Sharon and my Mother-in-Law

I recently read two books by Suad Amiry, a current Palestinian writer who lives in and writes about Ramallah. I highly recommend Sharon and my Mother-in-Law as it is witty and poignant reflection on life in the West Bank during the second Intifada. There are several things I find captivating about these and other books about this place.

The first is that it is nice to have a Palestinian reinforce things that I have noticed or come to understand but have not yet been able to articulate. For example, in Sharon and my Mother-in-Law, Amiry shares a hilarious anecdote about her dog getting a Jerusalem passport. Amiry did not like the veterinarian she was going to in Ramallah so she took her dog to a suburb of Jerusalem where, along with vaccinations and a checkup, her dog received a Jerusalem passport.

Amiry jokes with the veterinarian about putting her own photo on her dog's passport but she isn't really joking, "Neither Nura (Amiry's dog) nor Dr. Tamar realized how damn serious I was about replacing Nura’s photograph with mine. I don’t think either of them knew how difficult or impossible it is for Palestinians to acquire a Jerusalem ID, let alone a Jerusalem passport. I was thinking of my Jerusalemite friend Nasmi Jubeh whose wife, Haifa, had spent sixteen years waiting for her Jerusalem ID. I’d definitely have to hide Nura’s passport from Samir Hulieleh, who after twenty-four years of marriage to Sawsan, a Jerusalemite, had not yet succeeded in getting a Jerusalem ID. I did not want to think about adorable little Yasmin, Sawsan’s and Samir’s only child. The Israelis would not give her a Jerusalem ID because her father had a Palestinian Ramallah ID, and the Palestinian Authority would not give her a Palestinian ID because her mother had an Israeli Jerusalem ID. If Jewish and Israeli traditions were respected, Yasmin should have two identity cards, one after her mother and one after her father. But she has none.” (106-107). 

Amiry brilliantly intertwines humor into what is actually a very serious and damaging problem in the West Bank. SO many people want or need Jerusalem ID's but are unable to get one, making it impossible for them to live with their relatives, visit Holy sites or get much needed medical attention in Jerusalem.With ease, Amiry slides from a hilarious anecdote about her dog getting a passport into some of the hardest realities of life under Occupation. 

One of the most striking things about watching movies or reading books about this place is recognizing places. For example, Amiry writes of Al-Manara square in Ramallah, which I pass on my way to and from the bus station. Even more than just recognizing places, it's challenging to read about these familiar places during an Intifada. Amiry writes about seemingly endless curfews in Ramallah during the Intifada. She describes mind-numbing boredom mixed with rushed three hour lifts of the curfew where everyone goes out and buys a ton of food. It's crazy to realize that these things took place only a decade ago. The jolt of recognizing a place in a book is made even more startling by reading about the trials of living in this place during that time. 

I am beginning to realize how valuable it is to be here. Living in this country makes everything about the conflict, the Occupation, the Wall, the Intifada's so much more real. Reading books or articles, watching movies, everything takes on a more personal meaning after having lived here for seven months. Israel/Palestine is no longer just a news hotspot or a popular article topic. It's a place where I have made friends, been invited into people's homes, worshiped in congregations, struggled to learn Arabic, done yoga and attended lectures, concerts and even a high school Prom. It's a place where I've lived normal life: I've done laundry, bought groceries and celebrated birthdays. In essence, it is a place I have grown to love and to feel at home. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to make this place my home and to make everything I read and watch about it more meaningful. I hope that you have a chance to read books and watch documentaries about this place. There are some fantastic ones out there. Feel free to contact me about them and to discuss them with me afterward

Palestinian Cultural Heritage Day and Egg Hunt

On Tuesday we celebrated Palestinian Cultural Heritage at school. At 10am all the students and staff filed out into the yard where music and food were already set up. The mock business competition club was selling Palestinian crafts including embroidered bookmarks, embroidered bags and tee-shirts. The kids from the Kindergarten had come over into the main yard for the occasion. Everyone quickly got in line to buy fresh falafel sandwiches, foul (beans), little candies and drinks. One of the teachers came around to the teachers and staff serving our daily steaming cups of Arabic coffee which seemed even more appropriate than usual, given the occasion.

Two of my kindergartners model their Palestinian dresses!

Some students had dressed up in traditional Palestinian clothes for the occasion. The school choir sang some Palestinian songs and the entire school joined in singing, dancing and clapping. A few of the students rapped, beat-boxed and chanted slogans all of which were met with excitement by the students.

Al-Raja Dabke Troupe!

Dabke!

