I picked a fine time to be in the middle east

The title of this blog was the subject of an email my sister sent me just a few minutes ago. She encouraged me to post and keep all of you updated on the insanity that is life here.



If you don't know, Yasser Arafat died this morning. Mary, my most wonderful and faithful friend, called me this morning to tell me. My first thought was how the timing seemed inevitably providential. I won't be at my school in Jaffa until next Thursday. It's crazy, Tuesday after the classes I was supposed to have and didn't, I walked from Jaffa into Tel Aviv with Elyssa (one of the second year interns at the same school as me). The issue of Arafat dying came up, and I told her about how Marion had warned me to keep my eyes and ears open when such a thing happened. I asked Elyssa what she thought about it, expecting to receive the kind of infuriating assurances I received after the bombing last week, about how life goes on, it's just part of how things work here, etc. However, I actually was encouraged by her to "worry about that. Definitely it is something worth being concerned about." Of course, because the issue of the massive conflict here is so entirely foreign to me, I don't even know what to be concerned about now that it has come to pass. We shall see.



Life, however, seems to be going on as usual. He died after the papers were already printed, so walking down the street past all the kiosks didn't present me with the evidence of triumph and general good will over his passing. Tomorrow, however...will be a different story. (On an entirely unrelated note, I was walking home the other day and one of the Hebrew newspapers had - on the front page, the headline - was a picture of Michael Moore's face in the middle of a bullseye with a dart positioned on his forehead. That was one of the few times I've really wished I could read Hebrew.) Anyway...life where I live goes on as usual. Of course...I live in north Tel Aviv, and if I haven't mentioned it, the socioeconomic status coordinates to the directions here. The further north you live, the higher your SES is. Obviously, it's not foolproof, because I live in the north and an quite poor. Nonetheless, it works out for me because it is an amazing neighborhood. I'm getting off the point though...for now, all seems to be well. I didn't have school today because after the third period there was a special celebration to commemorate the end of Ramadan. And I won't have school Monday or Tuesday...so I won't know how things are in that part of the city until next Thursday. Maybe nothing will happen...perhaps it will be not a big deal. Perhaps by then things will have calmed down. We shall see.



On a more personal note, I'm homesick and lonely out of my mind. I wrote an email yesterday to some friends telling them how I feel like all I do in this country is fight. After I sent the email, I ended up having a conversation with a couple beside me in the internet cafe, and the man said, "Until you know the codes and the way life works here, you struggle non-stop." Not that I need external validation to know that life is an uphill battle here...but it was reassuring. Made me feel less crazy. All I do is read, sleep, and eat. Oh yes...and cry. So while the country is in yet another crisis, I'm in my own unhappy rut, languishing in the midst of a whole variety of unpleasant emotions. Please pray for me - for my safety (physical, emotional, and mental), and that God would sustain and preserve me as He has thus far. Were it not for His faithfulness I would have either already gone home, or hurt someone here. Love you all! I'll keep you updated. :)