October, 2001
The road was the worst so far, the road from the Arab-American University of Jenin. Every road is closed, and so every "road" is necessarily a dirt road through the fields.
"Give us this day our daily bread..." We have begun a new schedule of getting up early and taking a walk - directly to the bakery to get our fresh bread for the day.
Once again, it was impossible for Fr. Hossam to get here. This time, shots apparently hit very close to the Anglican Church compound in Nablus. As he worked on his sermon last night, he was pinned down in his study.
We called it our "War Time Picnic." It was a great chance to not think about any of the stuff that goes wrong from day to day
We had a nice visit as we sat out on her porch and looked over her fruit trees and the rest of Zababdeh.
As school let out, we were met with a demonstration led by University students through the streets of Zababdeh.
One of the soldiers had scrawled in English on his army jacket, "F*** the world." Somehow appropriate.
The destruction of the latest incursion was evident, almost apocalyptic in its appearance.
We had a lively discussion with the students about the role of women in society - there was as much variety in opinion among the all-male, mostly-Muslim students as you would expect to find in an American classroom.
Two Israeli tanks were on the move on the opposite hilltop, sending the children into equal fits of fright and intrigue. The same could be said for the teachers (us included), though we were less vocal about it.
We were invited for lunch with one of the teachers and her family. They live in Zababdeh, and she teaches Islam to the Muslim students from grades 4-12.
Word filtered through later in the day that an eleven year old girl had been killed on her way to school by Israeli soldiers who had invaded Jenin. Needless to say, those of us responsible for the safety of students are concerned by such reports.
We had a couple of visitors a few nights ago, and Marthame had casually mentioned that he wanted to get a galabiye, or a dishdashe, the gown worn by men at home here. They're very comfortable, and in the summer they're extremely cool.
We spent the afternoon visiting with one of the Muslim families of Zababdeh whose daughter teaches religion in the school to the Muslim children.
We headed up to the ancient port city of Akka (or Akko or Acre, depending on which language you prefer) which still has a significant Palestinian population within Israel.
Marthame told him that we live in Jenin - the man responded that he had almost rented a very nice house in Jenin with a swimming pool for a great price, but that there were two checkpoints to pass in and out of to get there. It was only then that Marthame realized he meant "Ganim," one of two nearby settlements, the very existence of which has meant the siege of the entire Jenin region.
They dropped Marthame off, and he found his way to the Melkite Bishopric to meet with Bishop Boutros Ma'alim.
We headed up to the University today to visit friends and also to get a good backdrop for a project we're working on.
Marthame had planned to make a bank trip into nearby Jenin today, but given that the bombing had started last night (and that everyone was glued to their TVs watching it), he wanted to be very careful.
Reports came on CNN of stadiums full of football fans chanting "USA! USA!" when hearing the bombing had started. And we're confused as to why there're anti-American sentiments in the world?
This was the first Muslim wedding party either of us has attended. The big party, as is traditional for both Christians and Muslims here, was the previous day.
Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Elizabeth, happy birthday to you!
One of the English teachers from the Latin School is offering a course in conversational English at the nearby Martyr Na’im Khader Center, part of the Palestinian Agricultural Resource Committees (PARC).
Kids are also rallying around their flag here - something in common between Americans and Palestinians.
The landscape isn't nearly as stunning now as it is after the rains in the spring, but it's still quite beautiful, and the evening weather this time of year is spectacular.
