Bus ride alone

Again with the heat ... it's unbearable. And the forecast is for hotter weather this weekend. I think I'll just stay in my room and not move an inch. But easier said than done.

My first public bus ride to
Bethlehem; surrounded by
noisy german tourists.

This morning I made my first trip alone to Bethlehem by public bus!!! Horrors! After living through 2 Intifidas and watching buses being blown up - I never sat on a bus all these years. But this time I had to save money and time - so it was the public bus; an arab one of course as Israeli buses cannot enter Bethlehem. Quite an experience especially when the bus got all full with a gaggle of german women (15 - 20 of them) led by one man. And the two noisiest, loudest, incessantly talking women had to sit behind me. Can you imagine 40 minutes of shrill, guttural chatter non-stop? I nearly went crazy ... the thought of suicide bombers crossed my mind ..... hahahahahahaha

Home-cooked lunch

Arrived in Beit Jallah, the village next to Bethlehem where my friend Firas picked me up and brought me to his house. He cooked lunch and we ate it with his sister who's at home studying for the exam finals. The lunch was nice - baked chicken with veggies on saffron rice. Loved it. And of course we did up the bottles of mishmish and fig jams; packed them into 3 boxes. Very heavy. I worried about how to get it out to Jerusalem alone. And of course at the checkpoint I'd have trouble because food is forbidden to cross the borders. But everything worked out fine and I crossed the checkpoint despite the soldiers opening the boxes and knowing it's food. They let me off this time.

So it was a hot day but it was very nice when spent with friends. Somehow problems seem alot smaller when there's someone around to share it with. That goes for the weather too.