This past Sunday I was invited to lunch at one of the teachers' homes and it was a traditional dinner of filled grape leaves and roast chicken. The leaves are filled with a mixture of hamburger and rice and it is very tasty. Soft drinke were served with the meal and after dinner as we sat around the gas stove to stay warm, we were served a home made choclate cake and wonderful coffee. Then later fruit was passed around. I was stuffed, but oh so grateful.
After visiting for a while I was invited to join my hosts to a birthday party of their granddaughter who turned 6. It was a delightful gathering of families with children. The children played in one of the bedrooms and the adults were in the living room. The Mom had been preparing food since 6 a.m. and there were delicious savories made with a kind of pizza dough on top of which was a mixture of hamburger with onions. Very traditional here. She had also baked a chocolate cake and there were all kinds of other sweets. A beautiful cake from the bakery graced the kitchen table and when the candles were lit the father also lit some sparklers and we all sang Happy Birthday in English and then in Arabic. Some decorations had been put up and it so reminded me of a birthday at home. The women spoke very little English, but the men did better. I have learned to just sit and absorb all that is going on. At the end we all went home with plastic containers filled with the most delectable leftovers. What a wonderful afternoon, and I felt fortunate to have been invited and was touched by the hospitality. People in Beit Jala all seem related in some way and I feel I have become a part of this wonderful web of friends. Beit Jala really is a lovely town and I now know my way around and even know some of the merchants. I had an interesting experience in the Post Office recently, where I went to pick up a package.
The area of the clerks is behind a heavy metal screen, sort of like the banks were in the 20th century. I had to sign for the pacakge and had brought the stamp from Hope School with me because the transaction was hand posted in a special ledger. It is a very small office and the postmaster was leisurely reading the paper as the only clerked helped me. When they new I was from Hope School I was treated most respectfully. Our director, Solomon Nour, knows everyone here! It is the most amazing experience. I never worry about my safety and have special taxi drivers that I can call on. I am in the throws of trying to figure out how I will extend my tourist visa. It will probably take a trip out of the country to accomplish a very tedious and unnecessary procedure,but that is the way life is here. I think of home often, but this is home now too. With love, yvonne