So I can't believe I've already been here for three days! We've been staying at a school in Ibilin so far and we've all been having a wonderful time-Ammar has been a wonderful friend and guide to us. On Thursday we traveled to Akko (Acre)-an old crusader city, and got to see some pretty cool aspects of the old city right on the Mediterranean. Then in the afternoon we traveled to Haifa-another coastal wonder. Our guide, and one of the members of the board of directors for the school here in Ibilin, who also happens to live in Sauk City, WI, George, took us around his hometown (Haifa) and showed us where his family fled in the 1948 war when Israeli forces came and displaced thousands of Palestinians. We also were able to walk to the streets that had been bombed at by Lebanon in 2006. It was pretty crazy stuff, just knowing all the atrocities that had happened where we were standing.
After some more lengthy stories from George, we made it down to the beach in Haifa-a beautful blue-skyed spectacle right on the Mediterranean that beat even the most detailed travel channel depictions. We played in the waves and built a sand castle or two, all of us thankful for the chance to have a few hours, in the midst of our trip that has just begun to be saturated with heavy experiences, to just have a few hours as an escape where we could all reconnect with our inner-children was amazing. The only downfall to the wonderful day was me getting stung by a bee! On my foot, it hurt sooooo bad! All in all it was a wonderful day!
Then yesterday we spent the morning attending some of the high school classes here at our school/home in Ibilin. We got to speak to some 10th graders about the conflict, and no questions were off limits. We heard their personal stories about the daily life they are faced with as Arabs living in a discriminatory state, and we heard their hope and desire for peace through their comments. It was hard to listen to some of their statements, and humbling to say the least, for if we are each only one person in the face of this HUGE world conflict, its hard to believe that we can make any kind of difference. But it was a good experience and I know it gave us all something to think about.
Then in the afternoon we traveled to Nazareth, one of the holiest cities to the Christian religion. We saw the Church of Annunciation, the Well of Mary, her supposed living quarters, etc., etc. It was an afternoon filled with ancient religious and historical sites. From there we had a bus ride to Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, where we stopped at the Mount of the Beattitudes and got to wade in the Sea. At one point we were all just sitting on the rocks at the Sea of Galilee dipping our feet, although some from our group were brave and just went all the way in with their clothes on, but just havingthat time to stare off into the sun in one of the most beautiful scenic areas on earth, was awesome. Every night we are asked to reflect on the good and bad parts, or frustrating parts of our days, and that few minutes, where nobody was really talking, and feeling the water in between my toes, that was one of those experiences I know will stay with me for a lifetime.
Then after we returned from dinner we had a fun-filled night of long-winded games of spoons, hooka and bonding on the roof, and staying up way too late....
This morning we are leaving the Mar Elias Institute (school) and I am sad to go.....I can't wait to see what else this land has to offer though....
And on that note, I must go pack.....until next time :)
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