it's gonna be an adventure! So stoked!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sad sad story
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12963475
This morning we were in Jenin, Palestine, at the Freedom Theatre in the refugee camp. We heard a hopeful story from kids involved in the theatre, who use drama therapy to express their emotions about their life in the camp. We even had a spontaneous dance session with some of the kids in their dance room. But soon after we left the theatre to head into Nazareth, the director (son of the founder) was shot and killed right outside the theatre. We just found out.
It's a horrible, tragic story. We're all safe and we were far away when the shooting happened, but it's crazy to think that the man who's business card I picked up as I was leaving the Freedom Theatre was shot five times and killed by a masked militant only a few hours later. Pray for Palestine and Jenin.
This morning we were in Jenin, Palestine, at the Freedom Theatre in the refugee camp. We heard a hopeful story from kids involved in the theatre, who use drama therapy to express their emotions about their life in the camp. We even had a spontaneous dance session with some of the kids in their dance room. But soon after we left the theatre to head into Nazareth, the director (son of the founder) was shot and killed right outside the theatre. We just found out.
It's a horrible, tragic story. We're all safe and we were far away when the shooting happened, but it's crazy to think that the man who's business card I picked up as I was leaving the Freedom Theatre was shot five times and killed by a masked militant only a few hours later. Pray for Palestine and Jenin.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Fear is the greatest motivator: Beit Sahur
Next stop was Bethlehem for three days. First, we visited the Church of the Nativity, marking the spot where Jesus was born. Going into these holy pilgrimage sites all over Europe and the Middle East has been interesting for me...somehow I don't seem to connect with them as much as the Catholic or Orthodox Christians we saw. Embellished golden plates and an ornate star on the ground marked the "exact spot" where Mary gave birth, and then a few feet away, the "exact spot" she laid Jesus in the manger. My Western, non-denominational upbringing raised up a storm of criticism. How do they KNOW this is THE spot? There's no way! I respect the holy site...but then again I don't believe God is more present in this church than in my church at home. What makes an object holy? Is it the proximity to someone holy? Or is the belief and devotion held by the pilgrims who do come to visit these spots? Food for my thought.
We then stopped by a make-shift tent in Manger Square (yes, that's its real name). A group of young Palestinian boys draped in kafias and waving the Palestinian flag explained how they had been protesting since March 15 (when many Middle Eastern youth movements began protesting) for unity between Hamas and Fatah. (Hamas is the leadership in control of the Gaza Strip; Fatah of the West Bank--and they don't see eye to eye on all things). These kids want a Palestinian state, and they're out protesting until their leadership can get it together and form a unified Palestinian representation.
Our three nights in the area were actually spent in homestays with local Arab families--mine and Audrey's lived in the next Palestinian town called Beit Sahur. After meeting at Holy Land Trust (the organization setting us up with the homestays), me and Audrey were picked up by our host father, a nice man named Muhannad Bannoura. He took us home and introduced us to his family--his wife Nancy and two young boys (Cosiah and Fahdie--I totally butchered those spellings but oh well). They lived in the house below his parents, and his two brothers and their families lived in the two houses next door. We loved our time with this family! They are Orthodox Christians, and we spent the first night flipping through Muhannad and Nancy's wedding photos (4 albums of them) for about an hour and chatting. They were so nice, and tried to teach us a little Arabic.
The second night, we met all their families and had drinks and smoked hookah together, chatting about life and politics. It was sad to hear the story of how the Bannoura family had lost over 40 acres of land in 1998, when Muhannad got a call from his brother one day saying Israel had taken their property for settlements. There was nothing they could do to stop the IDF soldiers, with their guns and tanks. Now the family lives on a small plot of land. In the Second Intifada, when a stand-off raged between Palestinian fighters and IDF soldiers in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the town was crawling with tanks and the military. "We would just go down to the lowest room and hide as soon as the shooting started. You couldn't even go outside," Muhannad and Nancy told us. His father's house still has bullet holes from the IDF guns, and one of his cousins was shot 8 times in the back by an IDF soldier when he was just out walking down the street.
This nice, Christian family was just like any other family--taking their boys to preschool, trying to pay the bills, going to weddings and church and baptisms, saving for their vacation to the beach in Egypt...yet their lives were so dictated by checkpoints, IDF soldiers, and conflict swirling all around them. It was another wrench thrown in my already jam-packed head concerning the conflict. I loved my time there though, and am so appreciative for their hospitality, willingness to answer all our questions, and share their hookah with us. :) They invited me back if I ever am in the area again!
