Happy Thanksgiving/Eid Said!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am sitting in my flat at the moment trying to get as close as I possible can to the space heater without burning my sweat pants. While the weather outside is still very much tolerable (especially considering that I’ve spent the last 22 winters in the Midwest), but the houses, which are made completely of concrete and limestone block, are cooling quickly. The concept of central heating doesn’t exist here so for the time being, we’re relying on space heaters until diesel is delivered and we can operate the iron heating apparatuses in our rooms.

Thanksgiving was bittersweet. It was the first time that I’ve really missed home. Despite being vegan, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays as it is one of the few times in my increasingly busy life that all of my family and friends are in one place. Also, Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, and in many respects it not only marks a holiday of gratitude, but also the official beginning (as my mom adamantly asserts) of the Christmas season. Much appreciated cards and mail have flooded my mailbox this month, and I am so thankful for these. It’s so great to have something to open and read familiar handwriting.

The sweet part of Thanksgiving came in spreading the holiday spirit in preparing a meal for three of our close Palestinian friends. The idea came after I was surfing the foodnetwork website for couscous recipes when I came across a picture of what looked like (and ended up tasting like) the best apple pie of all time. As I called in our friends to take a look at this culinary masterpiece, they looked at each other in confusion – they had never seen nor tasted pie before! From here Bethany and I made it our personal mission to bring the wonders of not only pie, but Thanksgiving as a holiday to the West Bank.

It’s important to note that Beth is a vegetarian and I am a vegan, so though we still had slight objections to the idea of cooking meat, we knew that we wouldn’t do Thanksgiving justice without it. Also, it’s important to note that the Muslim mega-holiday, Eid Adha, a time where older Muslims typically make their once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca. Traditionally Muslim families slaughter cows to celebrate. To learn more about the pilgrimage, read this article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/28/hajj.bridge/index.html

And so began the grocery shopping adventure of a lifetime….

Turkey is not a common entrée here. Yes, it can be purchased like deli meat, but I was seriously mistaken when I thought I could buy a frozen turkey for $0.40/pound like I could at Super Wal-Mart. So after a failed attempt to buy a turkey, Beth and I settled on two two-pound chickens from the butcher’s section at the grocery store. When he asked us if we’d like anything cut off, my first instinct was “la shukran” (no thank you), but upon closer inspection, I realized that the heads were still on the chickens and there was no way that I would be able to stomach preparing chickens without all of the necessary appendages removed. I’m so glad I spotted it before we left the store or we may have had a meatless Thanksgiving.

Another challenging ingredient to find was dairy-free butter. I am still following strict vegan guidelines here and because Orthodox Jewish tradition requires its followers to separate their animal products, I figured a butter substitute wouldn’t be that difficult to find. Again, I was seriously mistaken. After visiting what seemed like visiting a baker’s dozen grocery stores, our coordinators brought us to a giant grocery store in Jerusalem where I found a kind, English speaking, Orthodox Jewish woman who helped translate the Hebrew on the container.

Going to the grocery store in Jerusalem was a brief flashback to my life in the US. One thing I’ve missed while in Israel/Palestine is convenience, there are rarely grocery stores that sell both groceries and produce under one roof. I never thought I would say this, but going to a mega stores with thousands of square feet of inventory never felt better. There honestly was something satisfying about knowing that I could buy both asparagus and pillows at the same store.

So, we had found the two most difficult ingredients and the rest was tracking down out-of-season produce and other assorted sides.

And so began the adventure of making Thanksgiving dinner…

We prepared our delicious apple pie and my grandma’s homemade corn recipe on Wednesday night. It was quickly brought to our attention that we had no pie pan or measuring cups. Thankfully after a few calls home to my mom we ended up measuring by using tea cups and other bowls and cups that was “close.” We ended up finishing both the pie and the corn at 3:30 am, but it was definitely worth it the next day. I think my pie would give my grandma’s a run for its money J

The next day we were looking to tackle the rest of our menu: 40 clove garlic roasted chicken, green beans with caramelized onions and toasted almonds, vegan stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, and apple pie. The chickens posed the largest challenge as neither of us had ever cooked meat like this and that neither felt very comfortable salting and peppering the bird and giving it a “butter massage.” I ended up preparing the chicken and I think it further affirmed my meatless lifestyle.

All in all, apart from the chicken we had a completely vegan Thanksgiving and I did sneak a taste of the chicken and I’m quite impressed with myself. We had a great time sharing a bit of our culture with our Palestinians friends over familiar foods and a much loved holiday. I am truly thankful for the contribution these friends have made in my time here and it was very meaningful for me to express my gratitude.

Thanks for reading. I love comments!!

Laurie

Long overdue...

I finally have time to sit down and update my blog. Though it has been a while since I’ve updated, life here, for the most part, is becoming routine, something I'm enjoying. I finally found a café that has high speed internet connection so I can watch missed episodes of The Office. There are things I miss about home, The Office being one of them, but I’m learning to manage without or find new solutions. I’m getting more acquainted with the city and meeting new people on a regular basis. Last night, Bethany and I went to a party hosted by a group of American contractors for US AID; learning about their work was fascinating as they are working to improve health infrastructure in Palestine.

