Scene One...

So it is believed that this is the first time "Peter Pan" has ever been performed in Palestine. And let me say, it was amazing! It was a better production than many high school plays I have attended and this piece was performed by third and fourth graders in English and for whom English is their second language. The set in particular was gorgeous: the school had a local artist draw a beautiful mural on the library wall, or the room in which it was performed, of Indian Americans and their houses settled right next to a beautiful sea with rocks upon which sat mermaids. I arrived during one of their last rehearsals so classes were frequently canceled and I found myself unknowing of where I should be or what I should be doing. Grades were handed in the previous week so as far as teachers and students alike were concerned, school was over. Eventually I was given the honor of being stage crew so I stood behind the wooden set, which on one side was painted the deck of a pirate ship and on the other side of the panels were painted the walls of the children's room. I was impressed because the middle panel, which was painted in the likeness of the night sky, was made to be pushed open like a revolving door so both Tinker Bell and Peter Pan literally entered from the sky. In fact, the parents complained that everything was so phenomenal, it was a sin for others to not have the ability to see it. Much to the surprise and delight of the kids, it was decided that the play would be professionally filmed and put on national TV. Poor Tink, the one production that was filmed was the only one in which Noor, as Tinker Bell on skates, fell...but it was amusing. She was also wearing a pretty risque outfit (by Nablus standards) and one of the boys approached a teacher asking, "Shouldn't we get her a jacket; she looks chilly." Which if you live here is amusing because children often toe the line of haram, or "forbidden," and in this case, her skirt was too short and her shoulders too bare.

Haram is the exciting and overly-utilized phrase for the international teachers because many of the things we do and the clothes we wear could be considered haram. For example, I have kept pretty well within the realms of appropriateness, but sometimes teachers wear relatively tight shirts with scoop necks and I know that I have shown an ankle once or twice. Our pants might also be a tad on the overly fitted side. However, the local teenage boys seem to enjoy it as the foreign girls prove to be elusive, but a fun game as many try to woo us, particularly because for them, winner gets an American visa. So far I seem to have been the most exotic because of my red hair and blue eyes. In fact, my first time at church, I was approached following mass and asked if I would marry an Arab man. Thinking this was a hypothetical scenario, I said yes. The lady then offered me her 29 year-old Arab son...and this is fairly normal. The Christian population is dwindling quickly because they are often able to leave Palestine so the demand for Christian girls is skyrocketing.

On the night of one of the productions of "Peter Pan", we had a young boy who currently resides with several nuns in the area (women from the same order as Mother Theresa) come visit the school because there was hope that he might receive a scholarship to attend our school. The only problem is that he is paralyzed from the waist down so he is in a wheelchair and he cannot control his bodily functions. The school thought that it would be easy enough to move him in his wheelchair since the school has quite a bit of stairs, but there was concern that if he had an accident, there would be no one to change his diaper. The international teachers all were eager to assure the school that we would be willing to do it, but they were concerned because the Arabic teachers here cannot do it because it would be considered inappropriate. However, once he raced around the school in his wheelchair shouting, "beep beep," the teachers and parents immediately requested that he attend. I am very excited because he will be coming to summer school so I will have hopefully plenty of time to get to know the young feller.

My first week in Nablus was amazing! I was there when two more teachers arrived, one of whom studied library science and with whom I will work on the library. Primarily my first week consisted of eating knafah, for which Nablus is famous,a weird confection to say the least. I would say it is akin to pouring maple syrup on mozzarella sticks. It consists of a layer of cheese breaded on top with ground pasta and then smothered in syrup. My first reaction upon eating it was to get nauseous, but then it grows on you like foot fungus.

I spent two nights in Maggie's old crib, which is absolutely lovely (or at least the view from nook was because it is located on a very large hill...and Nablus consists of nothing but hills). We moved into our new summer housing, which is a fantastic family house with three bedrooms for six women so we will each have a roommate. There are two bathrooms, which is fine, except that water is scarce and so it is necessary that people really ration water usage. Therefore twice I have had my shower cutoff mid-scrub and I have only had two warm showers since being here. Extra bonus, the water is naturally heated! And fun fact, the water here is drinkable, but it will give you explosive diarrhea the first two days.

The city is beautiful although painful to see all the bullet holes in housing away from the main street. We heard gun shots my third night here, but that just means I have been formally welcomed to Nablus. Palestinian soldiers must be off of the street by midnight when Israeli soldiers replace them until the Palestinian soldiers return around six in the morning. That is why from 11:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m., shooting is a common occurrence. Therefore, we are all at home around 11:00, midnight at latest, which is not hard to do since there is no nightlife, particularly for females.

It was exciting, however, because I smoked my first sheesha...although it did not do anything for me so I feel like with the exception of one free sheesha in Jerusalem, that will be my last sheesha.

I have been in a car now in which Maggie was forced to drive, and let me assert, she was quite a good driver, which considering how people drive around here, is no easy feat. The food so far has been excellent, a lot of falafel as I am the token vegetarian, consisting of a lot of vegetables and we buy most of our food off of market vendors on a daily basis. Oh, how I crave those evening walks although the females usually try to return before nightfall. However, nights can get pretty wild since we stole a projector from the school and watch movies on a wall outside, or at least that is the plan.

And on the plus, plus side, there is a super, uber cute tech guy working at the school. Unfortunately, he is already an American citizen and therefore my offer of an American visa will not help me capture his heart.

Overall, my first week here, or at least what I have bothered to remember has been excellent. Primarily it has consisted of me walking around the city with other teachers, getting my bearings and figuring out what I am actually supposed to be doing. But next week will really test my fortitude...

Für meine Mutter und mein Vater, ich kann Kinder Schokolade kaufen!