Independence Day in West Bank

I have been on the receiving end of some very shocking perspectives here in the West Bank. The people here are so nice and welcoming, they have been very good to me overall and I am thankful for that. I even got the chance to play a little grand theft auto today at the pool (this was the 5th time they took me there). I discovered why it was such a popular place; apparently the israelis have constructed a wall surrounding the city of qalqilya, and there is only one entrance. This obstruction makes travelling very very difficult. I think it has also radicalized the population more than they would be otherwise. An older man told me today that 20 years ago many people came to qalqilya, then relations with israel deteriorated and the israelis built a wall on the green line and a wall surrounding the city. The residents have advized me to stay away from the city wall at night, lest i be shot. They say it is like living in one big prison, under "city arrest" if you like. Apparently the city I am in is a lot more conservative than other cities in west bank. 20 years ago a cinema was built here and they burned it to the ground in 2 days because the residents deemed it a corrupting influence. Like some places in the south except with churches, there is a mosque on every corner they say. Alcohol is prohibited here, and there are no night clubs whatsoever. The only thing there is to do it seems is to go to the zoo and go swimming. However, I will be eternally grateful for the people here in Qalqilya. I was virtually abandoned in Israel, with the exception of one woman who gave me some help. Here in the West Bank, every person I meet almost who I speak to at any length wants to help me. I think this is in large part because I am staying with one of the town's most respected citizens, but whatever the reason I am grateful. The man I am staying with seems to command respect from all sides, and is negotiating a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas on a couple weeks to try and get weapons out of the hands of political factions. He is in line to be a national minister very soon. The diet here is some kind of mix between meat lovers and extreme vegan. I know it sounds strange, but I have eaten more hummus than anytime in my life, and have consumed more meat than I do in 2 months.

Zoo

We had the first sweet breakfast yet, with honey. The staples stay the same, bread, hummus, fool, white cheese, and tea. Today I will go to the zoo, which I am looking forward to. I wonder what I will see. I will report back later. Cheers and maa' salaama (goodbye).

Fast and the Furious

So the pool here is THE hangout place. I've been there 3 times in 2 days, and many college age guys sit around tables to talk and listen to music. When we left there the other night, it was a little scary. If you've ever seen Fast and the Furoius 3: Tokyo Drift, that's what I felt we were driving like. The guy was going pretty fast and making tight spaces and turns that I wouldn't have dreamed of trying. They talk about cars here a lot. They tell you what kind of c ar they have, and then they ask what yours is. I tell everyone GM because not many people know pontiac. There are a huge number of Mercedes and BMW, but not many sports cars like Corvette. Every guy under 30 seems to want a Ferrari or Lamborghini, so that sentiment is indeed universal. I fell asleep at the pool and the owners gave me something like an air mattress to sleep on, until I got interrupted in my sleep by a couple of young boys. I am clearly exotic here, I do not think that many Americans have come in this area since the rise of Hamas a couple of years ago. The boys asked me to rate people they named with thumbs up, thumbs down, or so so. They asked about Obama, Bush, Olmert, Abbas, and more. For some reason, I think Shakira is more popular here than almost anyone, probably because she is part Lebanese according to the residents. At night, everyone wanted me to take their picture and make videos. Some had never seen a camera before. One of the really muscular guys challenged me to a swimming match where he would swim with one hand and I could swim however I liked. I told him I'd do it tomorrow if we came again. I learned a lot from the people there, some of which was very shocking and I cannot speak of on this blog. I will tell more when I am in a different location.
However, I was treated to free watermelon at the swimming pool, and the people overall could not be mroe hospitable and welcoming. They give like you are part of the family. There is a lot of cautious optimism about the US right now. The Palestinians are wary of broken promises about a state of their own. I received a new perspective from an old timer about the state of things here, which I will recount later. There are many people walking their donkeys in the streets, and is a very clear Palestinian police presence. They ticket lots of people too, they seem to have a fairly high capacity. My camera was lost and it got reported to the police and I got it back. Also, it seems that societal pressure here is the best enforcement mechanism. To find something that has been taken, you go to the camera shop and tell them to call you if someone asks for help with a particular camera because it will be yours. If someone is treating their wife badly, the society ostracizes the offender and sends food and help to the woman. Society is viewed as being responsible for enforcing law, now with some help from the Palestinian security forces.

