Yeah I'm in the wrong here. I suck.

What do you get when you combine the laziness of stressful work completed with the stress of lugging heavy bags across countries, the heat and humidity of a beach city, the sparse availability of internet connections and..oh.. a couple other less than awesome things?

No posts.. for a long time it seems.
Meaning that there's just oh so much I've done since posting..so really any post I make may be too long and complicated to be readable/entertaining.

BUT let's see what we can do!

1st off RAMALLAH
Andie and I took the bus there on our last day in Jerusalem to meet up with Dr Salem Thawaba, a professor at Birzeit University who happens to be an Arkansas Alum and one of Tom Paradise's old students! Small world eh? It gets even smaller..
The bus into the city was nothing really, a little traffic when crossing over, but no real security or checks. and then we saw the wall and I've gotta say.. as infuriating as the thought of it was in theory, it was even worse in reality. It was like seeing a prison that everyone was just supposed to be okay with- act like it was the norm.. no big deal.

but it WAS a big deal

artwork on the Palestinian side

It kind of put me in a foul mood for the day, but there were definite positive notes, like getting to meet Dr Thawaba, and finding a man from Arkansas on campus serving food! He gave me extra- arkansas have to stick together :)
On the way back we met some really lovely people who took us under their wing and helped us through the whole checkpoint/security process..which we really needed because it was one of the more complicated and frustrating things i've ever experienced.

People are not cattle. And NO ONE has the right to treat them as such, regardless of how in the right they feel, what they think their god says, who their political allies are or ANYTHING else. This world can be a shitty place and as long as we keep treating each other like that it will NEVER get any better.
coincidentally, the Israeli government doesn't allow photographs of the 'checkpoint'. Makes sense considering they wouldn't look so good if people could see it.

in any case. we made it back through the checkpoint thanks to some very kind Palestinians (a trend, i found.) and the next day we checked out and headed to Haifa.

HAIFA--
We were in Haifa for the weekend, and we got to hang out with Pavel's brother Max and his fiance Jenya. They were great hosts, and we had so much fun. It was some of the most fun we'd had on the entire trip in fact.
Though i'd say the best part was being in a city where I felt comfortable walking around again. Don't get me wrong, practice whatever religion you want, believe what you want..but it gets very uncomfortable for the secular people out there when they're constantly being stared down, looked over, judged, etc.
Didn't happen in Haifa- and it was wonderful.

Bahai Gardens!

TEL AVIV--
next on our farewell tour we headed back to Tel Aviv! Well..first to Kfar Malal for one more night with Svetlana and Johni, who were once again wondrous, gracious hosts :)
Then it was time to check into our hostel in Jaffa (the old city) and hang out for a few days.
Lots of time was spent at the beach...lots of sleepless nights (our 'mixed' dorm was us and 6 very smelly men with 1 fan) on the roof watching the sun rise over Tel Aviv.

Then came a bit of a change of plans..we decided not to go to Turkey. I think we were both so burnt out on the thought of traveling more, going back and forth through Israeli security again, finding couchsurfers, navigating with all our bags..see..even talking about it now is making me nauseated.
SO we opted for a little more time in Tel Aviv and a little more time in Jordan :)
we stayed with Taylor for several days and just hung out, saw a movie, etc. etc. (Batman was awesome..maybe my favorite of the trilogy?) 1 of those days also might have been because we were a tad late catchign the bus to Eilat and it was all full.. so thanks to Taylor for hosting us another night!

Curse you Chris Angel for getting me attached to ANOTHER series!

theeennn it was a 5 hour bus ride to Eilat! and consequently?
AQABA--
Here..since we'd missed our bus from Tel Aviv, we were planning on spending an afternoon before heading to Wadi Rum but our couchsurfing host Tarek convinced us to stay a full day/night. which was great because the Red Sea was AWESOME! definitely the best.. cold water, beautiful color, nice beach. It was a fun day! We played beach volleyball with his friends and then hung out with some of his other friends at his house until around 4am.

