We negotiated the "road" for another hour before joining back up with the road on the other side of the checkpoint. "Welcome to the occupation," once sang REM's Michael Stipe.
Read MoreIt was a little hard to feel like celebrating, anyway - word came of an assassination of three Palestinians in their car near Zababdeh (Marthame heard about it from one of his 8th grade students by email), most likely with American-made weaponry. The sad irony of Independence Day...
Read MoreOur speaker was an eloquent expert on Palestinian humor and folklore. He gave an insightful talk on the subject, citing jokes and folktales as much better judges of public opinion and morale than political speeches - they circulate if they resonate with the people, and they die if they do not.
Read MoreUnfortunately, our travels for the day are not over. We took a while trying to figure out how we were going to get to Birzeit - one word was that the checkpoint was closed, another was that it was open but yellow-plated taxis would not be allowed in.
Read MoreWalking through the town today reminded us of some of the things that we'll miss. One of them is the sound of the birds (mostly cattle egrets) that fill the trees near the Latin Convent - one of them isn't the risks we take walking under those trees.
Read MoreIlhamdillah 'al-salaami (roughly, "thank God you made it back safely")! This chorus greeted us as we returned to school. That, and numerous questions about our trip to Iraq. Everyone wanted an update, a story.
Read MoreZababdeh relies on a broken water pump in Area C, which is caught in "Corporate Occupation" - the Israeli's independent water company is refusing to cooperate with the Palestinian's independent water company due to the current unrest, which means Zababdeh gets water about once a week (roof water tanks are automatically refilled from the pump when they get below a certain level, if there is water).
Read MoreNews came today of the four month-old baby killed in Israeli shelling of a Gaza Refugee Camp. A lot of head-shaking is taking place in Zababdeh, particularly at Sharon's half-hearted "apology" as he visited settlements in Gaza again.
Read MoreChapter one of the long, tedious car saga is drawing to a close.
Read MoreThe irony of Marthame's family traveling hither and yon is that they have far more freedom than people here do in their own homeland.
Read MoreThe procession then headed to the village's Christian cemetery, where the cross was set for the night. Elizabeth noted the large number of people who gathered at family gravesides and weeped and mourned demonstratively over the departed.
Read MoreAfter Elizabeth's adult English classes, we left with Marthame’s family for a few days in the Galilee district.
Read MoreWhile Marthame watched the mechanic at work, two Palestinian soldiers pulled up and asked the mechanic questions about him: "Is he Jewish? A settler? An Israeli?"
Read MoreMarthame's route took him down the Jordan Valley, which is where the brakes went out on the Citroen.
Read MoreEven though it's only half an hour's drive from Zababdeh, no one here can make the trip these days because of the closures (many can't even get to Ramallah), so several times we have found ourselves couriers for various things, including medicine and birthday presents.
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The event was not without its sobering moment, though, as moments were taken to remember the mothers who had lost children during the Intifada.
Read MoreThis morning we met the head of the Bible Society of Jordan, snugly located in one of Amman's beautiful neighborhoods.
Read MoreAmman is an interesting mix between East and West. Clearly Arab and clearly a monarchy (King Abdallah's pictures are everywhere), nonetheless almost every street sign and storefront is bilingual - the years of British influence have clearly left their mark.
Read MoreWe have been hoping since we arrived that we would be able to visit some of the other Arab countries around us. One of the obstacles is the Israeli stamp in our passport. With the exception of Jordan and Egypt, no Arab country will accept a passport (or the person attached to it) that contains the Israeli stamp.
Read MoreThe seventh grade teachers decided to take them on a walk through the mountains for a nice picnic. We tagged along.
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