First Weeks in Nablus

Almost two and a half weeks ago I arrived in Nablus. It took the first few days to learn my way around and it took a few days to figure out my schedule. When I first arrived I hopped in my taxi, requested my apartment in Arabic, and.... He responded in Arabic... And I realized that all of the hours I spent leaning Arabic before coming here were useless. It's been an adventure ever since :)

Scenic view of Nablus :) 

So far I've been able to attend two weddings here. Both were different than anything I've ever seen before. From what I can understand there are many steps in Muslim weddings. The boys have a night together to party and the girls watch the guys party, then the girls have a night to party alone, and then they finally get married. I've been able to go to both the girls and guys parties. The guy party was super fun for guys, but terribly boring for girls. For two hours we sat on a roof and watched the guys dance. Yet because of culture we were restricted for dancing too. The other wedding I attended was the party for girls. It was more fun and almost like a giant dance performance. I think I still have a lot to learn about Muslim culture. 

View of the Guy dance party

Before I knew it I was able to shadow/work in a nearby hospital. I've gone every morning since. I've seen heart surgeries, arm and leg surgeries, brain surgeries, eye surgeries, c-sections, and so much more! It's awesome! 

Chacos and surgery scrubs 

It took a while for Project Hope to organize my art classes so in the mean time I've been able to explore Palestine. First trip was to the Dead Sea and Jericho. Second trip (for my birthday) was to Bethlehem and Hebron. Both were awesome. 

The Dead Sea the Jerico were SO HOT! I don't think I've ever been anywhere so hot!

For my Birthday I got to see all the Banksy's and I also graffitied the Israel-Palestine wall. It was a dream come true! 

Visiting Hebron was an eye-opener. While I was going through a check-point I watched a man get arrested for no reason. The streets bordering the Jewish settlement are in ruins. The soldiers are bullies. And the Palestinians are legitimately defenseless. This is a silent one-sided war. I wish more people knew how bad the situation in Palestine is.

When I got back I had to teach my first "art class for 10-14 yr olds" and I showed up to a village and was given a "English class for 16-18yr olds". There were some miscommunications, so now I am teaching English in a small village called Jinsafut. I love it. The kids are fantastic! I hope I can learn from them as much as they can learn from me. Can't wait to get to know them better these next few weeks :)

Sorry for my posts being so spaced out, internet here is terrible......

New Adventures

This first week of traveling has been an amazing adventure and the time has gone by so fast.

First, Spain was beautiful and I wish I'd had more time to explore. I got to finally see so many great works of art I grew up appreciating but never imagined I'd see in person. Beautiful. Spain is a country I'd go back to.

Next, Jerusalem was incredible. As a little girl I remember looking at pictures of Mom riding camels and thinking she was just the coolest- but I never imagined I'd visit Jerusalem one day too. At first the city was overwhelming, but as soon as I figured out my way around, I couldn't get enough of it. The Church of the Holy Sepulcre, The Wailing Wall, the Via Dolorosa, the Dome of The Rock- every place in Jerusalem had huge religious significance. The most important place for me was the Garden of Gethsemane. As I stood in the garden contemplating the atonement I couldn't help but feel the spirit testify of the atonement and of Christ's love for me and for everyone. But my meditating was soon interrupted by a huge Chinese tour group noisily taking pictures. Now I understand how the Jews felt when I (and many others) was taking selfies at the Wailing Wall.

The trip to Nablus was fairly uneventful and I'm already learning to love my new home here.

Uploading pictures on my phone is somewhat difficult, but I'll try to upload Picts soon.