Safe and Sound

Hello from Qabatia!

So sorry for any anxiety I've caused by not posting! Many of you have written, asking if I'm still OK, as I've not posted recetly. I'm now visiting Rabah's family, and am enjoying myself immensely. I promise to post about my experiences, but I'll cause familial dispute if I don't get back to their place soon, so I'll only write little bits here.

The conference, and my presentation, all went quite well, and I've made a lot of useful, and effective, connections in my work. The conference took place at Al-Quds University in Abu Dis, a "suburb" of Jerusalem, although the people of Abu Dis cannot enter Jerusalem. The Separation Wall is about 20 feet from the campus, so the occupation was quite apparent to all who attended.

Before the conference, I went to Bethlehem for a day with a couple of friends from the conference, and since then have been to Ramallah as well. I go to Tulkarem on Wednesday to visit an organization that conducts non-violent communication training for children and such, so I'm quite excited about going.

Last night, I woke at 4am due to the bombing of a home in the neighborhood. I'm fine, and wasn't affected physically, but I'm disturbed by the reaction of the people ~ there wasn't a reaction...everyone kept sleeping. Apparently bombings are so common place that no one has a reaction at all. Sad, very sad. Mom, dad ~ I know you don't want to hear about bombs, but this is the reality, and I am doing everything to remain safe in this insane world here.

My love to you all

Finally here

I've finally, after many hours in planes and airports, arrived at my initial destination on the Mount of the Olives in Jerusalem. I completely blundered, and told people that I would be here yesterday morning at 3:30am, so I missed a meeting with the people I'm presenting with! Ugh...oh well ~ not so suprised.

My journey began at noon in Seattle ~ I was sad to leave Rabah after only having seen him for a week, but I was only supposed to see him for a few days, so I felt blessed at the same time. Then I was off to Chicago where I waited for three hours, which was not bad at all I might add, considering my next layover was in Frankfurt ~ for 10 hours. I took a picture of a sign that inticingly advertised all the wonderful things to do in Frankfurt, thinking all the while that I would just sit waiting the rain pour down, waiting for my flight. All in all it wasn't so bad apart from very sore feet, and a horrendous kink in my neck from my backpack.

I will write more about what happened after Frankfurt, but alas...not now, as I'm paying for this, and have free internet where I'm staying.

Hope you're all well ~

Leaving for the airport

We're leaving for the airport in about an hour, so I wanted to let you all know that I've appreciated your calls and emails of support and encouragement. Many of you, OK ~ almost all of you ~ have expressed some concern for my safety while I am traveling throughout the region. Thank you for expressing this concern, as this shows me that you care. I will do everything in my power to remain safe, from all sides. We human creatures are....unpredictable to say the very least. I will be interviewing people I trust, and as I've said, will almost always have someone with me.

OK ~ my patience is waning, while my excitement begins to overwhelm me, so...I must run. I'm one of those people who likes to be at the airport early. Not because I'm afraid I'll miss my flight, but for the simple reason that I like to "be in the moment", enjoying the journey I'm about to take. I'm a lover of flight (good for me that I married a pilot, no??? :) ~ perhaps I'm a freak, but I thoroughly enjoy the anticipation waiting at the airport brings.

My love to all of you ~ I will post as soon as possible ~

oh, and one last thing, a shout out to my neighbors, Joyce and Julie, who are the coolest Seattilites ever! I mean, seriously, who else would let new neighbors shower in their place because our shower is broken.

Getting reading for Jerusalem...

I am nearly jumping out of my skin to get on with my upcoming journey ~ though I keep reminding myself, as my friend Heidi would, to slow-down and enjoy each moment with Rabah and Sara before I actually leave on Saturday. I've sent Rabah off to the stores to get the gifts and such that I need to take with me, which gives me time to do my real job, get my presentation squared away, and not worry about what I still need to get. I just needed to give him the two page list, and he willingly, yet lovingly, took it and went. Could I have married anyone better?! :)

This upcoming trip holds many promises for me as an individual, as a parent, as a wife. Some people don't understand why I put so much effort into working with Palestinians and Israelis, and not into different places in the US, but I have not real reply for them. Both areas are vitally important to me, but for different reasons. If, or when, I have children, they will be Palestinian-American, which means that this conflict has a much more direct impact on my life than any here in the US at the moment ~ not to say that conflicts here do not effect me because they do, but not so directly. That said, I do not want my children to live in fear of soldiers, as Sara does. I do not want to have to tell a man from Marin County, CA to not point an M-16 at y child, as they did with Sara. At the same time, I do not want my Israeli friends to live in fear. I don't want them to fear my child because he/she is Arab. I have my own views and  opinions on the goings on in the area, but it is my job to listen and share what I hear.