Holy Land Trust--This organization founded and run by Sami Awad, a Palestinian Christian, is working for peace and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. Sami talked to us one morning in Bethlehem, and had some of my favorite quotes so far. He urged the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions) as a way for the international community to put pressure on Israel to pull out of their settlements in the West Bank. Comparisons between the Palestinian issue and the US Civil Rights issue of the 60's were helpful for us American students to understand things better. Some of my favorite quotes of his:
"The worst thing for Israel and its propaganda machine is an organized, non-violent, mass protest movement."
"The 'Never Again' attitude should apply to all humanity, not just the Jews."
"There is a difference between people and policy."
"Fear is the greatest motivator of human behavior."
"Christian Zionism in the US is a huge obstacle preventing the peace process."
"Freedom is for the oppressed and the oppressors."
His closing words to our group were a challenge: "We get hopeful when we meet people like you. You are the future. Now you are responsible because you know--go challenge the world and American structures at home."
Matt (one of our leaders) echoed that thought later in class with one of his favorite quotes: "Once you have seen, you can't un-see." This left me wondering--what do I do about all this when I get home? Get ready family and friends, I'm starting with you! Prepare to be educated. :)
The final haunting image of Bethlehem was the Wall. What Israel calls a "security barrier" is a huge, tall concrete wall cutting past the Green Line and into the West Bank territory--often cutting off Palestinians from their families, land or work. Walking down the length of the Wall and reading graffiti (photos of which I'll post later) was chilling and sobering. I imagine it was similar to the Berlin Wall of the 80's. I wonder, when will this wall fall?
We then stopped by a make-shift tent in Manger Square (yes, that's its real name). A group of young Palestinian boys draped in kafias and waving the Palestinian flag explained how they had been protesting since March 15 (when many Middle Eastern youth movements began protesting) for unity between Hamas and Fatah. (Hamas is the leadership in control of the Gaza Strip; Fatah of the West Bank--and they don't see eye to eye on all things). These kids want a Palestinian state, and they're out protesting until their leadership can get it together and form a unified Palestinian representation.
Our three nights in the area were actually spent in homestays with local Arab families--mine and Audrey's lived in the next Palestinian town called Beit Sahur. After meeting at Holy Land Trust (the organization setting us up with the homestays), me and Audrey were picked up by our host father, a nice man named Muhannad Bannoura. He took us home and introduced us to his family--his wife Nancy and two young boys (Cosiah and Fahdie--I totally butchered those spellings but oh well). They lived in the house below his parents, and his two brothers and their families lived in the two houses next door. We loved our time with this family! They are Orthodox Christians, and we spent the first night flipping through Muhannad and Nancy's wedding photos (4 albums of them) for about an hour and chatting. They were so nice, and tried to teach us a little Arabic.
The second night, we met all their families and had drinks and smoked hookah together, chatting about life and politics. It was sad to hear the story of how the Bannoura family had lost over 40 acres of land in 1998, when Muhannad got a call from his brother one day saying Israel had taken their property for settlements. There was nothing they could do to stop the IDF soldiers, with their guns and tanks. Now the family lives on a small plot of land. In the Second Intifada, when a stand-off raged between Palestinian fighters and IDF soldiers in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the town was crawling with tanks and the military. "We would just go down to the lowest room and hide as soon as the shooting started. You couldn't even go outside," Muhannad and Nancy told us. His father's house still has bullet holes from the IDF guns, and one of his cousins was shot 8 times in the back by an IDF soldier when he was just out walking down the street.
This nice, Christian family was just like any other family--taking their boys to preschool, trying to pay the bills, going to weddings and church and baptisms, saving for their vacation to the beach in Egypt...yet their lives were so dictated by checkpoints, IDF soldiers, and conflict swirling all around them. It was another wrench thrown in my already jam-packed head concerning the conflict. I loved my time there though, and am so appreciative for their hospitality, willingness to answer all our questions, and share their hookah with us. :) They invited me back if I ever am in the area again!
Holy Land Trust--This organization founded and run by Sami Awad, a Palestinian Christian, is working for peace and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. Sami talked to us one morning in Bethlehem, and had some of my favorite quotes so far. He urged the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions) as a way for the international community to put pressure on Israel to pull out of their settlements in the West Bank. Comparisons between the Palestinian issue and the US Civil Rights issue of the 60's were helpful for us American students to understand things better. Some of my favorite quotes of his:
"The worst thing for Israel and its propaganda machine is an organized, non-violent, mass protest movement."
