Living here throws caveats into everything.
Read MoreOver the last few days, Marthame has been wearing the kaffiye, the traditional Palestinian headscarf, to fight off the cold weather (it's quite effective). Students keep asking him whether he's a Fatah (PLO) supporter.
Read MoreToday was also the first time we've been to Jenin in almost two months (unless you count the emergency trip to get the kids home through the hills).
Read MoreAfter church, we made some overdue visitations to friends and "family" in the village, sharing some of the spoils of our trip to Egypt.
Read MoreWe have added the sunshine, but have also added the bristling winds. Kind of a zero-sum difference temperature-wise. But now we have a balcony (to enjoy on sunny days...) and a view of the beautiful hills.
Read MoreToday was our moving day. We decided to take the apartment on the third floor of our building. Our basement apartment is devoid of all sunshine and darn cold.
Read MoreAt 6:30 this morning, we heard an announcement from the mosque's prayer tower, but weren't clear as to what it was. When we arrived at school, we understood: a snow day!
Read MoreWe were pulled aside before having our bags x-rayed - clearly someone was being trained, and we looked like just the folks to train on. They asked a lot of questions about where we stayed, who watched our bags, then more about our work - whom did we know, did we have friends or phone numbers...our computer bag was triple-searched, and Marthame's visa was scrutinized - all of which kept us from meeting our taxi.
Read MoreWe spent the morning at Jerash, the Roman ruins in one of the old cities of the Decapolis, Gerase.
Read MoreClearly, this is where the jet-setters of Amman come to catch up on the latest fashions.
Read MoreToday is our last full day in Egypt, meaning we've got to get at least one thing in: the pyramids!
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The Wadi itself is famous for its salt-processing, and also for its monasteries.
Read MoreWe lounged about at the Red Sea, finding it warm enough (but too late) to swim.
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Since it was New Year's Eve, the usual dinner was postponed until later in the evening for a spectacular banquet with all kinds of meats and cheeses and delicacies and desserts.
Read MoreWe spent most of the day in Coptic Cairo. Centered around Mar Girgis church (St. George's), this is Cairo's Old City and is where many of its historical churches are.
Read MoreToday was spent with our friends, but that didn't mean that we didn't get our share of sight-seeing in.
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Today we did one thing: the Egypt Museum.
Read MoreOur resting place for the time we are here is Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo.
Read MoreSeems appropriate somehow to leave the troubled land of Palestine/Israel after Christmas with a little jaunt to Egypt, as Mary and Joseph saw fit to do.
Read MoreChristmas morning also means worship.
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