My first 2 weeks in Bethlehem

Hello again everybody, again sorry for the delay on the latest post. I've been very busy these last few weeks getting settled into the routine here in Bethlehem and I've only now had a decent chance to check my photos and get the blog written. So, here's what's been going on in my first 2 weeks here in Bethlehem.

 

I arrived on friday the 16th and was greeted the other side of the check-point by a crowd of taxi drivers keen to show me around. Luckily Paidia's (the charity i'm volunteering with) driver, Osama, found me and got be safely to the volunteer house in eastern Bethlehem. After a welcome brief from Rana (a Paidia staff memeber who looks after volunteers) I unpacked (into a wardrobe for the first time in nearly 2 months!) and settled in. Lila (my "up until wednesday just gone" house-mate) came home in the afternoon and gave me a run-down on what's best to do in my spare time whilst i'm here.

 

Saturday offered me a chance to finish settling in and explore a little, in the evening Lila and her friend Jon took me to the AIC (Alternative Information Centre). It offers bi-weekly talks on issues in the West Bank so its a great way to understand what's happening here. After the talk we headed to the AIC bar for a beer and chat with some of the other people at the talk. 

 

Me at the AIC cafe with a "Taybeh" beer (the local favourite!)

Lila had Sunday afternoon off so we met up with John in Manger Sqaure in the center of Bethlehem after a walk around the souq and back-street shops. We ended up at the peace-center cafe and whittled away the afternoon playing cards (sometimes with the waiters aswell when they got bored!) and drinking iced lemonade with fresh mint. 

Looking towards the entrance of the Church of the Nativity

Me with an iced lemonade

Me, Lila and John (on the right) playing cards at the peace center cafe

 

My first week at Paidia saw me help begin with the planning for a new community project; "FC-Paidia". The aim of this project is to get kids and youth teams from the local area into Paidia's own decent football facilities (over playing in the street or courtyards) so they have a better environment to play in.

 

The Wednesday of that week saw me head into Bethlehem for a much needed hair-cut. Well, that was an experience! The barber just sat me down and selected a clipper head at random saying "it may be a 2 or a 3"! 5 minutes later he was done and I had the shortest haircut I'd ever had! On the upside, its a lot more comfortable in the heat now!

 



Me post haircut!

 The next night me, John and Lila headed to a hillside restaurant just outside northern Bethlehem. We had a great night playing cards, enjoying the few and having a few beers with some of the people we'd met at the AIC earlier in the week.

 

The view from the restaurant

The restaurant seating area

Lila and John

 

 After a weekend of catching up on some sleep and exploring Bethlehem it was back to work on "FC - Paidia" and begin planning another project, this time an after-school session for kids. A very busy week! On wednesday I got offered the chance to help out on a caving trip run by Paidia for a local scout group. Well.... any excuse to get out and about!! The walk down to the cave system offered amazing views of an ancient wadi.

Walking down the path towards the cave system

View of the wadi just up from the entrance to the caves

 

Leaving our bags at the entrance we put on our helmets and head torches for 2 hours of crawling through one of the deepest cave networks in Palestine. It was a great afternoon and a bit challenging at times but very worthwhile, it was great to see the kids out and about enjoying themselves.

 

"Team photo" just before we entered the caves

Breathe in! Me emerging from one of the many crawl spaces

An open part of the cave network

Going down! Our guide Jameel leads the way

Me coming out at the bottom of the gap in the above picture, and no I haven't forgotten to rotate the picture!!

Yesterday, Catheryn (another staff member) took me on visit to Hebron, a city 40 minutes south of Bethlehem. We spent the morning and early afternoon looking around the sites and souqs aswell as meeting up with a few of her local friends. No visit was complete however (according to Catheryn) without buying a box or 2 of "sider delight", a local jelly type sweet (only found in Hebron!). She was right, it's definately a must-buy and at 5 shekels a box (around 2-3 pounds) a bargain! Be warned though, its seriously addictive!!

A box of "sider delight", yum :)

So then, that brings you guy's up to date with what's been happening over the past few weeks. I've made some great friends and had some really good experiences. Its all flying by very fast, a month today I finish here in Bethelehem and head to Tel Aviv to get ready for my flight home the next day. Still, 4 weeks left and I've still got plenty to do here, game on!

Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you next time.

Hanging out in Jerusalem :)

So, the time has arrived. I'm now half way through my time in Israel after 6 amazing weeks of volunteering in the Golan Heights. I was sad to leave the great people and places of the Golan behind but its now time for the next stage of my adventure to begin. Starting with 3 days back in the sunny city of Jerusalem :).

