May 26, 2003

Today is Elizabeth's second and last exam, with her seventh graders. As she sat watching them take the test in their classroom, it started to sink in that this was the last time she'd be with them as their teacher. Even though some of these kids could drive her crazy, she'll miss them all. It will be hard to say goodbye for real.

Bishop Timothy’s apartment within the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Marthame met Bishop Timothy for coffee in his little patio. Marthame loaded down with supplies for Fr. Thomas and made his way to Damascus Gate to try and catch a taxi up to Nazareth. We had assumed that, since he was already out of the West Bank, it would be easier for him to get from Jerusalem to Nazareth than to go through Zababdeh. It turned out we couldn't have been more wrong, but for different reasons. There are no direct routes to Nazareth, all of them passing through Tel Aviv. At first, there was a two hour wait for the taxi to fill up. When it didn't, we took off, paying an extra fare. From Tel Aviv to Nazareth, the taxi found itself stuck - there were three checkpoints along the road passing near the West Bank. Traffic was inching forward. Once it inched forward enough, we turned off the road and drove through the olive groves (it felt more like "home" than the highways of Israel usually do. A quick lunch before he went up to Ibillin.

After tonight, only one more class remains. Foregoing the commute is enough to bring an expectation of joy.