Mar haba

Mar haba. Today was Arabic lesson number two in Bethlehem and it went much better than the first one! We showed up to the first lesson half an hour late - all of us - because of the bus system and the time it actually takes for one to travel 7.5 km (about 5 miles). It took an hour and a half. This is partially because we walked for twenty minutes to get to the bus and partially because the bus we took went the long way to Bethlehem. The other bus we could have taken stops at the checkpoint which is a twenty minute walk to the school. This time we left earlier and made it right on time. Mish mushkela - no problem. Our professor is a tiny Palestinian woman named Salwa who must be especially precious to God's heart. She's a fire cracker and finds us as funny as we find her language. Our first lesson was rather overwhelming and contained so much information it left me wondering if there was any possible way to take one class in two semesters. My brain completely shut down. This lesson was much better as we spent part of it repeating and then weaving in new words and phrases. We also learned to write our names in Arabic so that we can put them on homework assignments. I may not be a fluent Arabic speaker by December but I can at least write my own name!

The ride back was interesting as this was our first time going through the checkpoint by bus. Two soldiers got on, the first with a gun in a very ready-to-fire position and the other followed behing and checked passports. Bethlehem is part of Palestinian territory so anyone can get there from Jerusalem but you must have the proper paperwork to leave. Israel has built a wall around a large portion of the city to keep people from crossing illegally. However, the wall leaves many people feeling like they live in a cage and are cut off from family and friends in other parts of the country. Bethlehem is notably poorer than many of the places I've seen in Jerusalem.

Tomorrow is my first archaeology class, which I am very excited about. Then starts the weekend! Tonight is the beginning of the weekend for many Israelis and it is obvious by the sounds of the city from my window - there was some kind of party - I'm told it was a bar mitzvah, though it sounded and looked more like a fiesta - down below the school and it included some rather creative dancing. Once it ended another party started somewhere else in the valley with opera music and very dressed up crowds. Last night the stadium just below us held a televised gathering for Israeli Survivor. There is definitely a night life in this city!

Last night several new friends decided to head out to find snack food in the city. We had seen a grocery store not too far away and headed out. It was closed but we walked to the other side of the New City and found a smaller one that carried a little of everything. For about 45 NIS (a little over $10) I found popcorn, coca cola, fresh mango juice for breakfast (our school only offers water, all other drinks must be purchased elsewhere) vanilla cookies and something that looked like divinity candy. It was chalky and tasted like peanut flavored corn starch: it wasn't divinity. Another student later informed us that we were eating halva, a sesame paste candy. Ah. That explained it. The first bite was terrible, by the end of the piece it tasted somewhat good. I recommend the one with the walnut picture on it - the one with the vanially bean picture never got anything more than "okay".

Fresh picked pomegranate from the garden!

 

Wall around Bethlehem

 

Bethlehem.

 

Road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. MONSTROUS hills.

 

Chill time with Rhonda after dinner.

 

 

Look what I found! Ben & Jerry's.

 

Halva...

 

...I'm not sure about it.