Getting into it

It's been a little while since I was last able to blog, mainly because I have just been incredibly busy. I have had a number of new experiences since I last wrote, three of which are particularly interesting and I would like to share.

I'm going to go slightly out of order chronologically and start with the time I had hiking last Saturday. Two friends from the PSE program and I went on a hike starting from Soloman's Pools (the supposed place where Soloman sat while writing Song of Soloman, though that idea has since been refuted--they were actually constructed about 800 years later...still pretty old and impressive though) which are in the southwest corner of Bethlehem, through a wadi, and out to the Herodian (one of Herod the Great's fortresses). This was probably a 10-15 kilometer hike, but it actually took us from about 10 a.m. til 4 p.m. for a couple of reasons: we were going a rather slow pace and we made some stops along the way. Besides to eat, we also stopped in a beautiful church in the village of Artas which is south of Bethlehem. The church is called The Lady of the Garden and is a rather large complex of buildings and gardens founded by Uraguayan Catholics about a century ago right in the middle of a tiny Muslim village, which just seems a little funny. However, the real experience of the day was another stop we made when we were getting very close to the Herodian. We had stopped briefly to take a short reprieve in the middle of a village because there was actually some shade available. (In this desert-y region, shade from trees is not always readily available.) We were resting against a fence of someone's yard, when a man came out and greeted us and asked if we would come in. Having been out for quite a while in the blazing sun, a break didn't sound too bad, so we went in. I must note that such an invitation from a complete stranger is not surprising at all in this place--Palestinians are actually renowned for thier hospitality, which we proceeded to experience. We were brought into a large room with couches all around the walls, and for nearly two hours or so, we drank soda and tea, had snacks, and had slightly language-barrier impaired, though manageable conversations. (The two other people with me, both women, actually left the room and went outside where all the women and girls were and played games with them; I stayed in the room with the men.) I have felt very welcomed by my host family, and from the very beginning they have told me that I am just part of their family while I am here. Yet, this experience was very different in some ways: my host placement was arranged beforehand while this time was completely spontaneous and initiated by them, not me; my host family are Christians living in the city (Area A--completely under the Palestinian Authority), and this was a Muslim family living in a small village (in Area C--completely under Israeli control). Basically, I have heard over and over that Palestinians are incredibly hospitable, but this was a very real encounter with that fact. We were just completely welcomed in and treated very well as their guests. When we were finally able to pry ourselves away from the house (it is actually difficult to refuse the hospitality here at the risk of offending), one of my friends joked about how funny the whole time was because it seemed like some kind of scene from a sitcom--there was this gigantic family (the family was actually a number of extended families all living right next to each other, and they told us that there were over 100 family members all living together) and then three foreigners, with new kids just appearing right and left, 20 people in one room the whole time, though it was never the same 20, and all kinds of characters within the family members--from the little kids who were watching from the window but would duck down whenever I looked over to the grandfather of the clan who, though I couldn't understand him, must've been making some ornery jokes. It was a very fun time, surprisingly not awkward, and I was very grateful to have this new experience.

Well, that's one of three experiences I'd like to talk about, but I've got to head to Arabic class! More later...