Sayonara IsrStinePalel#&*^%$?(! - the Holy Land of Za'atar

So if you know me then you know I’m pretty sentimental. And tomorrow I’m going back to the “Ra’as al-Hayyeh” (the “head of the snake,” a derogatory term for America that one of my friends jokingly uses, though in many ways I agree with using this name for a country that still practices colonialism, albeit in more subtle ways). So I’ve been in the Holy Land for pretty much a year.

Oy vey.

But I’m so happy for this year I’ve spent. I swear I’ve made more friends in a year than I did in ten years back home. Many people are acquaintances, but for the ones I’ve gotten to know, I don’t know what I would do without them. They have welcomed me with open arms as a stranger, and made me laugh when I was down, and showed me new ways of thinking; for example, why say “slicha” – excuse me – when you can just go around someone? (Lol.)

But seriously. People here really stick together. Maybe it’s because life is so hard – economically, politically, socially – or maybe it’s just a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean attitude.

While Israel is not my native land, I do consider it one of my “homes” (along with California, North Carolina, and New York). I now eat za’atar bread almost every morning (it’s actually called manqoosheh, this flat round bread with thyme on it; the thyme is the za’atar), I know how to curse properly in Arabic, and my 2-year-old’s Hebrew helps me find my way on the Egged bus system.

Professionally, I’ve grown a lot over the past few months. I’m now writing my own grants (okay, I shouldn’t brag, it’s in conjunction with my boss and my co-worker who also writes the grants, and I get a lot of help from my co-workers), but I’m proud of myself for learning this new skill. It takes a lot of analysis, writing, and organizing, all of which I like, even if sometimes I procrastinate and stare at the computer for a half hour because I’m not sure how to phrase an idea.

I’m also starting to do a lot more Arabic translation, which makes my translation brain very happy.

There are moments when I still feel out of my depth, but in general, I’ve been feeling more at home with both old friends and new.

Here are some pictures from Jerusalem, when I went to visit a friend who lives there last week, and from tonight, at the Christmas Market in Nazareth.