Amongst the performances, the highlight was certainly the dabke troupe's performance. Dabke is the traditional Palestinian folkdance and it is awesome. I absolutely LOVE our dabke troupe! They clearly really enjoy dancing making it really fun to watch them! Furthermore, they practice for six hours each week, so they are good at what they do.

The dance is fun to watch, the music is catchy and it is such a huge part of Palestinian pride and cultural heritage. If I think about it a lot while I'm watching, I get teary-eyed with pride for my kids, my school and all of Palestine.

The event lasted for two hours and the kids, staff and teachers alike had a great time celebrating Palestinian culture through food, music, dance, spoken word and crafts.

Today we had another exciting event at the school: the kindergartners had an Easter Egg Hunt in the playground! Beforehand the teachers laid eggs out throughout the yard and the day started by singing some Easter songs, one in Arabic and a couple in English centering on themes of bunnies and chocolate. :-)

The kiddos turning in their eggs!

The kids were instructed to pick out one, and only one, egg bag from the yard and to put it into our collective basket. Since the egg hunt was at 9:30am and the egg bags contained one hard boiled and dyed egg and a couple chocolates, the teachers wisely decided to wait to give the kids the egg and chocolate until later in the day.

Adorable.

The younger kids got first chance at the playground to find eggs and then the older kids got to try their hand at finding eggs. The kids had a great time picking eggs, although predictably many were inclined to find more than just his or her one bag.

All in all the event was a great success and a fun way to kick off our brief Easter break this coming week!

Happy Easter!

Easter in Jerusalem!

Walking the Via Dolorosa

I have been incredibly blessed in so many ways to be here in the Holy Land this year, and having the opportunity to celebrate Easter in Jerusalem was no exception! The epic weekend started bright and early on Friday morning when members the Lutheran church in the Holy Land gathered to walk and pray along the Via Dolorosa together. This is the route that Jesus is believed to have walked on his way from being sentenced to being crucified marking the stations of the cross. We stopped at each station, read from scripture and had a short prayer. The church leaders took turns carrying our distinctive red cross the entire way.

After the Via Dolorosa some of the YAGM and I walked to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to see what we could see. It turned out that we couldn't see much as the entire church was closed with police barriers and police themselves guarding the entrance. Probably best to keep the church safe, but also a bit of a dissapointment.

On Saturday we cleaned up the sunrise service location on the LWF Augusta Victoria campus and enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt with the children of the English Speaking congregation. Adorable!

Sunrise service with the Wall as background.

Sunday morning began bright and early with sunrise service on the Mount of Olives. The sun rose over the course of the service, coming up over the horizon just as we took communion. I could not help but notice that the backdrop to the morning's service was the West Bank including the Wall. As I have said before, the conflict is omnipresent here.

YAGM's after the sunrise service. So blessed by this community!

After the sunrise service, the participants shared a delicious breakfast, complete with BACON and good fellowship. Then we scurried down into the Old City for the 9am service there. It was a trilingual service with German, Arabic and English pastors, including the Bishop of the ELCJHL presiding.

In the evening we celebrated again with a delicious ham and scalloped potato dinner, chocolate cake for dessert and an intense game of 10pm volleyball with the Mount of Olives community. I was reminded throughout the weekend how important it is to have a community where you live. I missed my parents and our family traditions for Easter and I feel very blessed to have a community here with whom to celebrate this holiday. Happy Easter!

Palm Sunday

All year I have been looking forward to experiencing the season of Lent and Easter in Jerusalem, where it all originally happened. Well about ten days ago I got to my first taste with the Palm Sunday events! The day started with a march around the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City courtyard with palms, continuing into the morning's service. After lunch, we joined the MASSES  heading into the Old City waving palms, playing drums, singing and generally enjoying a gorgeous day!

Me, Alma, Anna and Kirsten are PUMPED!

 The event was BYO Palm Branch although you could buy them from folks on the street. The march started on the Mount of Olives with the scout troops leading the way. With pretty marching costumes, drums and flags these youth were a great way to get the energy off to the right start.

For a while our group ended up walking beside a large group of young women from Spain who emphatically sang camp-style songs about Jesus and God the entire way. Needless to say, they were a fun spectacle to walk beside

Crowds, palms and the Israeli flag on a settlement house.

I was impressed with the crowd. It really was an enormous mass of people gathered and walking.

Crowd Dispersal Specialists

The police and the riot horses were also present at the event, to ensure safety. The riot horses are enormous, well-trained war horses who specialize in "dispersing crowds" when needed. Most often, they are used again demonstrators who have gotten out of control. It was frightening to see them in person. They are ENORMOUS and have special shoes for working on pavement (and for taking people down when necessary...).

