I'm your CaseMate!

I actually slept well last night, so I'm again very grateful that I can sleep almost anywhere. Even though we had a late morning call, Katrina and I woke up at the same time and so got to spend some time blogging and emailing until breakfast at 8am. Interestingly enough, there was no hummus at dinner last night, but there was at breakfast this morning. The meal was ok, but it's just neat that they're cooking especially for us!

After breakfast, Katrina, Cory and I went walking around Bethlehem. What a change from walking around in Israel! First off, we felt much less comfortable walking around the streets. K and Cory said that they felt like they were being leered at by the men as we walked by. I didn't really feel that, but I definitely was more nervous walking the streets. I didn't like being last in line, especially with my big-ass bookbag hanging off my back, but maybe that's my paranoia. When we first left the hotel, a boy tried to get us to buy gum from him by shedding a few tears, but you know me, heart of stone. I gained a new appreciation for sidewalks. For the most part they were non-existent, so pedestrians, cars, and peddlers all had to share the narrow street. And those vehicles don't care about pedestrians at all! They will run you over if you don't move when they honk! On either side of the streets are 2-3 story buildings, so you really feel closed in while walking. Shop owners continually called to us, wanting us to buy something. Cabs were literally honking to hail us down! We got a little turned around and considered asking a group of policemen for directions, but they didn't look too friendly, so we decided to figure it out on our own. I also encountered a new dilemma in my head, which I wasn't too sure how to solve. When I'm walking, I tend to look people in the eye, but I found myself wondering if I should look men in the eye here. I did, of course, and I smiled, but no one ever returned my smile. Perhaps I offended people?

After a short meeting, we walked to Christmas Lutheran Church, Mitri Raheb's church. If I was surprised by the largeness of Bethlehem, I was surprised by the smallness of the church. The sanctuary was actually quite small. It was built by Germans, so all the stained glass windows were in German, and only writing in the roof was in Arabic. There was another American group there from Minneapolis and a group from Germany; we took up so much of the space I wondered how many people normally come. The service was ok, but they tried to do a lot of tri-linguality, and quite frankly, I was more interested in experiencing an authentic Palestinian worship service, not one special for us visitors. We chatted with people after the service and had some Turkish coffee, which I actually enjoyed, and then headed upstairs for lunch.

We got to the dining room for lunch and the usual plates of appetizers came out with the pita bread. The hummus came out last, so I was actually nervous that there wouldn't be any! But there was and it was yummy! We ate just a little, b/c as you know, hummus is the appetizer, not the meal, but then no more food came. We waited awhile and then filled up on the appetizers. Finally, the main course came out, but it was all meat. By that time, everyone was so full that they could hardly eat! The meal took about an hour; they were really slow serving. The possibility of dessert being good, at least more than fruit, was great, but we were rushed to get to the Church of the Nativity, so we didn't stay. Boo! I am craving chocolate and Phish Food like you wouldn't believe!!!!!!!

We had to hurry to the Church of the Nativity b/c today is the Armenian Orthodox Christmas. The complex is shared by three major churches: the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and the Armenian Orthodox. They each have there own assigned space and share the same sacred space with a strict schedule. The Catholics have their own church, but the other two share the same one. Under their church is the shrine marking the traditional site of the birth of Jesus. Under the Catholic church are two: one dedicated to the angel coming to Joseph and one to Jerome, the place where he translated the Bible into Latin. The Catholic church was nothing special; the Greek/Armenian was gaudy. B/c it was the Armenian Christmas though, we got to witness the entrance and procession of their Patriarch. They all had on their various robes, all men, and they chanted as they walked. Their singing was amazing. It was quite an event to experience!

After meeting Taleb and the bus, we changed at the hotel and then went to the Daheisha refugee camp. When I hear the term refugee camp, I automatically think about tents on the outskirts of town. In reality though, this camp has been around since 1947 and they got rid of the tents and started putting up permanent buildings in the 1950s. And while it was originally on the outskirts of Bethlehem, the town has grown and it is now in the town. After the Oslo accords things have improved for the refugees in that they are free to move around throughout Bethlehem and aren't confined just to their camp. Some people in our group were wondering why they stay there instead of moving, but the fact is, many of them still hope to return to their homes which they lost in 1947. Many still have the keys to their houses, even though some of their houses don't even stand anymore. 

I had a major problem with our group there. In my opinion, this is how people live, this is their life. I felt like we were intruding on their world, gawking at them. I wanted to take pictures, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt like I would be exploiting them. I wonder how many of us on this trip, myself included, will care much about them after being back in the States for a few days... Will I care? I hope so, but since I can't promise that, I didn't want to take pictures if their only purpose was so that I could so them to my friends and family with a "oh poor them." 

Anyways, dinner was fantastic. Amir, the waiter/front deskman/local comedian was especially nice and said he made the soup especially for us veggies! Haha! I asked him to get me chocolate, but he didn't yet. I'll keep bugging him and maybe he will. We had a great time at dinner; I could hardly contain my laughter. I think I may have disturbed some of the other diners! Luckily the only people nearby who seemed bothered were Yohan and Eugene! They don't count! Hahaha! Now a bunch of us are hanging out in the lobby, listening to music and blogging. Good times in Bethlehem. Ok, Yohan is reading over my shoulder, so I'm guessing he wants his computer back soon, but he has been very generous letting my commandeer it for awhile! 'Til tomorrow!