Our couchsurfing host Tarek

phew..ok tired of writing.. i'll finish it all up tomorroooooow! :)

What we came for

Welp. Here it is- our last night in Jerusalem, where we've lived for the past month and a half. It's been wild; tiring at times, infuriating at times, liberating, joyful, I guess that's what happens when you live in a city with so many different types of people interacting day in and day out.

Along the way there are a few things I've learned:
1- Ultra Orthodox males are just as awkward with secular Israelis as with foreigners, the best thing to do is just ignore and keep walking
2 - Never underestimate the importance of a few pairs of good linen pants.
3 - If you're into soccer, always make a point of being in a country that shares that passion when there's a big tournament on (VIVA ESPANA!)
4 - Getting into political conversations with Palestinians may just make you cry.
5 - Getting into political conversations with Israelis can be eye opening and thought provoking or extremely infuriating
6 - Not everyone wants peace, but the majority do and the ones that don't aren't worth the effort.
7 - Muslim women here are some of the most well dressed, fashionable women I have ever seen.
8 - The phrase 'internet included' in a hostel advertisement may not mean what you think it means.
9 - STOP TAKING YOUR AC FOR GRANTED AMERICANS
10 - I'm terrible at bartering.
11 - always carry an ice pack for when you inevitably twist an angle/hurt a knee on the slick as hell stones of the Old city
12 - Americans don't no SHIT about hookah bars.
13 - Pizza. with corn. that is all.

there are others for sure but I'm too lazy to list them all.

At the end of this research trip, I'm totalling just over 200 surveys for my thesis, a very good block to work with I'd say, though I'm afraid I'm a little lacking in Female Muslims and Israelis over the age of 30- but it's the nature of the survey process, you take them from people that say yes and move on from those that say no.

The 2 Hebrew University Campuses are AWESOME. So pretty, full of trees and lawns and little shaded trails. It's nice to know students are mostly the same everywhere, chilled out, willing to help as long as they get to crack a few jokes or play around a bit- interested in everything.

couchsurfers rock :)

Tonight, we go to a new friend's party and maybe out for some dancing (but not at Constantine cause that place is creepy..leave it to Andie, Taylor and I to pick apparently THE shadiest club to go to in Jerusalem) and tomorrow we finish up a few tourist things before heading to Haifa for a few days!

Hopefully I'll be able to post about our trip to Ramallah tomorrow night (we just got back). That was quite the experience to say the least.

All in all, I'll be happy to move on from the city, and yet sad to see it go. I hope I can come back someday and visit it purely as a tourist rather than through the eyes of a person with a deadline and a quota.

Ma'Salaama!
Grace

A Few Good Friends

Today was a pivotal point for this trip.

Started like any other..in fact it got off to a bit of a shaky start- we didn't set out for surveys until much later than we'd planned...but the minute we started, the day just got better and better.

Yesterday in the Arab Souk in the Old City, Andie and I were lucky enough to meet a man named Nasir and his younger cousin Ali. They were so kind and welcoming, sitting down and doing both our surveys and let us know 'You need anything else please let us know we're happy to help'.
I'll be honest and admit I typically have a rather cynical worldview, so I wasn't entirely convinced that they meant it, but they were very kind and the day went on and we surveyed people and talked to them and headed home.

Today, we found just how true that statement actually was. Nasir told us he also managed a pizza restaraunt with his brother Nabir, and that if we came by he knew some women who would fill out the surveys (finding Muslim women willing to talk has been tricky). So we stopped by today and we talked and met more people and got their opinions, and left a handful of surveys with him that we would pick up later.

Then it was back into the Souk through Damascus Gate, where we discovered that when someone here says 'if you need anything else just ask' they really and truly mean it. Even those who didn't want to take the survey were kind enough to find us people that would, speak to us in Arabic in spite of how shaky I am with it, and tell us how happy they are we were visiting their country.

