Ramallah the comfortable

Ramallah is a very expensive city, but also a lot more impressive than the city I just came from in the north. It is the seat of government, so one could expect that that fact alone would generate more wealth than the city would otherwise. Walking around, one could at times get confused about whether or not you were in a European city. There are high end clothing shops, coffee shops, electronic billboard ads, and plenty of nice automobiles. I got in trouble yesterday for taking pictures with Palestinian soldiers nearby. The house I am staying in got searched by invading Israeli soldiers during the second intifada a couple of years ago. One thing that is striking about Ramallah is the coexistence of Chrisitans and Muslims. There are churches right next to mosques here, and both communities are primarliy ethnic Arabs. However, the makeup of the city is changing because the Arab Christians have an easier time getting out than their Muslim counterparts. My host showed me the locations where Israeli tanks surrounded Yasser Arafat after the peace negotiations broke down, and the plaza where all the protests occur. Because of water limits placed on the Palestinians, my friend and I have purchased a gym membership, yes a gym membership, in order to shower at night. I will admit that it is extremely impressive. There are flat screen TVs, and American music, and exercise equipment at least twice as good as that at UF's gym. After working out, we walked the streets of Ramallah. The temperature is unbelievably comfortable at night. It is like 72 degrees, and there is a lot of fog blown around by the wind. We bought a watermelon, some falafels, and some arabic coffee and headed home. I think Ramallah is a city I could get used to.