I am in a unique situation at this point in my life because I have access to three very different societies, their cultural mores, and the emotional turmoil they are embroiled in. I began to think that I should do something with this situation, rather than turn my back because "it's their problem, not ours" ~ right now, I'm working with Gail Weinstein to create curriculum that utlizes the learners' stories about their names to teach language, as well as to show our similarities rather than our differences. 

Though I must run now, I will get back to you all later with my itinerary, as I'll be everywhere, and some people have expressed some concern. Perhaps if you know where I am, you'll feel a little better.

Salam, shalom, peace

Puma

The newest member of our family is Puma. Let me tell you a little about this guy...

we think that he's a Maine Cooncat, but we have no idea. We picked this little guy up at the pound a few months ago because he was sooooo soft, extremely chill, and, most importantly, he acts more like a dog than a cat! :) 

Lately, however, he's been meowing at about 4:15am for a VERY LONG time, waking Sara up by 4:30 ~ all so much fun!!!

This little guy loves eating more than anything else in love, and appreciates TLC, albeit not the smothering kind Sara's fond of offering. He was a street cat for the first 7 months of his life, and he's been anxiously awaiting his return to outdoordom, which have finally come in the last week or so....whenever Rabah came back, that's when Puma was let out ~ direct correlation between the two ~ those of you who know Rabah appreciate this I'm sure.

New Jobs

Rabah has spent the last month in Phoenix, AZ training to fly the CRJ (if you know aviation speak, you know that this is an airplane) for Mesa Airlines. He'll be stationed out of Chicago, which is obviously nowere near Seattle, flying United Express, so if you fly United Express out of Chicago after March, listen for his name! :) He's now home for a few months because the airline doesn't have any simulator time available for their class ~ basically, he gets paid to stay home for a few months. I know...rough life. If you were rabah though, with boundless energy, you might go a little insane. let's hope he doesn't!

I am still working for the Academy of Art University though only part-time from home, so I can be available for Sara. I absolutely LOVE the freedom working from home offers, even if it is an isolating way to start a new life in a new town that has a phenomenon called "The Seattle Freeze", referring to the fact that people will be genuinely nice to you, but that's all they want to do. They have everything they need/want in their lives, and you're not part of it ~ thank you very much for offering. Coming from San Francisco, this is like a slap in the face! :) However, I'm diverging from my point here, which is to tell you about my work....freedom....ah, yes.

Because I have this freedom, I am able to travel to Jerusalem this coming Saturday to present at the Dialogue Under Occupation Conference that will be held at Al-Quds University. Just so you all know, "Al-Quds" is Jerusalem in Arabic. The conference is interdisciplinary, so it's not just ESL teachers, which is what has really drawn me to this particular conference. Though I like teaching, I'm not sure I love it enough to do it for a lifetime. Some people are shocked by this because they tell me I'm such a good teacher, and some of my previous students were upset because they thought I was the only teacher in the entire universe who really gave two-hoots about them, but alas it's true. I learned a great set of skills in grad school, and in some way will always teach, but perhaps just not in an ESL classroom.  A good friend, and old professor, told me the other day that we get paid so crappy that we need to really love what we do. Most of my energy at the moment is driven towards educating youth about the benefits of non-violence. We'll see  what life holds for me...whatever I chose, I have an unceasing support system through you all ~ thank you.

Changing Years

The last year has been a whirlwind of graduation, new jobs, homes, and travels! Most importantly we've moved to Seattle, which allows us to be with Sara year round. She is living with us now, which has been an absolute blast! I love that she wakes at the crack of dawn, bounding into our room to announce whether there's an unbelievable sunrise, or it's alltogether too foggy. The weather is seriously grey here, but I cannot say that I don't enjoy it. My favorite part of the year is fall with the chill in the air, a warm mug in my hands, and a blanket to cuddle with. Our newest family member, Puma, is also a good cuddle companion, AND the softests cat on the planet.

For some reason, she's taken to making my coffee every morning, and refuses to let me get out of bed until she's finished! Not that I'm complaining ~ seriously??? who would refuse this type of service?! I have a hunch she does it because she likes to feel like a "big girl", helping out, but also because she gets to make her chocolate milk while we're not in the room. ha! You shoudl see the milk ~ mud brown...yup. Normally, I end up pouring 1/2 into another cup, adding more milk to each, and saving the second cup for later. Amazingly enough, she doesn't complain. She's now campaigning Rabah to let her make his coffee; however, we're not too keen on her using the stove all by herself...we'll see how this goes.