Along the way, we came to one shop (guided their by another man happy to take the survey and then find us the next person) run by Muhammad- who asked us to sit, drink tea and talk with him. From him, I learned things that made my heart ache, like the fact that Palestinians living just 6km outside of Jerusalem often have no access to water. In fact one village is on it's 28th day without any new water, while the Israeli settlement 50 meters from it is filled with lush gardens and plentiful wells. That none of the taxes they are forced to pay go towards improving their part of the city, and that even if an earthquake destroys your home, you are not permitted to bring in new materials to rebuild and repair.
But we also learned that in spite of that, or maybe because of it, Palestinians have such an amazing sense of Community, they take care of each other and do not waste friends easily. I feel privileged that I can count myself as a friend now.

We met Nabir, Nasir's brother, who was working in their Shop today, and he treated us as old friends even though it was the first time we'd met, and Ali took a few more surveys to give to his friends. I cannot stress enough how wonderful this group of people has been to us.


في فلسطين أنا الوطن

and I am so much better for it.

Ma'Salaama

---UPDATED--
edited to remove Omar from this post because FUCK THAT GUY. also, the title was something he said, so I picked a better one. dickbag. 

The Merits of a real bathroom

Too much fun in the real world means no motivation to write about it in the cyber world.

So once again I've waited way too long and done too much in a short period of time to remember everything, but I'll try!

We're down to a little less than 4 weeks here in Jerusalem..well, I guess closer to 3 weeks now it's Tuesday but the city is actually starting to feel like home. It was refreshing to come back here from the Dead Sea and recognize places, even people- to know where I was going and how to get around and have people recognize me too! You never realize how comforting that is about the city you're living in until you're constantly walking around like a confused tourist and everyone around you knows it.

I'll be sad to leave here, even with the frustrating aspects like ultra-orthodix men who hiss at me for wearing shorts or not being able to get a coke and snickers on Saturdays.

So, what else have I been up to exactly? well, I thoroughly mortified one of the poor staff in our hostel, that's for sure. There's no air conditioning in our rooms and we were at the peak of the day, around 97, and even with the window open and the fan on to generate a breeze it was still hellishly uncomfortable in our room. Being that it's just Andie and I, it seemed completely within my rights to just wear a sports bra and some shorts so I wasn't dying of heat without even moving..
For those that aren't familiar with the ins and outs of bra wearing, good sports bras are extremely comfortable and sometimes you forget that's all you're wearing, because you feel covered. My mistake- when 1 of our buildings maintenance men came in on a mistaken call about a ceiling fan (it was the next room over) opening the door and sitting back on the bed didn't seem like such an issue, and I kept wondering why he was fumbling around and turning slightly red... until about 5 minutes after he left the room in a rush.
He still won't look me in the eye.
Oops?

I guess that doesn't help the impression around this city that American girls are easy.

On a different note, Andie and I took the tram up to Mount Herzl National Cemetery with our fellow hostel resident Heidi and spent some time wandering around, snapping pictures- we ran into a high school tour group too...

Oh my god I love Lady Gaga! SHE'S MY IDOL

 2 of the students were way more interested in talking to us than they were in a tour of famous dead Israelis, and really wanted to know our opinions on Lady Gaga and Pretty Little Liars season 1.
That's America for you- Military aide, crazy pop stars and trashy teenage soap operas.

SPEAKING OF FAMOUS DEAD ISRAELIS....

Herzl

SPEAKING OF ABRUPT TRANSITION SENTENCES
The Dead Sea is AWESOME! Even if they trick you by filling the beach with red sand so you cant dig out free mud.
But the bagged mud was super cheap! So i bought 2 bags. maybe I'll coat myself in it and run around fayetteville like the creature from the black lagoon when I get back....

but no really, that was maybe one of the most relaxing weekends ever, and I cannot thank Andie's mom Kristie enough for being kind enough to put us up in such a wonderful hotel. Seriously thank you thank you!!

I have no pictures...because I forgot to bring my camera with me to the cafe I'm at so I have no proof to show you I was there or how awesome it was... BUT I WAS THERE I PROMISE. and I'll just edit this with pictures later so stay tuned. 


--UPDATE--- PICTURESSS

BROWN TAN HOORAY

from our window. i mean seriously how awesome is this?

best pool ever. also taken from our window..see the beach there? PRIVATE FOR US

You never realize how awesome beds are until you go from a crappy one to this one..

