Just Over a Week

So I have been in Israel/Palestine for 10 days now, and in Zababdeh a week as of tomorrow. I feel like I've been away from home much longer.

I thought I was getting used to hearing the fighter jets flying overhead. Yesterday they flew by constantly, and very low. It honestly really frightens me, it's deafeningly loud. I remember reading that the IDF used to fly over the Occupied Territories and purposefully break the sound barrier. Whenever it sounds like the jets are really low and I have to plug my ears, I cross my fingers mentally and hold my breath for second. Even though everyone seems not to even notice the jets, and to reassure me that we're safe, the part of me that doesn't like feeling like I'm constantly being forced to listen to a Blue Angels show feels skittish. Because they aren't the Blue Angels, they're not out flying around in formation doing cool tricks and showing off their formation expertise. They're war planes with soldiers in them.

On a lighter but much more irritating note, I keep getting bitten by bugs. I don't feel it happen but I find sore little red spots where the evil little things got me while I was sleeping. There's one on my ear which is driving me absolutely nuts.

And speaking of sleeping... I do too much of it. I don't get up particularly early (7 or 8 am the last few days) but by 4 pm I'm dead to the world. I walk around being the visitor, meeting and greeting and doing my best to follow conversations with my slowly improving Arabic. By 8 pm I'm so tired I don't even want dinner. I have slept through my mother's phone calls twice. I feel awful about it, and when I wake up I feel angry that I missed the chance to talk to her. It's bad enough being in another country with no friends or family without not being able to even stay awake late enough to get a phone call from your mum.

In any case I've been typing up articles for Fadi's brother to upload onto the St. Matt's website, and reading a lot. I'm trying to keep my brain from turning to mush like my abs are probably going to. The other project for today and tomorrow is figuring out what Fadi meant when he said I would be teaching an English course on Sunday. Does that require a lesson plan? It sounds pretty formal. Maybe I'm just chatting with the kids and helping them with their grammar. Like I said, I'll need to figure that out before Sunday happens. I also need a cup of coffee.

In any case I'm off to meet a friend of the Diab family for some coffee (huzzah!) and to have a little English/Arabic language mixer. Until next time.