3rd of July

So apparently the weekend is holy. On Friday, Muslims go to mosque, Saturday Jews go to ftemple, and Sunday Christians go to church. Only men over 16 are required to go to mosque on Friday. It is optional for others. The thinking is that young children do not understand and women pray in the home because they have much work to do.
We had a late breakfast of olive oil, hummus, pig's kidney, grape juice, and more. I am trying to get used to eating only with my hands, it's kinda tough, but easier than chopsticks. I am happy to have a shower that sometimes uses hot water, though it's sort of like a hose more than a shower. The tap water here is drinkable, or at least that's what everyone tells me and I haven't gotten sick yet.

Crazy but exciting day

Wow, so since i was sitting in that shop in downtown Qalqilya, much has happened. I have learned a lot today. I walked around town with my friend who called himself Abu George and we met many of the local merchants. I got picked up later on by my host, who took me to his house for an outstanding dinner. It seems that most every Palestinian smokes, and many smoke several packs a day. I got offered maybe 4 or 5 cigarettes by friends downtown, and 2 cokes, the later of which i accepted. When I went back to the house i am at, we ate d'juj, or chicken, and ruz, or rice, along with ma, or water. Later, we went to the local pool. The owner was related to the family, so we got in for free. I went swimming and my friends made an error, they put my camera down on a table and the next thing we knew it was gone. I was a little sad, but I just played it cool and told them not to worry, and within 2 hours they had located the camera, but how i do not know. I know what it is like now to be the different guy in the pool. All the Palestinian guys (it was a male only pool) wanted to challenge me to splashing battles (i think that's what they wanted) or to have a swimming race. They thought it was funny that the extent of my arabic is assif, or sorry, marhaban, or hello, kuta, or cat. Try and make a conversation with that, it's tough. Anyway, they were nice and I got to make new friends, some a little odd though. A guy downtown told me that palestinians are always trying to get out because of the tough life, and the best thing to have more than gold is an American passport, because it guarantees freedom of movement. I have been drinking tons of cafe, or coffee, as black coffee is very popular here, and I have had lots of tea. They even have teen, or fig, trees exactly like the ones at home. They also have orange, and something called jauwaffa, which I still have not figured out if there is an english equivalent.

If you know of someone who has wanted to know what's going on with me in palestine, send them a link to my blog.

Until next post, i think i will first go get some sleep, it's 6 hours ahead of eastern time zone

Qalqilya, West Bank

I was the first to wake up this morning. I feel like I am in a very safe place. The man whose home I am staying at was the mayor of the city I am in for 10 years. He now works for the Palestinian Authority. He seems to know everyone in the whole city. Everyone waves to him as he passes. I am leanring names for various items in arabic. I had plums, and eggs for breakfast. My host is part of Fatah, as opposed to Hamas. At dinner the other night, we all had a laugh. His wife offered me more hummus for my bread, but it sounded a lot like hamas. As I knew he was part of Fatah, I said "no more fatah." Everyone roared laughing. She said "not more haamas, more huummus." Oh mistakes, they are funny. I am walking the marketplace in Qalqilya, and am using the internet in a store for jawwal, or cell phones. Today I will go swimming and to the zoo. I hope to keep updating, i will do it as i am able.

Chaos, adventure, and comfort

I arrived in Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport at 3:20 am, and was completely exhausted. I went to the front part of the airport to meet the Israeli who was supposed to pick me up, except he was not there. I was a little worried, but have learned that worrying does little good in international adventures, so I just sat in a chair and relaxed a while. I waited for about 2 hours, then decided that I needed to take some action, so I bought an Israeli cell phone for way too much, but I needed it badly, so I swallowed the hefty fee I had to pay for it. I had written down all the contact info of the people here, and I contacted them. I got in contact with my friend from West Bank and he told me that Palestinians were forbidden to go to the airport, so I would have to take a taxi. I took one to the israeli city of Kfar Saba, and met the people at the office of the mayor there. It is about the size of Gainesville, FL. The man I was supposed to meet did not answer his phone, and I was unable to find him after much searching. I sat down in a park, and just went to sleep. After that, I found that I was hungry, so I went to McDonald's, which was a nerve racking experience. The Israeli guard suspected me of being a bad person, so he tried to tell me something, and I responded "English." Lucky for me, he understood and scanned me with a metal detector, and let me through. I waited there, and went to the mayor's office again, where a Palestinian in a Mercedes with an Israeli passport picked me up and drove me to the checkpoint. I walked through and was questioned intensely before they allowed me to go. I walked a few hundred meters and met my friend in the West Bank, Marouf Zahran, the deputy minister of civil affairs, kind of like the undersecretary of state maybe. He gave me a wonderful dinner and a place to sleep, and a warm shower! I was very content, and slept for 13 hours.