ALSO: I know I didn't take a picture of the bathroom but trust me and the above picture, it was super sweet. I cried a little inside when we got back to jerusalem and our tiny divided wc :(


We also went to Masada, this large mountain top fortress...palace.. both.. built by Herod and then used as a last point of defense during the Jewish rebellion against the romans.
There's a miniseries about it.
with PETER O'TOOLE!

Again..pictures later. promises.

IT'S LATER HERE THEY ARE.

cable cars..up to the top.. dear god.

Look of amused TERROR

Andie went downstairs to the scary dark room!

i didn't.

it was hot. the bus took a while so we took a cheaper cab. everyone wins.

Today I finally got all of my surveys printed and I am READY TO GO. technical difficulties have all been sorted finally though.

well...now there's a small toddler accosting me and his parents are glaring at me rather than their MONSTER CHILD THAT IS DROOLING FROM BOTH MOUTH AND NOSE... so I feel it is time to end this post and GTFO.

maybe I'll get some Gelato...

Ma'Salaama!

PS.. I realize that the title of this post makes no sense whatsoever, but when I post pictures of our awesome Dead Sea Hotel you will comprehend.

Blame it on the Fat Man.

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Beach, Burns and Travel Mishaps

Well, we've been here a week now! with..oh I dunno, 8 more to go I guess?
Andie and I have made it to Jerusalem and have settled into our hostel here, but I'll probably do a separate post about all of that later..many many posts considering how long we'll be here.
FIRST- the remainder of our stay with Pavel's parents in Kfar Malal!
On Saturday, they took us to Caesarea, where something-something-PontiusPilate-something-Jesus-Something happened.
But we got to see a really cool roman amphitheater and hippodrome

They hold concerts here now- hence the speakers and chairs.

Hot, shirtless Israeli men setting up for the concert. Alhamdulillah!

Hippodromes are for Horse races. unfortunately not for hippos.

It was a fun day, though I burnt my scalp pretty badly.. eh.. I should get used to it yeah?

Traveling on weekends here is difficult, as the Jewish Shabbat means that transportation, restaurants, etc. are closed from sundown Friday (or more like 4pm) to sundown Saturday (8pm) so without a car you can find yourself stranded with no food pretty easily.

Sunday however, is the Israeli Monday, everybody goes back to work. So the trains were operating fine (ha..see the irony of this in a later paragraph) so Andie and I decided it was a great day for the beach.

And it was GLORIOUS. 

Jealousy is both accepted and encouraged people.

Clear blue skies, nice breeze..maybe in the high 70s, low 80s. The sand is this lovely beige/white color and it's so smooth there isn't a rock in sight. Water is the perfect temperature and you can wade out several meters and still be comfortable standing.
BEST.BEACH.EVER.
Andie and I actually fell asleep in our chairs for a good bit, so we got a tad burnt..well I got a tad burnt, Andie was less lucky...thank you lebanese heritage for protecting me from the super burn.

From there we met up with Taylor Mills, our grad school friend who's been in Israel since early May and will be here after we're gone (lucky). [Taylor doesn't get a picture because I forgot to take one. My bad Taylor] He's living in Tel Aviv, so we got to catch up and grab some falafel from a rather abrasive female waiter (they're all like that..not rude..just....not polite) and then began the comedy of errors..or..well... yeah let's just go with that.

