All I want for Christmas is...a Car

Living in the West Bank definitely has its perks (cheap chocolate, cheap rent, no English, friendly locals, a marked increase in my coolness ratings), but it also has a few drawbacks. Mainly, that it takes me so long to take a smorgasbord of public transportation options to get anywhere that on the days I don't go in to Jerusalem, I generally just don't go anywhere. My daily taxi ride is getting expensive, and frankly some days I'm sick of walking in the freezing rain, waiting for busses, and dealing with taxi drivers after a long day.

For Christmas this year, I had one wish: I wanted a car. So I got one.

Unfortunately, I had to return it to the rental agency the next morning, but oh what joy! what freedom! what excitement! The 24 hours that I had the car were filled with wonder and majesty--the best way to spend Christmas.

My friend Sahar and I rented a car so we could get out of Jerusalem/Bethlehem and go up north to Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. It was somewhat of a surreal experience to go from Bethlehem to Nazareth and back on Christmas day...and I don't think I'll ever understood how Mary did that on a donkey while pregnant!

We visited some members of the branch in Nazareth (who seriously have the cutest family and one of the most beautiful houses I have ever seen!) before driving on to the Sea of Galilee. And yes, even though it was Christmas and everyone else was wearing sweaters and scarves, it was warm enough for me to wear short sleeves.



The Sea of Galilee was beautiful. Most people were at work and school, so we had the sea and the boardwalk mostly to ourselves!

Sahar and her sister, Samar.

The real reason I was dying to go up north for Christmas was so that I could get away from the constant tension and stress of Jerusalem--but also so I didn't have to sit at home (either my own or someone else's!) and think about how this was my third Christmas abroad in four years and miss my adorable nieces and nephews. And a trip up north was exactly what I needed. I came back from this trip even more determined to find a car to buy here, but also ready to face at least another week of border crossings, checkpoints, public transportation, and the never-ending feeling of tension and anxiety that fills the city of Jerusalem.

Dear car, it was wonderful.

Christmas Eve in Bethlehem

When I was a child, Christmas was almost always a disappointment. Perhaps it came from that time I asked for a singing mermaid and Santa brought me a mermaid that didn't sing (one of the harsh realities of Santa having five kids and working on his PhD), which clearly traumatized me for life. There is always so much build-up, so much hype about Christmas, and then when Christmas comes, you open presents early in the morning and then it's like, "Now what? What do we do with all that built-up expectation for something awesome?" The two months of waiting and hoping and wishing leave me exhausted, and by 10 am I'm usually ready for Christmas to be over (so we can get January and February over with and get into spring).

For me, Christmas Eve is the real holiday. Big dinner, reading (or acting out) the nativity story, and the expectation for something awesome can still be built up for Christmas. At least in my family traditions, Christmas Eve was the day to focus on the birth of the Savior and His life and sacrifice, which Christmas was more focused on the spirit of giving (ie presents). 

This Christmas Eve offered me a unique chance to continue this tradition of a big dinner and a focus on the birth of the Savior while living a 15 minute walk away from the place tradition holds Jesus was born. And what better way than to celebrate with expats and Palestinians?

I invited the members of my LDS branch over to my spacious house for dinner, and I am proud to say that we fit more than 30 people in to my apartment! It was a choice opportunity for so many of our branch members to be together, as we had members from Ramallah and Bethlehem (who can't go in to Jerusalem to church) as well as several members from Jerusalem. It was a happy reunion as I tried to keep children from spitting off my balcony and throwing chairs at each other while the adults tried to communicate in their limited Arabic or English.

Yep, I'm so ghetto that I had people eating in my guest bedroom. And yes, I keep my bike in there.

Thankfully, we only had one major spill and a couple of meltdowns, we didn't run out of food (which, by the way, I was not in charge of--I'm not that ambitious!), and it almost felt like a big family gathered around my (minuscule) Christmas tree!

After the party went home, I went to a Lutheran/Catholic Christmas Eve service in Shepherd's Field. 

It was a beautiful service (more to come about it) and such an incredible experience to be sitting in Shepherds Field with members of several different denominations, singing and reading scriptures about the birth of the Savior. (And the Israeli settlement that is usually an affront to the eyes on the mostly-empty fields was just out of view, making the scene a bit more realistic!)

After the service, they shared lamb and pita (and the warmth of their fire) with everyone. So this Christmas Eve in Shepherds Field, instead of watching our flocks, we ate them.

Looking out over Beit Sahour and Bethlehem

Merry Christmas from the Koreans

And naturally, I had to throw in a picture of the Beit Sahour Christmas tree!

After a quick visit to Nativity Square (mostly to say that I had gone, like the thousands of people who come from all over the world to be there Christmas Eve) I walked home. And as it started to rain I saw, could it be, Santa! riding in a car and waving at everyone. Sahar told me that you can hire him out to come to your house and deliver presents to the children. Awesome.

Beit Sahour Christmas Tree Lighting

And for round #2 of the Beit Sahour Christmas tree lighting post:

Back in the middle of December was the Beit Sahour Christmas tree lighting celebration. The best part of this post was supposed to be the movies, but it is taking forever to upload them, so you get just one.

Anyway. Beit Sahour is a small town of about 12,000, and the Christmas tree lighting ceremony is a big deal. I swear half the city was there!

They even had a live band (all locals, of course)!

The Boy and Girl Scouts band marched through the middle, playing Christmas songs and causing a general ruckus as the throngs of people had to move aside and clear a space large enough for them to walk through the middle of the crowd.