"The 'Never Again' attitude should apply to all humanity, not just the Jews."
"There is a difference between people and policy."
"Fear is the greatest motivator of human behavior."
"Christian Zionism in the US is a huge obstacle preventing the peace process."
"Freedom is for the oppressed and the oppressors."
His closing words to our group were a challenge: "We get hopeful when we meet people like you. You are the future. Now you are responsible because you know--go challenge the world and American structures at home."
Matt (one of our leaders) echoed that thought later in class with one of his favorite quotes: "Once you have seen, you can't un-see." This left me wondering--what do I do about all this when I get home? Get ready family and friends, I'm starting with you! Prepare to be educated. :)
The final haunting image of Bethlehem was the Wall. What Israel calls a "security barrier" is a huge, tall concrete wall cutting past the Green Line and into the West Bank territory--often cutting off Palestinians from their families, land or work. Walking down the length of the Wall and reading graffiti (photos of which I'll post later) was chilling and sobering. I imagine it was similar to the Berlin Wall of the 80's. I wonder, when will this wall fall?
Tent of Nations
After our crazy time in Jerusalem we spent one night at the Tent of Nations. This piece of farm land is situated on a hilltop in Palestine, surrounded by Israeli settlements on other hilltops nearby. It belongs to a Palestinian Christian family who have legal papers for the land dating back to the Ottoman Empire. Israel wants to take the land for more settlements, but is unable to because of the legal papers. So they've resorted to cutting off this family from water, electricity and access to public roads. We had to pile out of our rickety old bus and scramble over two huge roadblocks to reach the driveway (all this while wearing our big backpacks of course).
We spent the afternoon helping out around the farm--putting up tents, clearing rocks from land...I found myself digging holes with a pickaxe thing and making a rock wall around some trees. But my work was soon interrupted by a cute little blond girl--Stella! Her family was from Holland and also helping out at the camp. Needless to say, I probably spent as much time playing and adventuring with her (and Sarah Iskander) as I did working that night. She did my make-up, bright pinks and purples...and then later at dinner Reyn asked me if someone had punched me in the eye.
After class debrief, campfire songs and stargazing, we went back to our tents for the night. It was freezing cold (even though it was March), and we each had one tiny scrap of material for a "blanket." To make it worse, the inside of the tent (where all 15 of us girls slept) collected condensation all night and rained down on us. Also Leah (God bless her) snored all night...so basically, I didn't sleep at all. Neither did anyone else. We would all kind of sit up every few hours and talk about how mad we were that we weren't sleeping and how freaking cold it was, etc. Bonding?
We spent the afternoon helping out around the farm--putting up tents, clearing rocks from land...I found myself digging holes with a pickaxe thing and making a rock wall around some trees. But my work was soon interrupted by a cute little blond girl--Stella! Her family was from Holland and also helping out at the camp. Needless to say, I probably spent as much time playing and adventuring with her (and Sarah Iskander) as I did working that night. She did my make-up, bright pinks and purples...and then later at dinner Reyn asked me if someone had punched me in the eye.
After class debrief, campfire songs and stargazing, we went back to our tents for the night. It was freezing cold (even though it was March), and we each had one tiny scrap of material for a "blanket." To make it worse, the inside of the tent (where all 15 of us girls slept) collected condensation all night and rained down on us. Also Leah (God bless her) snored all night...so basically, I didn't sleep at all. Neither did anyone else. We would all kind of sit up every few hours and talk about how mad we were that we weren't sleeping and how freaking cold it was, etc. Bonding?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Processing Jerusalem
On a lighter note, I've got some awesome pictures of our time in and near Jerusalem:
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| The view from our roof. You can see the Dome of the Rock in the distance. |
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| Church of the Holy Sepulchre |
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| Chapel marking where Jesus is said to have been buried and rose again. |
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| Super Jew! |
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| The Western Wall |
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| An orthodox Jew in the Old City |
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| Israeli flag |
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| Me, Sarah & Kelsey at the Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount |
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| Jerusalem's first ever marathon! |
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| Old city in the distance with Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements in the foreground |
More photos to come later! Stay posted!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Palestine link
We've been here in Jerusalem almost a week and I haven't really blogged about it yet...partially this is because we've been super busy and I haven't had tons of free time. But mostly it's because I'm still trying to process all the information and stories presented to me. We've heard from a professor at Hebrew University about his opinion on the settlement "expansions", visited Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum), saw the motivation for Zionism in the Hertz Museum, and talked to Palestinians living under what they call an occupation of East Jerusalem. We visited the City of David, a tourist site run by Israelis where King David established his claim to the ancient holy city...and saw the surrounding poverty-stricken Palestinian village of Silwan. We sat on the roof yesterday listening to one Palestinian and one Israeli from and organization called Combatants for Peace talk about their passion for nonviolent efforts toward peace...and we heard when the bomb exploded in West Jerusalem, killing one and injuring many Israelis.
