First Few Days

I arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon, and got through security pretty smoothly. The man stamping my passport told me he did not believe me that I was here for 3 months just for tourism. I kept to my story and he let me pass. I went straight to Jerusalem and walked around, met up with Lauren and hung out with some locals. The following morning I traveled by bus to the West Bank and dropped my things off in Ramallah,  and then once again got on the bus and headed to Nablus about 45 minutes away. Nablus is a large city in the heart of the West Bank, it is in Area A, which means it is Palestinian controlled. Israelis are not allowed to come here without permission, yet sometimes sneak into a place called Joseph's Tomb under the cover of darkness. Two nights ago, settlers came to the area under the protection of the soldiers, yet many who were not approved to come, infiltrated the area which could have resulted in a very dangerous situation for all parties invovled.
Nablus is a bustling and lively city with buildings and homes lining the hillsides, and 3 refugee camps as well. My brother is working at the university here so I came to check out the program. There are some internationals who came here to teach summer school classes and I sat in on a few classes. After that, we all went to the old city here to the Turkish Bath. The electricity went out and we sat in the dark smoking argilah (hookah) by candelight.
Unfortunately, I have already gotten sick here and was in bed all day. Feeling a bit better now, and must head back to Ramallah this evening because I will begin work tomorrow morning.
I will write more later when I have time.

Preparations.

Preparing for a journey to the Middle East for the third summer in a row... stay tuned, friends. 

"Like most of the others, I was a seeker, a mover, a malcontent, and at times a stupid hell-raiser. I was never idle long enough to do much thinking, but I felt somehow that my instincts were right. I shared a vagrant optimism that some of us were making real progress, that we had taken an honest road, and that the best of us would inevitably make it over the top. At the same time, I shared a dark suspicion that the life we were leading was a lost cause, that we were all actors, kidding ourselves along on a senseless odyssey. It was the tension between these two poles- a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other---that kept me going."

Hunter S. Thompson

My Pally babes, Askar Camp.