Daily Life for me here...

Beit Sahour. House of Joseph & Jumana Awad. Alarm goes off between 7 and 7:30. Drag myself out of bed. Breakfast with Jumana and Jessi (the 2 month old) consisting of nescafe, pita bread with cheese (arabic or provolone), meat, and sometimes eggs, sometimes pastries or oatmeat or "cornflakes" which seems to mean cereal because usually the "cornflakes" are some form of coco krispees.

Off to catch a service (2.5 sheklels.... "shekleen wa nus") or walk (40 min) to Jama'a Beit Lahem (Bethlehem University). Two hours of intensive spoken Arabic with Ustaz-na Sami (our Professor Sami). Lunch at the little restaurant outside the gates of the University, usually falafel, sometimes schnitzel. Almost always a Kinder chocolate thanks to my new British friends.

Head off to Babiskak to either walk or take another service (2 shekels) to Maqtaba Beit Jala (Beit Jala Public Library) for our summer camp (for kids age 3 to 14). There playing games, art projects, teaching bboying (breakdancing), etc from 12-4pm. Head off to walk back through Bethlehem and back to Beit Sahour and the Siraj Center for time to work on my video and then various evening activites: Debkeh (dance) class, documentaries, lectures my professors, swimming at the YMCA, etc... Usually George hollering out to his "habibis" (the English boys) to come play football (soccer), David nowhere to be found due to his dedication to his painting project at a local school, and me, grumbling about how my photos won't upload fast enough. I then chat with Ghassan of the Rapproachment Center about politics, music, video production (yes, i know i know nothing!!! ha ha), and how many times i have to have been shot at and imprisoned in order to earn the title of honorary Palestinian.

Dinner at the family home (or a BBQ with the group at George's home)... or BBQ with my family and their friends... or dinner at Grotto Restaurant... varied but ALWAYS pretty damn tasty. (Seriously, I'm getting obese... just kidding)... Chats with Joseph about politics, history, american pop culture... this man is a wealth of knowledge... and John (the 5 year old) asking his daily (or hourly) question of "Shu y'anni 'hamar-awash' fil inglese?" ("What's 'zebra' in English?")

Plop into bed barely able to get past one page of journaling, one page of reading or one song on my ipod...

That's the daily grind here at the Palestinian Summer Celebration. :) Hallas.