There are many narratives on the conflict and many opinions on the situation. I'm just beginning to delve into the sticky mess to figure out what is truth and what is politics. I can't say that I have opinions what should be done yet--I felt sad seeing the horrors the Jewish people went through in the Holocaust when I was in Yad Vashem, and I felt sad watching a documentary that showed a Palestinian family crying after their house was demolished by Israeli bulldozers. I haven't blogged about all this yet because I haven't figured out what to say.
If I've learned one thing for sure it's that I was very ignorant of the situation before this trip. When I set up this blog, I made links for all the countries I thought I might visit, so I could link the posts to their respective countries. I included an "Israel" link, but no "Palestine" link. That right there proves my limited knowledge previously--Israel is not an undisputed area. The fight over what is technically Israel and what is Palestine is one of the key issues. We will be visiting Palestinian land on this trip--East Jerusalem (though it has been annexed and is illegally occupied by Israel currently) and the West Bank. I'm adding a Palestine link for those blog posts.
In the meantime, I'm learning how much I didn't know about the truth on the ground here.
There are many narratives on the conflict and many opinions on the situation. I'm just beginning to delve into the sticky mess to figure out what is truth and what is politics. I can't say that I have opinions what should be done yet--I felt sad seeing the horrors the Jewish people went through in the Holocaust when I was in Yad Vashem, and I felt sad watching a documentary that showed a Palestinian family crying after their house was demolished by Israeli bulldozers. I haven't blogged about all this yet because I haven't figured out what to say.
If I've learned one thing for sure it's that I was very ignorant of the situation before this trip. When I set up this blog, I made links for all the countries I thought I might visit, so I could link the posts to their respective countries. I included an "Israel" link, but no "Palestine" link. That right there proves my limited knowledge previously--Israel is not an undisputed area. The fight over what is technically Israel and what is Palestine is one of the key issues. We will be visiting Palestinian land on this trip--East Jerusalem (though it has been annexed and is illegally occupied by Israel currently) and the West Bank. I'm adding a Palestine link for those blog posts.
In the meantime, I'm learning how much I didn't know about the truth on the ground here.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Living between two fires
"Being a Christian in Palestine is like living between two fires: the Israeli occupation and the militant Arabs."
-Hanna Massad
Our second talk in Aman on March 19 was from a pastor of the Gaza Baptist Church, now living in Jordan after conditions and persecution made it necessary for him to leave the Gaza Strip. A few things struck me from this discussion:
-Issues of identity are difficult for Christian Arabs in Gaza
-Gaza Christians try to have grace and forgive the Israelis for taking their homeland, but non-Christians have a harder time with grace
-"I've never been in prison, but I live in one in Gaza."
-Persecution for Gaza Christians began in 2000, from their neighboring Muslims. It got increasingly worse because the police in Gaza do not protect the Christians. Hanna's family evacuated Gaza for Aman because of this intense persecution, and he now pastors a church of Iraqi refugees here in Jordan.
-He requests prayers for safety for Gazan Christians and the population living under Israeli siege--often unable to receive basic humanitarian aid and living in poverty because goods are blocked by the siege.
Hanna also spoke a bit about the Christian Zionist movement, in the United States especially. It's very hard for Gaza Christians who belong to the Baptist Church and are living under occupation from Israel to read that American Baptist Churches support Israel unconditionally. It struck me that as a Christian in America, I usually found that often the church voiced support of Israel on the claim that God gave the Israelis the land. Hanna responded to this: "You are telling me that my Christ wants to take away my home and my land and give it to Jews who do not believe in Him?" Who are the people of God now really, he questioned. Are they still the Jews? Or did the New Testament redefine the promises of God and make the Church in Christ the new People of God?
Food for thought for me as I struggle with these questions and am learning more about the conflict every day.
