"Squeeze the World"

At this moment, I am torn between various responsibilities I need to fulfill before tomorrow afternoon. So naturally I chose to update, which is a responsibility of a kind, nachon? Anyway, the last two days have been rather wearing, and I'm surprised that I am still awake.

We've had two groups with meals in the last two days, and today's was a meal for 85. So much work. Of course, random things also happen throughout the day to make things even more exciting. I guess there were problems with the giftshop computer, a huge group of students came in while we were preparing the meal... and many other things. However, things have been great. Teranne spent the last couple days with me to help out, and it's been a fun time showing her around and hanging out with the local children volunteers. Lately there haven't been many children because of school, but for some reason they come during Ramadan, like community service of some sort. Some of them don't seem very serious about their Ramadan observances, but it's sad when there are those who do. I keep offering them water then realizing how cruel that is, though not nearly as cruel as the ice cream truck. That man has no heart.

Anyway, I know that there was more I planned on writing, but I need to finish packing and get to sleep. Here are some more pictures of Nazareth, all taken in the last day: Nazareth.

A production company from Chile came to NV today to get some shoots for a documentary they're making. They make shows for the mountainous people of Chile to show them the outside world, and tend to focus on other famous mountains. They've been in the Himalayas numerous times, and I was pretty jealous. Anyway, most of the workers were busy so a lot of their film involves me walking from building to building or pulling pots out of cisterns. The director kept refering to me as the Virgin Mary which was a little odd. I couldn't decide on an appropiate response, so I just told him that my mom's name was Mary. I don't think he knew how to respond to that, so we were even.

I did some more packaging and wrapping in the Giftshop today to take a break from sewing. It was an entertaining time, a girl my age works in there and Luke (the new volunteer) and I were trying to explain some of the different aspects of American culture. She couldn't grasp the idea of working 9-5 and a half hour lunch break. Work here is 9-4 max with lunch being a big social event, not to mention that they often take breaks for general conversational purposes and there is never an inappropiate time to talk on a cell phone. It was interesting because I've never considered Americans "unsocial" at all, but then, I enjoy my private space.

I am currently in good spirits because I again have internet in my apartment! Hooray! Hopefully it will last until Sunday so I can make good use of it.

Today was a little exhausting even though we only had two tours. The first group we had had reserved a meal and bread baking, so that was at least an extra hours worth of work and cleaning, then another group came about an hour after we finished taking care of the dishes and whatnot. This usually wouldn't be such a problem, but today was much different. When I heard that they were from Russia, I was a little excited that I could remember two words in Russian: "nyet" and "pachimu". I would like to extend a special thank you to Lori for my knowledge of the latter word. Anyway, the tour that usually lasts an hour, maybe hour and a half, took THREE HOURS to get through. (the thrrree hour toouurrrr) There was the usual problem of the translator, but the people took more pictures than even the Chinese group! That is insane! (take a picture with the hat, no not with your camera, my camera! Oh, and next to the pomegranate tree! Not from that angle! I better look through my pictures to make sure that I didn't miss one) Also, they asked lots and lots of questions. Not insightful or thoughtful questions, but something like "what did they use water for?" even though the guide had just started his whole spiel which would explain it all in great detail! Yay for tourists! At least they patronized the giftshop well, otherwise the tour may have actually cost the Village money in overtime.

Anyway, I am still in good spirits because of having internet and drinking grape juice, and now I am going to eat... a banana! I am very excited. Life is good.

What a time to live in Israel! Ramadan starts today, so the Muslims in town won't eat until five for thirty days. I don't really understand their fasting concept. An Arab Christian girl explained it to me like this: "Ramadan is for three things for Muslims. Eating, praying and getting pregnant." So they eat from five in the evening to five in the morning and find time some how in there for procreational activities. In some places, there is often more tension during Ramadan, but things should be pretty safe here, God willing.

Another twist in the mix is that it's also Rosh Hashanah, which kicks off the New Year celebrations for the Jews. Neither of these holidays have set dates, so to have them coincide is not a common occurance. Ramadan has something to do with the moon, I'm not exactly sure how, but it often takes place in summer, which would be a pain since they aren't even supposed to drink water. Traditional Jewish holidays naturally follow their calendar, so they have variants in dates as well.