[if you skipped down for that Irony I mentioned, look no further!]
Andie called Svetlana (Pavel's mom) to see what time she thought we should head back to Kfar Malal, she suggested 9...it was around 815, so we decided we should hurry back to the station since we were a ways away. The clock said the train to Kfar Malal would be coming at 9:08..it was 9, so we thought 'great, just in time'...only to walk down the stairs and see the train speeding out of the station- we'd missed it.
But no fear! The friendly digital board said another train would be coming at just 9:30, so we sat and waited..and waited..and waited a teeny bit more, before Andie went upstairs to discover that, SUPRISE, that was the last train back, and we were stranded.
A cab would have been obscene, so we thought..alright..what do we do? Calling Svetlana, she suggested another train route that would get us half way to them, so that they could then pick us up.. but the lovely station operators informed us that apparently at night, the trains don't stop at those little stations because THOSE PEOPLE SHOULD BE IN BED BY NOW, JESUS.
So the next option was the bus...which we were walking to before we discovered that it was going to be kind of sheisty, and Svetlana was worried we would get lost (me too) so we headed back to the station and bought tickets to Tel Aviv University, 2 stops up from where we were, where our lovely and kind hosts agreed to meet us to take us home.
Only...SUPRISE AGAIN! that train wouldn't be there for at least another 30 minutes, our hosts were already maybe 10 minutes away, and they would be waiting for us for 20 minutes.
Did i mention Svetlana works in Haifa, so she has to be up at 5am every morning to be ready and on the train in time? yeah...we're awesome.
So we went back up the stairs, passed the exacerbated, bemused and, lets be honest, highly amused operators who'd helped us, with our hands in the air like 'oh fuck it' and got a cab to the University, where we were picked up and taken back to Kfar Malal to completely pass out.

So our wonderful wonderful beach day was kind of skewed by all that mess..but now we know.. Just don't try the train thing after 830...just make a decision, stay where you are or go home early.

The next day (monday..or yesterday...whatever) we left our hosts and Kfar Malal for the biggest leg of our journey, our stay in Jerusalem where both of us will be doing research. But i'll post about that later.

Ma'a Salama!

Electric Avenue

So we're here! One unpleasant black hole of a flight in which I had to restrain myself from throttling the snooty blonde family in the row in front of us, and we've made it to Israel. As it was my first overseas flight, there are a couple things I learned.
1- for the love of god, bring some sort of pillow or neck rest
2- don't eat the food. just don't. unless it's honey nut cheerios..you can eat that.
3- sleeping on planes is highly overrated (in the sense that it's awesome and if you can do it I hate you because I can't).

but in the grand scheme none of that matters because WE MADE IT!
and it's really super freaking pretty.

see what I mean? Seriously, come on.

So Pavel's (Andie's boyfriend) parents are kind enough to host us for the first couple of days of our trip, and his step dad Johnny picked us up from the airport..which was not as stressful as I was expecting, to be quite honest. It seemed to get a little tense when we told the immigration officer we wanted stamps on a separate sheet, but she did it anyways and we moved through without a problem.

1st thing I confirmed when we got outside? Chuck all your ideas about some blistering hot country, because there is one hell of an awesome sea breeze constantly flowing around here.

2nd thing was just how close everything is to each other... I mean it really is a tiny country, and it puts all of the tension and conflict in a new light. These aren't areas 13 hours away from each other that it's easy to forget about. They're right there next to each other- in each others eyesight constantly. 

Annnyways. We got back to their house in Kfar Malal, which is a small community about 20 minutes from Tel Aviv that is one of the oldest Jewish cities in Israel- in fact last night they were celebrating the 100th year anniversary and we got to go and watch performances (all in Hebrew, so it was fun to try and interpret what they were saying). It was absolutely beautiful outside.

After that we stopped by this small gallery of local artists from the community. 

considering how small the community is there is a LOT of talent

Today we went into Tel Aviv and explored Old Jaffa (FREAKING SWEET), visited a souk and got some tasty falafel, checked out the after party of the massive gay pride parade and got to walk along the beach before we headed back to their house.

STREET ART! It's pretty prevalent and awesome around here so expect lots and lots of these.

The whole jet lag thing has thus far been pretty difficult- mostly because I was a dumbass and consumed WAY too much caffeine yesterday so by the time i was trying to get to sleep I was wired to hell... but the lack of sleep paid off in the form of complete exhaustion today, so hopefully I'll just pass out tonight and be done with it.

Nothing other than that to report..so I'm just going to leave off with more pictures!

I'll miss you mom!

heaven.

IT'S A PARADE! EVERYBODY DANCE.

(ps: If you've never heard Electric Avenue sung in Hebrew... get on that quick because it was pretty awesome)