I'm connected!

My laptop cord has arrived, and I can finally connect with the world outside of Ramallah without borrowing a computer or spending all of my money on international calls. Momtaz! (Excellent) I have never been more clear that I am totally spoiled by and dependent upon technology. I've been feeling a bit challenged and frustrated over the past few days by the language barrier, and it's rather difficult when you can't even call people to talk about it! Now I can use Skype, e-mail and keep my blog.

Much has happened since I wrote on the 18th.

Some first impressions:

1. The West Bank is very hilly and strangely beautiful. It sort of reminds me of central Virginia, but with a much drier climate, so there is much less vegetation. There are trees, but they are not lush, and I imagine that most of them have been planted and cultivated, rather than being indigenous to the area. When you get to a place that is elevated, you can see for quite a distance, and the desert views are very pretty. The weather has been warm (about 30 degrees celsius) and dry. It seems that there is no air pollution here, and at night it is cool and breezy.

2. The people are incredibly warm and kind. I have had a few instances at the market where I suspect that I've paid more than the customary price (at least in part because I don't speak Arabic well enough to haggle or even express that something seems a bit expensive), but by and large, people have been very gracious, helpful and are willing to go to great lengths to make people feel welcome.

3. Ramallah feels safe. I have heard gunshots a couple of times, but I'm told that sometimes people shoot them at weddings or other celebrations, and I haven't heard anything on the news or from people in town that would suggest that it was something other than that. And it's not like I never heard an occasional gunshot when I lived in New York...or even Charlottesville, for that matter. It is a little bit disconcerting to see PA police officers and soldiers/militia in the streets near major intersections, as they carry large guns, rather than your standard issue NYPD handguns, but I don't bother them and they don't bother me, so it all seems to be fine. In general, it's a quiet place, aside from the hustle and bustle of Manarah Square and the calls to prayer coming from the minarets nearby.

4. Ramallah feels isolated. Ramallah/El Bireh (El Bireh is the neighbor of Ramallah, and the towns have sort of grown into one) is only 15 km from Jerusalem, but it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get there because of the long wait checkpoints--on a good day. Travel in general is difficult between the cities in the West Bank, and consequently, most people don't travel between them frequently--assuming that they are allowed to travel at all. I still have not been to Jerusalem because I haven't had enough free time. I did manage to go to Bethlehem for a few hours, and although it is only about 50 miles away, it was about a two hour journey.

Some of the people I met have relatives who live in Jerusalem, but they can't go to see them because they aren't allowed inside Jerusalem. People who have a West Bank ID aren't allowed to enter Jerusalem (Al Quds, as the Palestinians call it). East Jerusalem was part of the Arab partition that was proposed in 1947, and has been considered disputed territory by the international community since 1967 because Israel claims all of Jerusalem is destined to be part of the Israeli state (and to serve as its capital). As a result, under occupation, it is treated as if it's Israeli, and people with West Bank IDs are not allowed to enter the city unless they get a special permit to visit, and they are only handed out on special occasions. Usually when they want to see relatives, they meet them in Jordan. It's hard to believe that in order to see a family member who lives less than 10 miles away, you might need to travel to another country.

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I will post more later. There is certainly plenty to talk about -- my trip to Bethlehem, visiting the Jalazon refugee camp, school, the marketplace. I also have pictures to upload to Flickr and post...and I also took some video of the drive from Bethlehem to Ramallah. It's a bit shaky due to the bumpy road and aggressive driving of the taxi, but it's got some pretty scenery, so I may put some clips together into a short film.