Also, the air is cooling and we might expect rain in a week or so. Hooray for weather changes!

Yesterday at the Village was rather exciting. We had four large-ish groups, so I spent most of my day out on "the land," where the actual buildings, plants and animals are. The groups came from UK, Australia, Guatemala and China. I think there may have been some people from Kenya as well, but they were a part of one of the formerly mentioned groups. Not surprisingly, I had my picture taken several times over, especially by the well where the entire Guatemalan group wanted individual shots. The Chinese group even brought their own videographer and a Chinese Franciscan Monk! I thought that was an especially nice touch.

A new volunteer from the States is here so I plan on using much of my last week at the Village aquainting him with the place and people. My legacy shall be preserved! I guess. He's planning on staying in Nazareth until July, so he'll definitely need to pick up some Arabic and whatnot. Should be interesting.

Ah yes, and I'm currently in AQVNT, and I just met the couple from whom I shall be renting. So far I like them immensely. They are Australian with a little dog named Pufki, which is yiddish for "manager," and so what isn't to like? Also, the dog reminds me of Bob Barker, but more friendly and less paranoid- only the Nicholsons understand what I'm talking about, so don't worry. The place is very nice and if you lean down and look out of the window of my future bedroom at the right angle you can see part of Mount Tabor! Their balcony actually has an excellent view and a lovely breeze, so I will definitely be taking advantage of that in the future.

Avast me mateys, me wrotes a regular post just before today but canna post me writings til now, so don't cha even consider the non-piratey script. Arrr.

I really need to get back into the consistency of updating. With regards
to my last post, the visit to the doctor's was fairly uneventful. A girl
about my age who works in the NV giftshop went to the hospital with me
so I wouldn't be completely confused the entire time. It was definitely
a good thing as I would have never guessed to turn down the Maternity
ward in order to get to the right doctor. Anyway, I have no weird
infections or parasites so far, and now I can hear out of my right ear!
It's a nice feeling.

A few days before I move out of the apartment, another girl will be
moving in, so I need to start making things suitable again. There are
two different shower rooms, both with sinks, and I have made use of
both. Since the washing machine has no drain, I usually leave the hose
in the sink of the nearest one. I wasn't doing this for a while after
Erin left, but then I forgot to put it in there once and I don't want
that to happen ever again. I didn't realize how much water those things
use. Of course, the shower in that room has the best pressure, so I
still use it on a regular basis. It's hard to explain exactly.

Anyway, I will be moving to AQVNT near the end of the month, and will be
there in time for Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year. At
first when I heard that it was a holy day, I got excited and expected
food and merriment, but that will have to wait for another day since Yom
Kippur is a 25 hour fast. Though it's not exactly merry, I'm looking
forward to observing a Jewish holiday. And not far after that is Sukkot,
where people sleep in tents and shake plants! I plan on taking pictures.
Oh yes, I almost forgot the whole reason for this post. I made a little
arrangement of pictures taken from AQVNT so you can get a general idea
of how jealous you can be.

Speaking of jealousy, my parents are currently in Hawaii and my
grandparents are in Germany. And my brothers are both in Washington! My
family is crazy!

For the past couple of days, I have been going to Evone's house after work and spending time with her family. They always serve me lunch and then we sit around and drink coffee as she and her sister try to get her nephew to do his homework. He's at the age where he's starting to learn Hebrew and English, so he goes around saying "capital A, capital A, small a, small a," "how are you?" and "shalom." So far, it seems that a typical arab meal is vegetables stuffed with rice, with pita and olives on the side. It's always an entertaining time.

Today I'm going to experience the medical system here as I get my ears and throat checked. I discovered some half-melted cough drops in my backpack last night, and that's brought a little relief, but it's serious enough that I want to get it checked. This will be my first doctor visit for a long time.