-Hanna Massad
Our second talk in Aman on March 19 was from a pastor of the Gaza Baptist Church, now living in Jordan after conditions and persecution made it necessary for him to leave the Gaza Strip. A few things struck me from this discussion:
-Issues of identity are difficult for Christian Arabs in Gaza
-Gaza Christians try to have grace and forgive the Israelis for taking their homeland, but non-Christians have a harder time with grace
-"I've never been in prison, but I live in one in Gaza."
-Persecution for Gaza Christians began in 2000, from their neighboring Muslims. It got increasingly worse because the police in Gaza do not protect the Christians. Hanna's family evacuated Gaza for Aman because of this intense persecution, and he now pastors a church of Iraqi refugees here in Jordan.
-He requests prayers for safety for Gazan Christians and the population living under Israeli siege--often unable to receive basic humanitarian aid and living in poverty because goods are blocked by the siege.
Hanna also spoke a bit about the Christian Zionist movement, in the United States especially. It's very hard for Gaza Christians who belong to the Baptist Church and are living under occupation from Israel to read that American Baptist Churches support Israel unconditionally. It struck me that as a Christian in America, I usually found that often the church voiced support of Israel on the claim that God gave the Israelis the land. Hanna responded to this: "You are telling me that my Christ wants to take away my home and my land and give it to Jews who do not believe in Him?" Who are the people of God now really, he questioned. Are they still the Jews? Or did the New Testament redefine the promises of God and make the Church in Christ the new People of God?
Food for thought for me as I struggle with these questions and am learning more about the conflict every day.
Jordan: "Words have different meanings here."
Our second day in Jordan, we visited the UN Palestinian Refugee camp in Jerash. My first reaction was to compare the camp to Ensenada, Mexico--dirty, poor, crumbling concrete buildings, tons of little kids running around in the dirt. The camp was set up in 1968 after 11,000 refugees were forced to flee from the Gaza Strip area into Jordan. These refugees are denied Jordanian citizenship (even their children born in Jordan) and have no papers, which makes it hard to travel or get jobs. The government gives the camp no assistance--it's all funded by the UNRWA.
People we talked to in the camp are still holding onto the hope of returning to their homes in the Gaza Strip, clinging onto the UN Resolution 194. We asked one of the leaders if they refugees wanted Jordanian citizenship, would that make things better?
"No, even if they give us the whole world, it won't replace our homes," he said.
The Jordanian king has done his part, giving regular food packages to the camp, which now has a population of 27,000. Again we asked our camp representative a question: what message would you like to send to citizens back in America?
"We hope for our kids to be treated like all other kids. We hope to see them happy and healthy." Children in America, he said, can look to their future and hope to be anything they want. Gaza refugee children in Jerash look to their future and feel hopeless.
We visited the school in Jersah, where a kindergarten class of girls boasted their English skills by shouting at the top of their lungs the names of various clothing items.
Teacher: "What is this?"
Girls: "THIS IS A SKIIIIIRT!!!!!!"
It was super cute.
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| Me and Paul in Jerash |
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| Open sewage runs from each crumbling house to the main line, which runs through the middle of the street. |
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| Streets of the camp |
Leaving Jersah, I had a few questions still. How long, I wondered, will the refugees hold onto their hope of returning home? How long will the government deny them any papers? Will they eventually be integrated into Jordanian citizenship, or what will happen to them?
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On a lighter note, we then bussed to the Roman Army and Chariot Enactment in the ruins of the ancient Roman city Gerash.
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| Watching the gladiators |
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| Legion of the Roman army |
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| Gladiator fights |
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| Some of the best preserved ruins in the background |
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| The gang |
We then arrived in Aman!
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| Bruce and I on the roof in our hotel Aman |
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| From the roof, we observed the overflow of prayers from one of the main mosques into the street. |
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| The city of Aman behind me, from the top of the citadel. |
First, the US Deputy Counselor at the UN Embassy in Jordan:
-Jordan has been, and is still (under the leadership of King Abdullah II), very committed to a 2-state peaceful solution for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict
-The conflict is at the heart of all topics in Jordan; no matter what you talk about, people want to know your opinion on the I/P issue
-At the current time, the UN is still in the process of "talking about talks"
-Cross cultural issues come into play here, namely the emotionality of the Arabic language and how that can be misconstrued by Western ears
-The solution to the problem will be two-fold: five final status issues that need to be settled (including borders & settlements, Jerusalem, refugees, etc.) and bridging the cultural gap between the Israelis and Palestinians (to prepare the people for peace).
-"Time is on no one's side."
