Tadriib

Arabic is coming along. I have the numbers down and am working on the letters. Also mastered the basic “hello”, “how are you”, etc. phrases. But boy is it a confusing language. Not only is there a significant difference between the colloquially spoken Arabic and the 'standard' Arabic that no one except tv news anchors speaks (which is also the language in which all books are written), but the scipt is completely different, there is a masculine/feminine distinction, it is written backwards and most of the sounds are ones that I can't pronounce or distinguish. Whee! I wanted a challenge...

All that said, I am enjoying the studying. Being really really new at something means that you have a great sense of accomplishment each time you learn something. Also, everyone is really encouraging and helpful. So, insh'allah, I hope to be able to at least order a drink when any of you come over and visit...which will be soon, right?

More food

Finally got around to really hardening my arteries. Mmm. Shwarma. This is the menu in the 'best place in town' and we stopped by for a couple of sandwiches for lunch the other day. As you can see from the sign, they are 10 shekels a piece and worth every penny. While stuffing my face I ran into the guy who picked me up at the airport when I arrived last week and one of the staff members from the Unit. Life in a small town.

Still looking for an apartment. Coming fom New York it is weird to be in a situation where you can look at all sorts of places and then just think about them all for a while. No pressure, no rush. Most of the places I have seen have been empty for months. Just not that big a turnover in property here.

Yum

Two shots - the first is of my daily breakfast. Hummus, pita, cheese & cucumber along with some fruit and juice. The second is of dinner with the parents of a friend of mine. So many delicious things. Arugula with yoghurt and walnuts, some form of lentils with tomato, mixed grill of lamb and chicken brochettes and... french fries!

Ah, but it is a hard life out here.

Friday

Today is the local day of rest, although I was in the office for a little while catching up on things.

Now off to a late lunch and maybe to Jaffa on Saturday for a party. Will post more when I am back at work on Sunday.

More pictures

I’ve created a Flickr account - http://www.flickr.com/photos/netmiker

Where I will post more photos than are found here…

Bon appetit!

Mindfulness

One of the things that I love most about traveling, especially to really foreign places, (i.e where the language and customs are very different from back home) is that you really do live in the moment. Your senses and awareness are running at fever pitch just crossing the street. There is no time where you are just mindlessly living. It can be tiring, but at the same time it is really exhilarating.

Home life

I am staying in a very nice little hotel. Quite comfortable and, as you can see from the pictures, it has a little kitchenette. Bigger than the one in my New York apartment actually, but without the toaster oven I don’t think that I will be making banana bread any time soon. The hotel is in the Christian area of town, so there are bars and restaurants around. The place in the hotel is quite nice, and I go there for breakfast each day. It is actually located on the roof of the hotel and has a pretty nice view. It is nice to sit up there in the morning and look out over Ramallah, pinching myself to remind me that I am actually here.

A confession. We are now at day 3 and so far I have only eaten hummus at breakfast, no other Palestinian cuisine. Occupational hazard of working (and dining) with jaded ex-pats who have been here too long to appreciate the majesty of a really good shawarma. Ah well, tomorrow the weekend begins (I get Fridays and Saturdays off) and I plan to see some more of the city and find myself some really good local cuisine
Pic to the left is of a fast-food hamburger joint we went to yesterday. Actually not that bad, but still, when in Rome one really should not be eating McNuggets, right?

Call to Prayer

Although I managed to doze off for most of the flight here from New York, I did wake up at 4am last night and could not get back to sleep. If my internal clock is still on New York time that was about 9pm, which although not my usual bed-time, is certainly no cause for an inability to journey to dreamland. So either my clock is somewhere over the mid-Atlantic (hopefully on a beach in the sunny Azores) or nerves about my first day in the office were keeping me from my slumber (I prefer the former explanation). Actually, it is most likely due to the expanse of bed I had to occupy by myself.

Regardless of the cause, one of the benefits of being up at 4am is that I was awake for the morning call to prayer. I can still remember the first time I heard it, standing on a balcony in a ritzy Istanbul neighborhood on the European side of the Bosporus, watching the sun rise over Asia. There is something about a beautiful religious aesthetic experience that renews my faith in the essential brotherhood (and sisterhood) of mankind. Be it an architecturally perfect shrine (Meiji Jingu in Tokyo is my favorite example), a great statue of Buddha or the Ode to Joy. All of these are expressions of a love of life, fellow humans and some form of higher being, and they all resonate in some primal place deep down inside which perhaps goes to show that we aren’t that different after all…

Kind of soppy, I know. I promise to post some pictures soon, along with a review of the local fare so far.

Arrived

I'm here, already working hard. Will post more detailed info with pictures when I get a chance. In the meantime it is sunny and warmer than New York...

Welcome

Hi.
This is my blog. As you can see, the posting is a bit thin on the ground right now. Once I get over to Ramallah I am sure that I will have much more to say and many more interesting pics to post.
In the meantime, bookmark me, drop me a line by email, and let me know how you are doing, ok?
Cheers!

NY Apartment

I love this apartment. I really do. 450+ square feet, 12 foot ceilings, hardwood floors. It is cheap, quiet and light. Only a block from Central Park, also just one block from the 1,2,3,B and C subway lines.
I feel really attached to this place. I've only been here for a year or so, but I feel a very nice connection to it. Must be all that good energy that the former tenant (Ms. Rosalie Lawrence) left behind. Thanks Rosalie. Or all the work that Rachel and I put into making it purdy.
Do me a favor and remind me never to give it up, ok?

Office living

Here is a picture of me in my former New York office. You can just see one of the chairs in my small lounge area (two comfy chairs and a small glass table) off to the side. Blackberry in the foreground happily charging away, readying itself for use. Nice view of Park Avenue from the 26th floor. Sweet.