Also, the slideshow didn't work yesterday, so here's an attempt at something different:
Flickr

Between my last post and now, I have traveled across borders and felt very ill at the end of it. I traveled to Amman and back in three days, and it was quite an experience! Though we didn't do any sight-seeing, the cultural differences of the two places were obvious. The hotel we stayed at was a western chain, but their service was still Arab. They also made some of the best pita I have ever ate, it was very light somehow. Anyway, we went to the mall there and it was amazing! They had so many American stores, and the first Starbucks I've seen since leaving Heathrow. It seemed like the biggest market there is shoes, which makes sense since it's the only fashion item some women can flaunt! There were a lot of Asians, and we decided that they were mostly there for domestic jobs, I guess they aren't uncommon around this part of the world. Driving through the countryside was also interesting, but getting pictures was pretty tough. The bus driver didn't change his driving habits after we got out of Nazareth, even when he was giving rides to policemen. Some of his feats were actually very impressive, but I kept a tight grip on the seat the whole time. Apparently busses don't have to use their brakes.

I'm trying to figure out a slideshow for my pictures that turned out, maybe I'll be able to get some more soon: slideshow.

I have put together a Virtual Tour of Nazareth Village. It's not complete, but hopefully it'll give you a taste of the place.

Today was a mixed day of pleasure, anguish, and exhaustion. Maybe the second adjective is slightly melodramatic, but I find it appropriate. It started out well with me slightly over-sleeping my alarm yet feeling the freedom to take my time. I was pleased to discover that most of the staff were back from vacationing on the Egyptian shores (not fair) and in good spirits. Two men from Brazil who took a tour, then I went back to sewing and pricking my fingers with the needle (this is not the anguishing bit of the story). While I was there, sewing with Evone, I resolved in my mind that I would make the trek to her house to visit her tonight. Between working at the Village and starting my Great Adventure, I went home to eat, rest, and respond to emails. I first ate, then turned to my computer. Great was my despair when I discovered that the internet was again disabled! It was like I heard a multitude of voices cry out, then suddenly silenced! (I know I butchered that line, I would google it if google would load rabblerabblerabble)

Instead of panicking, I made up my mind to take my laptop back to the Village's building and use their wireless. So, since the offices were closed, I was stuck sitting outside a restaurant, checking email and news and whatnot. The boys working there were moving objects around and spraying things with water, so I tried my best to stay out of their way. Then one actually approached me and was asking about my computer. He went along with whatever he was doing, then came back again and asked if I would sell it to him. This thought was rather terrifying to me, and I think it must have showed on my face because he didn't try talking to me after that.

After realizing that I didn't have any insomniac friends in the States who were about to send me emails, I returned my laptop to the apartment and walked over steep hill after steep hill and finally found Evone's home. Actually, I found her neighbor's home first, but she kindly pointed me in the right direction. When I got there, I made the mistake of telling her that I had ate "a little bit," so she was determined to feed me a full meal. Her mother speaks less English than I do Arabic, but she was very capable of motioning me to either sit or eat, and she never seemed happy when I wasn't eating. Since I didn't know how to politely refuse in Arabic, I ended up eating much more than I had intended. Later in the evening, her sister and brother-in-law came over. He seemed delighted to have other people to talk to, so he talked to me extensively about Armenian Mafias. Apparently there are three Armenians in the US Senate? I would have never guessed. Then his Armenian friend also came, and so I listened to their conversations for a while, which was pretty entertaining since they are all very expressive. Every time Evone would prepare to call a taxi for me, someone would protest, so I didn't get home until pretty late. Fortunately, I think this ends my mental to-do list for today. Good night, and may all of your wildest dreams come true.

Alright, picture posting time! First off, here are two of my projects:


These stripes took way too long to sew, it's sort of ridiculous. I actually have a closer picture, but I wanted to take this opportunity to show Evone and one of the most darling little girls in the world.

The baby's missing it's belt and headwrap, but the dress is the important part, anyway. Once the gift shop is online, I expect all of you to buy these adorable little dolls because they are so cute.

And for those who thought I embellished my description of Middle Eastern traffic, here is a picture of a typical parking job. Actually, this isn't typical, in their standards it's GENIUS.