soul sisters

I've been hanging out a bunch with the sisters of charity here doing some painting and helping out with the kids,
they are the coolest people in the world.
I've never met people before who's sole purpose on earth is love others,
they look after abandoned and handicapped kids,
many of whom aren't used to being touched or talked to.
pretty humbling stuff.

I'm perservering with my Arabic, but it's a bit of a painful process.
teaching is going well, i could get used to the power.

Witnessed my first Islamic Jihad funeral yesterday,
took place in the mosque just outside my house, twas mental.
A big crowd with flags carrying the corpse, chanting anti-israeli slogans and shooting machine guns in the air.

Bethlehem

So after everything took off in Gaza I went to stay with friends in Bethlehem,
now that is an interesting place.
I was staying just a two minute walk inside the Israeli "security wall" which seperates Bethlehem form Jerusalem.
Spent a while watching the kids and the army play the "you might have stones but we've got tear gas" game.
Was pretty enertaining.


A rather odd outcome from my evacuation from Gaza was that I got invited to the Irish ambassador's house for a Paddy's day party. I left without any respectable clothes and went to the bash wearing runners and looking real scruffy,
but it was a really cool if odd night.
Met loads of really interesting people from the UN, BBC, Diplomats..etc,
and there was a free bar.

Also got to visit Jerusalem, Hebron and a couple of other places.
Back in Gaza now,
atmosphere has changed noticeably since last week.
Everyone now asks me if I am British and I get a couple more funny "what are you doing here, you mad egg" looks off people.
I have started carrying around my passport all the time,
just in case.

Turns out the secret police guys I met over the camera incident had sent armed guards to protect my building the day of the kidnappings!
It's funny how you make friends......

no you're not getting kidnapped...now get in the minbus

man...
so yesterday was like the craziest day of my life.

Started out quite normal, went to visit the sisters of charity (my nun friends),
did some painting for them and stuff.
The day before I had walked to the British Council so I figured it was a nice day and all so I'd do the same today.
I got back to my apartment, cooked some noodles when I got a call from my friend telling me something about a kidnapping,
I couldn't really understand him but i reckoned i'd go to the internet cafe and check the news.
The news said something about an attack on the E.U. compound so decided walking was maybe not such a good idea, so I called my taxi-diver friend.

No, no taxi
you go home
outside is bad
inside is beautiful

I reckoned was probably solid advice.
A couple of hours later some of my friends arrived and organised an army escort for me,
so I get in this car with four blokes i've never met before.
I am in the middle of the backseat between two huge blokes with machine guns and we tear through gaza city.
The guys to my left and right lower their windows and sit their machine guns out the window as we approach a large croud carrying banners and burning stuff,

Should I hid my face?
the guy just smiles at me

The car meanders through the protest at a ridiculous speed and I am deposited at a huge military base where I am escorted into a large room which held all the remaining foreigners in Gaza.
They gave us coffee and stuff while the army cleared a path through all the road blocks on the way to the Eretz border.

They decide to send us out by convoy, so I get in a minibus with two american kids and a lady and two army guys.
We leave in convoy, the doors are open and the two soldiers block each door with their legs.
They lock and load their guns prepare to clear the path out of Gaza.
The convoy of about 8/9 cars proceeds to hightail it to the border,
driving a solid 80/90 miles an hour the whole way through side streets, packed streets, protests, and bonfire road blocks.
This part was alot of fun.

So we get to Eretz and a couple of hours later I'm in a car with my new friend Emilio, a spanish Associated Press photographer, and we're headed to Jerusalem.
This bloke was real cool although he did make me feel very insecure about my photography skills.
We grab a beer and a burger in Jerusalem and then he drops me to the Bethlehem border where I am met on the other side by friends who bring me to their home and more importantly to a pull out bed.
Where I slept.

The craziest day of my life.

A number of positives though,
One-If you borrow a book form a library (or a British council) and the following day the same library gets burned down, you may keep the book.
Two-I get to hang out in Bethlehem which is really cool.
Three-I had my first beer in a month.
Four-And most importantly....wait for it.......
I was on CNN.
how cool is that.

beach

So i went for a walk on the beach today.
Pretty amazing place,
really this a pretty amazing country.

The weather has picked up,
and I've taken to walking around alot.
Funny everyone wants to practice their English on you.
Groups of little kids shouting
"How are you, How are you"
to the tune of we want more, we want more.

How do you turn this stuff into food?

I have this thing where I do laps of the supermarket,
round and round until I see something I recognise,
I pick it up,
I look at it,
and I do another couple of laps trying to find
something I can cook with my biscuits.

The fruit and veg here is amazing, especially love the peppers, chives and oranges.
The local food is real good also humus and falofells etc.

Starting to get into this teaching lark also,
it gives me an enormous sense of well-being,
and then I feel happy for the rest of the day,
safe in the knowledge that there will
always be a part of me devoted to it
I don't even hate the students!

in other news....
the kidnap count is still zero.
All of the foreign UNSCO staff left last week 'cos of some threats
someone said they were gonna kidnap 4 foreigners on thursday
but nothing came of it.
Think the UN were just believing the media hype,
honestly I feel really safe here,
except at roundabouts
or whenever I'm in a car really,
they drive like they're playing Grand Turismo