The march goes all the way down into the Old City of Jerusalem. Afterward, Anna and I got ice cream from a man's shop on the Mount of Olives. He asked how we had enjoyed the walk and we commented on the huge crowds. He said, tourists maybe, but there used to be a lot more Palestinians... before the wall. Now many of the Christians in the area live in the West Bank and cannot get permits into Jerusalem in order to participate in events such as this one. It is easier for Christians to get permits during Holy Seasons like this one, but even easier is still very difficult and most are unable to come.

As with every aspect of life here, the shadow of the conflict looms over everything. It is hard to think that Palestinian Christians who have lived here their whole lives are denied the pleasure of Palm Sunday march into Jerusalem while a bunch of tourists, including myself, are allowed in.

Prom 2012 (...wait, what?)

Last Wednesday, I had the following conversation with one of my teachers, Ahmad:

Ahmad: "Sara! You are coming to Prom right?"

Me: "...what?"

Ahmad: "To Prom. You're coming right?"

Me: ".... to Prom?"

Ahmad (clearly becoming exasperated): "Yes! Tomorrow! You must come!"

Me: "to... Prom?"

My bafflement stemmed not only from the fact that there was a big school party the next day which I hadn't yet been told about, but also because who knew they even had Prom here?? Certainly not I! I agreed that yes, I absolutely should come to Prom. I asked what Prom was like and was told, "the kids are so dressed up! You won't know who they are!" I asked if there would be dancing and received a variety of responses ranging from, "NO!" to "Of course! We love to dance!" Baffling! I remembered from my own Proms that it's really all about the dress so I was looking forward to seeing my students dressed to the nines!

Two  of my best friends and me before our Prom! Seriously, it's all about the dress...

So I arrived at the church hall a few minutes after the allotted time on Thursday with absolutely NO idea what to expect. What I found was two of my fellow teachers chatting, a handful of my young men (11th and 12th graders) huddled uncomfortably in their suits and ties on one side of the room and a handful my young women (also the 11th and 12th graders) gathered on the other side. Of course, no one arrives on time in Palestine but most of the students and the rest of the teachers showed up within 45 minutes of the allotted start time.

The church hall was decorated with streamers, a DJ had set up camp, there were desserts on a table in the back of the room and there was even a lovely slideshow with pictures of this year's graduating class. As we waited for everyone to arrive, the students admired each others' nice clothes and some  were positively giddy. They wear uniforms each and every day to school, so I can only imagine how awesome it must feel to actually choose what they are wearing in front of their peers.

The stage is set!

Once the music started, I thought it would take a while for them to warm up to dancing, but, boy, was I ever wrong. Immediately the students hit the dance floor and started dancing. They danced around with lots of arm movements but zero physical contact between dancers, unless they were of the same gender. There were couples dancing together at a given moment but no one seemed to be partnered together (they certainly didn't arrive with dates) and there was lots of random swapping and group formation mixed in. All in all it seemed like way less pressure than the couple-driven, date-centered arena of my high school Proms.

The biggest surprise of the night arrived when one of the male students invited the teacher next to me to dance... and she did! What?? That would be an instant lawsuit where I come from. I literally stared on wide-eyed while they danced and then other teachers joined in. And then I was pulled in. Every part of my American self was saying, "No! No! No! Teachers do not dance with students! Danger! Lawsuit ahead!" But remember what I said about the dancing? Zero physical contact and it was essentially all group dancing anyway, so really, it was fine. I still tried to stay safely mixed in with my teachers, but it was clearly not a problem in anyone's mind. Two of the male teachers even created quite the show when they had a dance-off with the students.

Once I got over my initial panic that I was witnessing some form of sexual harassment, it was fun! Certainly more fun for the teachers-turned-chaperones than sitting on the side watching. It caused me to reflect on how we are so concerned about predators that we cannot even hug our students in the USA anymore. Of course, there are legitimate concerns about sickos who would do harm to kids, but it's refreshing to be in a place where the teachers can have totally appropriate fun with their students at Prom without fear of being sued.

Now those are candles.

After quite a bit of dancing, it was time for the cake. Now if you haven't seen a Palestinian birthday celebration before, you really should. Cake candles here are not those tame little ones we have back home, not even those "trick" candles that come back after you blow them out. No, no, here candles are more like little firecrackers.

Everyone enjoyed desserts and little snacks before getting back to the important task at hand: dancing!

It was such a fun evening to partake in! I am honored to have been invited into another aspect of life here!