September 14, 2001

Fridays give us a day off, but it's hard to relax in the current situation. We're glued to the TV just like everyone else, wondering what will happen next. Except from 2:30 to 5:30, that is. In Zababdeh, they have begun cutting electricity in a conservation mode - everything is so up in the air. So in the afternoons, the generator is cut off for three hours, and then as well very early in the morning. It's interesting how that affects the rhythm of life so - usually, we watch the news while we eat. Now we play cards. If there's going to be any microwaving, it'll have to be during specific hours. And printing things for school takes forethought - the power isn't back on until 7:30 am usually, which means we arrive at school as the electricity comes on. No more last minute preparation.

New construction on our apartment building.

The nice thing is that it has given us a break from the noise of construction - the entirety of our landlord's income now comes from the building. He is a pastor of a tent-making church in Bethlehem, but because of the situation he cannot get there anymore. All homes here end up with an unfinished look, the top floor ready to have another floor added on. Now we know why. This also means that, for a while, we will have no water and/or satellite (everything is on the roof), but we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.