Hokay, so. Life is still going really well for me. I finished my first week of classes without going crazy and the kids (and adults) still like me I think, so everything is good. The highlight of my week was a clown lesson we had at our apartment the other day. The guy who runs the circus came over with a friend to try out my new houka with us, and it turned into him giving us our first clown lesson. It was so fun and surprisingly hard! Hopefully we'll do more lessons and I'll come back a real clown.
So that was the most fun thing I did all week, and the best thought I had all week was about how the people in Nablus are like one big family. There's no government here, no laws and no police force, but the town still runs very smoothly. Because they don't get any help from outside organizations, and because most of them rarely leave Nablus, and because their lives are very hard under the occupation, they all have a very unselfish mindset. If someone loses his job, he doesn't go to collect unemployment, he just asks around and people will find someone who can pay him to do something. No one steals from eachother because it would be like stealing from your brother, or if not your brother, his friend. With all the news about Hamas and Fatha fighting, it seems like the Palestinians have turned against eachother, but in Nablus, the majority don't agree with what's happening between the parties, and they live their lives exactly opposite to the civil war type activity going on. It's pretty amazing and even more amazing that they include me in this community. I have never met so many generous people and I have never felt so safe. Even though soldiers come into the city and sometimes people get kidnapped, I have no doubt that if I were ever in trouble, I could ask anyone on the street for help and they wouldn't let me go without solving my problem. The other day I asked a woman where a pharmacy was and she said it was Friday, so she couldn't think one that was open, so I went to her sister's house with her and drank tea and ate peanuts until her brother in law came home and he knew a pharmacy that was open on Fridays and they gave me directions. It would have been unthinkable for me to go home without getting to buy toothpaste and bodywash! So that's that. People are nice. And I love them.
In other news, we finally got gas again! So I had my first hot shower in a while right before our water heater broke. Good thing I was the first to take a shower. :) God really doesn't want us to have hot water.
Well, I'm off to my friend's uncle's farm to practice telling jokes in Arabic and to learn the names of all the farming words like planting and seasons and dirt, and then to his house so his mother can teach me to cook maqlouba, my favorite dish. Wish me luck! I'm sending all of you generosity to people around you and ask you to send me hot water vibes and creativity for another week of classes. I love you all and think about you all the time!
Love, Lisa