Interrupting Your Day for a Much Belated Announcement

Those of you who know me personally have probably been aware of this for a while, but I realized recently that not everyone who has been reading my blog is a Facebook Friend of mine, a relative or someone who is on my friends and family e-mail.

In late January/early February, after much deliberation, I decided that the changes that we had made with my position at the school were not supporting me in my personal and professional goals, and that I was going to leave the job. I had hoped that a project that I had in the pipeline, to do conflict resolution/leadership training in Jerusalem was going to be funded, which would allow me to stay in the region. However, the sponsoring organization ran into administrative problems with the funder, and the project was put on hold indefinitely.

In late February, I returned to New York City, which is where I am right now. I am hoping to line up funding to do some programs this summer in Jerusalem and the West Bank. I need to raise about $10,000 to cover expenses, as I will have to bring a partner with me, as my original partner was recently denied entry by the Israeli army at the Allenby Bridge when she returned from a meeting with some colleagues in Jordan.

If you - or anyone you know, including grantmakers - would like to make a contribution or receive information about the project, please let me know. You can leave me a message with contact info in the comments section (only I can see it).

Thanks for following along with my adventure. There are so many things that I loved about being in the West Bank, and I am still sorting out my feelings about being back. When people ask me if I'm glad to be home, I say yes - but there is still a bit of yearning to go back to the Middle East. Life, in many ways, is simpler there, although the political situation is complicated...and very little is taken for granted. I am enjoying the creature comforts and cultural diversity of being in New York, but I also look at the price that people pay to live here, and often wonder if it's worth it. Obviously 8 million+ people DO feel that it's worth it, but I'm less and less sure that I'm one of them. When I left New York in August, I shed almost all of my personal possessions. Now, I could go anywhere with little fuss--everything fits into 2 large suitcases and 2 carry on bags. I have lots of options. Perhaps too many.

In my About Me, I mention how there are little pieces of my heart everywhere that I've lived. Add another piece for Ramallah. The question is: when home is where the heart is, but your heart is in so many places...where is home?