November 16, 2000

This morning, administrators at the school were busy accommodating the absence of one of the French teachers. On his way from Nazareth (where his wife was awaiting the birth of their second child) to Zababdeh, he was stopped at the Israeli checkpoint, and told he may not enter the West Bank. In spite of his protests, and in spite of the fact he was driving a consular vehicle, they refused him. He told us that last year, when their first child was born, he commuted between Nazareth and Zababdeh every day. But this year, it has been exhausting and frightening, even when he does get through. Fortunately, most of the other teachers and students are able to come, so the school continues mostly uninterrupted.

This thorn is one of our favorite plants to photograph.

Praying mantis.

The two of us captured in the wild.

The sunset with wispy clouds over Zababdeh.

In the afternoon, we joined our neighbor on a walk through the hills around Zababdeh. Elizabeth has begun compiling photos for a future "nature page" featuring the local flora and fauna (ranging from beautiful thorny shrubs and praying mantises in the hills to the "icky bugs" - according to Marthame - we find in our apartment).