August 31, 2003

Today was our Return to Star Mountain (wasn't that a Disney movie?). We got up in Helsinki at 4:10 AM, and arrived in Ramallah at dusk. The ride from the airport was interesting, traveling all over West Jerusalem to drop people off. It was another hour before we arrived at the Old City.

Ramallah has a vibrant night life for young Palestinian professionals.

We paused between taxi rides in Ramallah to eat supper with friends, and then made the long walk at Surda in the foggy dark. An Israeli jeep was perched on the hill overlooking the checkpoint, it's search light periodically shining on the masses. Several hundred others joined us, most of them women coming back from a family wedding in Ramallah. A thin sliver of moon shone over the mountain in the distance. A fitting return indeed.