I celebrated my birthday this past Sunday with a wonderful gift: a visit from my cousin Kaylyn who is studying in London this semester. Her flight to the Holy Land was not without drama however. Since she was traveling alone and did not speak Hebrew, she was pulled into a back room where every inch of her luggage was searched, all electronics taken apart, followed by more intensive searching and questions. Then she was sent through airport security only to be taken to another back room and strip searched down to her underwear. Luckily she was 4 hours early for her flight, otherwise she would have missed it. She was the last passenger to board.

Our weekend picked up from there. We had a night out on the town in Tel-Aviv on Thursday and hoped to spend Friday at the beach but, due to gloomy weather, we went back to Ramallah early; taking it easy for the rest of the night. Saturday we went to Martin and Suzanne's house for lunch. I am always so appreciative of their hospitality. We had lentil soup, rice, dessert and great conversation. Martin and Suzanne are my ELCA coordinators. After that we shared a taxi to Bethlehem and visited the Nativity Church. My birthday was on Sunday. We celebrated at the Dead Sea Spa enjoying the beach, mud, and hot stone massages. It was nice to relax and get away from the rain of Jerusalem/Ramallah. Monday we visited Yad Vashem (the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem) and then the Old City to see the Holy Seplechure. I dropped Kaylyn off at the airport in Tel-Aviv Tuesday afternoon. I was able to be there during her questioning and thankfully it wasn’t anything too invasive.

This birthday was quite a bit different than most. As always, I am overwhelmed by the number of people who wished me well. Thank you! Being away from home made 23 feel a lot older than it probably is. I realize that I have and will continue to undergo a great deal of change which makes it seem like I’ve aged a few years, as opposed to just one. My twenty third year will undoubtedly have its share of ups and downs, but I’m looking forward to all that is to come.

My roommate Beth was very sick last week battling a fever and cold. After three days of fever and feeling sick, we made a journey to the public “mustashfa” (hospital) to be tested for swine flu. (Even when I told Palestinians that I had visited this hospital, they gave me a concerned look.) We went to the emergency room as we didn’t know where else to go. After Bethany listed her symptoms the doctor ordered a test for H1N1 for her and me, because I live with her. After both registering with the hospital we waited to be tested. Because the hospital was out of test tubes, we waited about 3 hours for tubes to be delivered and our test administered. While the healthcare professionals were very nice and spoke English well it still led me to question the quality of healthcare Palestinians receive. Because this hospital is funded solely by the Ministry of Health, through the Palestinian Authority, its ability to stock necessary medical supplies is difficult. We learned later that we could have gone to the private hospital across the street for immediate care. It is expensive (though our health insurance through the ELCA does cover it) and most times that cost is too high for Palestinians to pay.

As I mentioned earlier, my life is becoming more routine. Typically, I get to the school I volunteer at, around 8:40 am. I help Tagreed, the secretary, make copies, file, stamp, and with anything else that needs to be done. Then we work with the younger grades, either 1^st or kindergarden. Currently, they are learning to write “capital A and small a”. Their enthusiasm to use what few words they do know is encouraging. We’ve also been teaching parts of the face; eyes, ears, mouth and nose. The biggest challenge for them is distinguishing between eyes and ears. After a few hours with the younger grades, we then assist grades 8, 9 or 10 with conversation and reading.

I enjoy this part of our day. I like visiting with the students and hearing their outlook on Palestine and America. They ask us tough questions: “What don’t you like about Islam?”, “Why do American movies always depict Muslims as terrorists?”, “Why does America send foreign aid to Israel, a developed country?”, “Why don’t Americans know about our situation?”, “Do Americans hate Muslims?”, “Did you vote for Bush in 2004?”; the list goes on. While I am aware that America makes mistakes and I am willing to admit that to the students, it’s difficult for the students to understand that America's priorities, for the most part, lie mostly in domestic and individual affairs. These students are used to seeing American products, such as US AID sponsoring their school, music videos from MTV, so they have a different understanding of how America should reach out. I think the students are dissatisfied with my answers so I have to choose my words very carefully. Usually I take the more diplomatic route, rather than say bluntly, “Americans don’t care about this situation as much as you'd like because they would rather focus on domestic, individual, or other international concerns first.” It’s harsh, but I believe, to a certain extent, it’s true of both American and Palestinian cultures. Any help with this situation would be greatly appreciated!

I usually get back from school around 1pm or 2pm. Beth and I have become involved in the Youth Group at church which meets Tuesday nights. Thankfully, we have translators that help us understand the lessons. Wednesday nights we rehearse with the Zaridash choir, an international choir in Ramallah. We’re practicing for performances in January. It’s nice to work with such dedicated musicians. Afternoons are spent shopping at the vegetable market. Vendor, Eyad, gives us good prices and we're getting to know the employees at two other grocery stores. I try to squeeze in a workout every day with four Palestinian friends who joined the gym I attend; doubles as workout and social time. Nights are spent on the internet visiting with my family and coordinating upcoming visits from friends and family.

Overall, this experience is more enriching every day. I hope to post pictures of Kaylyn and my adventures soon. I love the comments!