The head of the Greek Orthodox church here spoke, as did an official from the Palestinian Authority. Nothing like a little political speech to put me in the spirit of Christmas! This year's speech was, of course, about the UN vote and wanting to celebrate Christmas next year in peace, joy, and the free state of Palestine. (At least he mentioned Christmas, right?)

Sahar and I were getting really claustrophobic and had to make an escape from the massive crowds that were pushing in on all sides. After pushing through the crowds, we finally found refuge next to the politician's car, which was conveniently located in the middle of the throngs of people but had a security guard standing by to make sure no one got too close to the car, leaving a wide open space. Although he glared at us a couple of times, Sahar and I took up camp next to the car. We made sure not to touch it, so I guess he didn't mind too much!

As soon as they lit the tree, fireworks went off and Sahar and I high-tailed it out of there so we wouldn't get stuck in traffic. And that's probably the thing I like most about crowded events...you wait for 2 hours in a suffocating crowd, fight your way to the edge 5 minutes before the actual event (which in this case lasted 2 minutes), and then run out before it's over so you don't get stuck in traffic.

But isn't it beautiful?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! To celebrate, I thought I would share a song that has become a new favorite this Christmas season: Born to Die by Bebo Norman. Living in a conflict-torn country has helped me to appreciate even more the fact that our Savior was willing to come to earth to die for all of us. And one day, there will be peace on earth because of His life and His sacrifice.

And just because I'm in a generous mood, I thought I'd share one more song: "Hope Was Born this Night" by the Sidewalk Prophets. Every time I hear this song I just want to dance with joy.




Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Lights in Bethlehem

Since most people in the world (and even a lot of people in Israel!) can't come to Bethlehem to see the Christmas lights, I thought I'd do you all a favor and post pictures of them. I thought that I would be spending another year living in a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas, but since Bethlehem and Beit Sahour are Christian cities, I get my Christmas light fix every night!

This is in Manger Square, next to Church of the Nativity

Another view of Manger Square

The Church of the Nativity, marking the traditional spot where Jesus was born

These two pictures are blurry and don't do them justice, but you can see the lights stretched across the road and the Christmas tree in the middle of town. It's beautiful!

This church is right across the street from my house

You Can't Pay for Help Like This

I love living in a small Arab Christian city. There are lots of perks that come from living in Beit Sahour, even if it is a pain to cross a military checkpoint every day.

One of the best perks of living here (besides the price of chocolate, which is MUCH cheaper here than in Jerusalem!!) is that the people here are seriously so nice. And most of them speak very little English. Nice people + no English = an ideal living situation for me!

I usually get a ride from Beit Sahour to Bethlehem with Sahar, a friend from the branch who lives just a few blocks away. This saves me a lot of time and money every day, and I will be forever in her debt because of that! But the other day Sahar was sick and didn't go to work, so I had to find another way to the checkpoint.

A little after 6:30 am I walked to a central bus/taxi/service station about a block away from my house to find a way to the checkpoint. I had several options: I could take a bus (and then two service taxis; total cost 8.5 shekels, total time maybe 30 min), a taxi (total cost 15 shekels, total time about 8 min), or a service (pronounced ser-veese, a large van that functions as a taxi-bus, total cost (plus a service taxi from the drop-off point to the checkpoint) 6 shekels; total time maybe 15 min). Taking a service was my #1 option, but hundreds pass by each hour in the morning and I didn't want to have to stop each one and ask them where they were going (they don't all go to the same place). Flagging them down and asking them where they are going gets old after about 4 service.

So I did what I always do in this type of situation: I went into the vegetable store right next to the bus/service/taxi stop and asked the store owner if there were service from there to Bab-Alisqaq (where I could then catch a service taxi to the checkpoint). "Yes," he said, motioning for his coworker to walk back out with me. "Show her which service go to Bab-Alisqaq," he said.

I followed the man back outside and was pleasantly startled to see that he started flagging down the service and asking if they were going to Bab-Alisqaq. I could have hugged him! After flagging down 4 or 5 service with no luck, he finally found one going to Bab-Alisqaq. I thanked him and got in and he walked back into the store like it was no big deal, he just made some foreign girl's day. And I thought, "I couldn't pay for help like this, and he just did it to be nice!"

Yep. I love living here.

Oh Christmas Tree

Living abroad always has its challenges, but especially so during the holiday season.

One of the biggest challenges for me has always been--where do I get a tree?

This year I was lucky. Sahar, my dear friend who lives a few blocks away from me in Beit Sahour, was talking to me a couple of weeks ago. "I have a tree for you," she said. "But it's really small. Don't be disappointed."

My friends, how could I ever be disappointed with something so wonderful? It even came with lights, decorations, AND PRESENTS!!! (Good thing, too, because I don't think anything else could fit under it!)

My first Christmas abroad was in Taiwan. The star on top of the tree was almost bigger than the tree itself!

The next year I was still in Taiwan, but I had a problem: no tree. Not even a 12-inch tree. Not even a branch.

Never one to let things like that deter me, I decided to make good use of the ugly green coat and ripped brown skirt that one of the sister missionaries had left in the apartment. One coat rack, a few paper streamers and pass-along cards, and a Santa hat later, I had a tree.

And yep, I'm gonna have to say, I was more proud of this tree than any other I've had!

Yellowstone

The past few days have been a little rough. I'm not quite up to writing posts about checkpoints, border crossings, or anything, really, that has to do with conflict.

So I thought I'd post my pictures from the trip with NDU to Yellowstone this summer. Aren't they beautiful?