He left us with some closing advice that I thought was helpful, including encouragement to let go of our Western political frameworks while we're here and analyze issues on their own terms. "Words have different meanings here," he said--the context and figurative nature of Arabic makes some phrases difficult when translated. Events today cannot be separated from the past--all things come in the context of those before. He warned us to be wary of simple, singular, broad-sweeping explanations for anything. Everything is more complex than it seems. Finally, he warned that false "facts" will be presented as evidence or justification for certain acts. "Just because something isn't true here doesn't mean it's not sued as evidence and part of the discourse."
Monday, March 21, 2011
Welcome to Jordan!
My first thought in Jordan was not very profound. "I'm hungry." It was 2:30 in the afternoon and we hadn't eaten since 7:30 in the morning, when we left our hotel in Damascus. The crossing into Jordan was long but mostly uneventful.
My second thought in Jordan was a little bit more deep. "It's green!" The view from the plateau-top where we stopped for lunch featured Israel, the Sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights, and Syria to the north. All set in the context of green rolling hills and deep valleys--one of which is part of the Jordan Valley. This valley actually runs all the way down through Africa, and is the lowest point of the world.
After lunch we headed to an Ecopark in the Jordan Valley to stay the night. The winding drive down the mountain showed me how we've really entered the heart of the Middle East--Jordanians of all ages and gender stared and pointed at us as we drove by in the bus. It was strange to feel like a monkey in the zoo.
Finally we arrived at our destination, the Ecopark in the Jordan Valley. It's a tri-lateral organization set up with cooperation from Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian leadership. The organization works to restore the natural ecosystem and resources (especially water) which have been depleted in the region. Jordan is the fourth poorest country in the world in terms of water. The environmental degradation occurred from over-grazing and poor water management and have resulted in severe water issues in all the area (not only Jordan). The agriculture business is also to blame--using most of the region's water up and exporting crops (so doing nothing to sustain the community). The "Friends of the Earth - Middle East" works with local youth on issues of water and responsible environmental decisions. The water issue is one example of the many different shapes the local conflict takes in Jordan.
So we're getting this talk from the organization leader, sitting in a geological dome and watching the sun set over the green hills and yellow flowers. We hear cats and goats and coyotes in the distance. Suddenly a rustling in the bushes surprises me. Out pops a stooped old Bedouin man carrying a large silver tray of tea cups and a black kettle. He's a neighbor of the Ecopark and hard us talking, so he came over to bring us all some tea. I sip the delicious sugary goodness and think how nice the hospitality is here. Far from feeling unsafe or nervous here in the Middle East, I'm feeling more comfortable than some big US cities. People are certainly more friendly than they were in Europe!
My second thought in Jordan was a little bit more deep. "It's green!" The view from the plateau-top where we stopped for lunch featured Israel, the Sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights, and Syria to the north. All set in the context of green rolling hills and deep valleys--one of which is part of the Jordan Valley. This valley actually runs all the way down through Africa, and is the lowest point of the world.
After lunch we headed to an Ecopark in the Jordan Valley to stay the night. The winding drive down the mountain showed me how we've really entered the heart of the Middle East--Jordanians of all ages and gender stared and pointed at us as we drove by in the bus. It was strange to feel like a monkey in the zoo.
Finally we arrived at our destination, the Ecopark in the Jordan Valley. It's a tri-lateral organization set up with cooperation from Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian leadership. The organization works to restore the natural ecosystem and resources (especially water) which have been depleted in the region. Jordan is the fourth poorest country in the world in terms of water. The environmental degradation occurred from over-grazing and poor water management and have resulted in severe water issues in all the area (not only Jordan). The agriculture business is also to blame--using most of the region's water up and exporting crops (so doing nothing to sustain the community). The "Friends of the Earth - Middle East" works with local youth on issues of water and responsible environmental decisions. The water issue is one example of the many different shapes the local conflict takes in Jordan.
So we're getting this talk from the organization leader, sitting in a geological dome and watching the sun set over the green hills and yellow flowers. We hear cats and goats and coyotes in the distance. Suddenly a rustling in the bushes surprises me. Out pops a stooped old Bedouin man carrying a large silver tray of tea cups and a black kettle. He's a neighbor of the Ecopark and hard us talking, so he came over to bring us all some tea. I sip the delicious sugary goodness and think how nice the hospitality is here. Far from feeling unsafe or nervous here in the Middle East, I'm feeling more comfortable than some big US cities. People are certainly more friendly than they were in Europe!
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| Golan Heights (and Paul) in the background |
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| Ecopark in Jordan |
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