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