y'allah (come on), can't we all just get along

cultural differences

Israel

West Bank

Let's not get too political, I have had a radical and culturally intensive time in both Israel and West Bank, making friends on both sides of the wall and trying to understand a little more about this controversial piece of land. 

The West Bank is not Gaza, (they are on opposite sides of the country). I have little idea as to what the reality of that situation is in Gaza, other than it is the most densely populated area on earth, but the West bank is not a war torn place. The four days that Meg and I were in Ramallah and Nablus we just chilled out, drank a lot of coffee, ate some shwarma, hummous, kanafeh and falafel and visited with our couchsurfers friends and family; we took some car rides, went to the park and had chewy ice cream. We also visited a couple of refugee camps, witnessed some peaceful protests, and learned about Palestinian travel restrictions. We wore all our clothes and would gather quite an audience whenever we went to play cards and drink coffee alone. 

In the West Bank, people go about their day to day lives, working, cooking, taking the bus or shared taxi, going to school, and spending a lot of time with family and friends. 

Many Palestinian people, especially those living in the 64 year old refugee camps (which are not made up of tents but are small, crowded cement houses, making up poorer neighborhoods on the outskirts of Palestinian cities), believe they will return to their original homes in what is now Israel. This is called the "Right to Return". The West Bank is not a giant refugee camp. Many Palestinians have lived in the towns, villages and cities of West Bank long before it was the "West Bank". 

Jewish settlers lived in Palestine lived before it was "Israel". 

BOTH PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS LIKE HUMMOUS

The situation is entirely too complicated. 

more, later

Larissa