A Day in the Life Abroad

November 2, 2010

Happy Halloween, Reformation Day, and cool weather for the wonderful month of November!  I am going to change up my subject matter a little bit for this entry and give you a glimpse of a common day and week for me here in Palestine.  Of course sometimes I have more and less to do throughout the week, but this should give a good framework for you all. 

The Morning 7:30am-12:00pm

I usually set my alarm for about 7:30am, and hit snooze only once before getting up.  I brush my teeth, and then take 5 or 10 minutes to sit and listen to two or three songs on my iTunes.  I always let it play by random, and usually the music sets a pretty good mood  to the day for me.  Listening to the music is also a great time for me to just relax and not think about anything, which is great for me to clear my mind for a new day.  I leave my place at around 7:50am to get to school by 8:00am.  Most days I work in the office throughout the morning, and help with whatever the teachers need assistance with.  Often this is making copies, helping prepare tests, and anything really.  Today I was busy writing letters for the kindergartener’s to copy in their workbooks, and copied various papers for the teachers.  Some of the classes I have during this time are; Religion with 5^th graders, English with 9^th graders, or 11^th grade English.  10:00am comes quickly, and we have a coffee break where we all sit and have some Arabic coffee (which is amazing).  After our coffee break, I usually have my English classes with the 10^th and 11^th graders.  On Thursdays I have music class with the 5^th graders, and this is always full of energy.  Last Thursday we actually sang The First Noel (that’s right, a Christmas Carol already) in English and Arabic. 

The Afternoon 12:00pm-5:00pm

There is another break at 12:00pm, only for 20 minutes, but gives a chance for the kids to run around outside and burn off some energy.  Usually the afternoon for me is spent playing sports with the students outside.  I play football (soccer) with the 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th graders, and sometimes we do other activities like ping-pong.  They are definitely always full of energy, and enjoy playing with me even though I have lost much of my soccer skills.  On some days I also teach English in the afternoon, and help with whatever needs done around the school.  Some of the random things I did in the office today included making Christmas cards, copying papers, and proofreading speeches for the English classes.  Whatever downtime I have during the school day I usually spend studying my Arabic and practicing it with whoever is in the office or teacher’s lounge.  The school day then wraps up around 2:20pm, and I almost always stop at the little snack shop by the school to get a falafel sandwich or a meat sandwich.  There is also a corner store on my way home that I stop to grab snacks, drinks, and eggs.  If I want to get other groceries or some fresh vegetables I just walk 10 minutes into the center of Ramallah and get everything there.  After that I usually go home, check email, and unwind a bit from the day.  Then, around 4:30pm or so I make something for dinner and eat around 5:00pm or so. 

The Evening 5:00pm-9:00pm

After dinner I sometimes skype with family back home, Facebook chat with friends, or watch a little bit of TV.  Around 6:30pm or 7:00pm I usually get a call from one of my friend’s here and we go to our favorite restaurant/café and have a drink and socialize for a bit.  Tuesday nights I have a young adult church group that I will be attending more in the coming weeks, and every Wednesday I have my choir practice from 7:30pm-9:30pm.  The nights usually go by quickly, and I try to get to bed by 11:00pm, but usually check email again and then go to bed shortly there after.

The Weekend: Thursday-Sunday

Thursday nights are similar to how we would spend a Friday or Saturday night in America.  In Ramallah, everyone gets together with their friends and goes out to one of the cafés, bars, or over to a friend’s house for a big dinner party.  There is nothing open on Fridays, but traffic is usually non existent which is nice because I usually leave Friday morning for Bethlehem for Arabic lessons.  The total travel time from my flat in Ramallah to Bethlehem is usually about an hour and a half, but sometimes it can be longer depending on the checkpoints.  If we have plans scheduled for Saturday or Sunday I usually stay until Sunday afternoon in Bethlehem and then go back to my place in Ramallah, or go to church in Jerusalem and leave from there back home.

This is a little snippet into what a typical week would look like, but because of the Holidays coming up in the next two months everything will be more hectic, but more fun at the same time.  I hope everyone back home is doing well as the weather is getting much colder with frosts overnight, and even snow showers…because I am enjoying the 60 degree weather we are having here ;) ! 

 

Salaam,

David