I got back to Jerusalem on Monday afternoon after 5 long hours on the bus. After an afternoon of unpacking and some much needed internet access I headed out for an evening walk down Jaffa street in search of an ATM. Wouldn't luck have it that I bumped into Yan (who I'd traveled back with that morning) coming back from giving the latest group of Go-Eco volunteers an evening tour of the Old City. A quick chat agreed that a trip to the bar was in order :). So after a quick change of clothes at the hostel I met up with Yan and a group of volunteers from the city zoo and we headed to the "Bell Wood bar" just off Jaffa street. What followed was a great evening of fun and stories with beer and burgers. After a great evening I left Yan in the hostel reception with promises of a meet up in Tel Aviv for drinks when i'm next avaliable. Arrangements made, I headed to bed at midnight after a very long day.

Me and the Go-Eco group at the "Bell Wood bar", great night out!

 Tuesday was a day off, so I had a lie in and took some time out for souvenier shopping in the Old City. After the cool mountains of the Golan, Jerusalem seemed like the Negev Desert! After a fairly chilled out day it was time for the hostel's evening event, the "meet the manager BBQ". Me and my new American room-mates headed up to the roof for an evening of burgers, beer and free Araq (an Arab liquor) and grapefruit cocktails. A good night at the hostel and more new friends made :).

The hostel roof on the night of the BBQ

Just chillin! Me enjoying a beer at the BBQ

 Wednesday was the day i'd decided to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, much recommended by many people i've met on my travels here. Situated on the slopes of Mt Herzl, it tells the full story of the holocaust from its beginnings, through to the individual chapters of its dark story and its end and repercussions around the world. It's a truly moving place to visit as the many objects from different chapters of the Holocaust make it a very humbling experience. It was a truly worthwhile visit and one I definitely recommend for any visitors to Jerusalem.

The Yad-Vashem Holocaust Museum

 After my late morning/afternoon visit to the museum it was time to get ready for the "Jerusalem Pub Crawl" organised by the hostel. After pre-drinks on the roof with a few room-mates we hit the town. Memories of the night are a bit blurry but I do remember rolling into bed around 4 in the morning (after starting at 9 in the evening!).

A pre-drink before the pub crawl whilst writing my diary

I woke up this morning slightly worse for wear, the ideal state to be in for A-Level results day!! Luckily my fears were unfounded and came away from the computer safe in the knowledge that I have a place at Plymouth university waiting for me next year :). After that weight was lifted, I started some admin for the next part of my adventure. Tommorrow I head into Bethlehem in the West Bank to start 6 weeks volunteer work :). I can't wait to start as it looks set to be another eye-opening and fun 6 weeks. Bring it on!

That's it for this entry, thanks for reading and see you next time :)

My last week in Nimrod

Hi everyone 

I'm in my last few days here at Nimrod and since I finally have decent computer access, I thought i'd give you guys a run down of my last week here. 

My long week of lonliness finally came to an end on tuesday (i've been on my own ever since Dan, Dom and Alex left) when the next group of volunteers arrived. Nice to have some company again but sadly I won't be able to get to know them as well as previous groups as I only have until tomorrow with them before I leave. What made tuesday also significant was that it signified the end of Ramadan. What makes it so significant here in the Golan? Well it was signaled from Syria with a morning of the loudest and most intense booms I've heard in all my time here. It was also the first time I saw the smoke from explosions across the border. Seemed to bring the whole situation very close to home :/. 

The smoke cloud from an explosion in Syria 

Never-the-less, work continues at the lodge. We've been especially busy this week helping out Guy with his latest addition to the house. He wanted a wooden pergola built over the top of the decking at the back of the house to provide some shade. So we all set to work debarking branches of wood and lifting and screwing them into place. By the end of the afternoon on Thursday the work was complete. No doubt Guy has more plans for the house so David and Aaron (2 of the new volunteer group) will be kept busy during their time here.

Aaron and David put the finishing touches to the Pergola we've been building

"Left a bit, no right a bit" David makes sure the branches are seated exactly in place

We had a combined surprise visit yesterday :). Firstly from Lilach and Guy's daughter Ameet, who came home after her first week of IDF basic training and also from Yan (the Go-Eco guide who looked after us during our orientation in Jerusalem). It was great to see him again and catch up, he's here to check up on the project and to see that we're all behaving ourselves. Yan and I will be traveling back to Jerusalem together on Monday so i'll have no excuse to get lost on the bus system! 

All in all I've had a great last week here, helped greatly by the latest edition to my modes of transport; the quad bike! For little trips down to the camping site or the lodges its perfect as it saves me having to drag rubbish bags back up the hill to the bins!

Me and my new favourite ride :) 

Sadly my time in Nimrod is only a day away from ending. I'll be sad to leave the great people and scenery of Nimrod behind me but I think it's definately time to move on to the next adventure. I'm spending 3 days in Jerusalem to sort out some last minute admin before my next (and last!) 6 weeks in Israel. i hope to fit in some sight seeing whilst i'm in Jerusalem (including a visit to Yad Vashem - the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem) before i depart on Friday for my next adventure. I also have results day to look forward to on thursday :/. 

I can't believe I'm half-way through my time in Israel! I've had a blast here in Nimrod and I can't wait to see what new adventures await me over the next month and a half. As always, I'll keep you updated as much as I can :). 

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.