More babies, more parties

Yesterday morning, Saturday, I went into the Palestine Wildlife Society (PWLS) office to work on a few things that I am trying to finish up, and I met the two new volunteers who will be here for the next month. Robin is 23 and from Sweden, and Amy is also 23 from the U.S. We were chatting about their living situation here, and one thing led to another and soon enough they were moving into one of Jiries' apartments, and a few minutes later we were all in the car on the way to the beach. Before we left for the beach I took them to the store down the road to pick up some groceries and other miscellaneous necessities. It was pretty awesome bringing them around, showing off my knowledge of the people, places and langage. Since I go everywhere with Jiries, everyone in town recognizes me, and they all asked "When Jiries?!" which mean, where is Jiries? (Yes, when means where in Arabic... just a little confusing).

The beach was really fun; the water was refreshing and the sun wasn't too hot. Robin, Amy and I bonded over our passionate support for the plight of the Palestinians. They are both extremely knowledgable about the environment, and I have a feeling I will learn a lot from them over the next month.

Today Rawan and her husband Issa had a big lunch party for their twins one-month-old birthday/their anniversary/his birthday. The party was in the massive room adjacent to the church most events are held in; everyone was all dressed up, there was a dj and even a catering company. Right away everyone was dancing and drinking beer and Arak (this licorice-tasting Arabic alcohol). Rawan and Issa and their parents danced around with the little babies, who eventually fell asleep despite the blaring music. Arab music is hard NOT to dance to, plus everyone always makes me get up and dance with them. The party ended at 2, and when we left I couldn't believe how early it still was.


Issa (the father of the baby twins):

Isam, Rawan's father:


Tata Huda with Amal (left) and Hanan, two of her daughters:

Danny, Rusha's son (Rawan's sister)- he's one of my favorite little kids here because he's so silly:

Rusha:

Lyth (Rusha's other son):

Jiries' brothers-in-law who he pretends not to like:



Loai, Rusha's third son:













We hung around for most of the day until the evening, when we went to Jiries' sister Hanan's house for a few minutes, then we went to Lina's house (Jiries' sister Amal's daughter). She made a delicious Chinese dinner; we hung out with her and her husband Elias and played with her little girl Sarah, who is growing so fast. I was here for her first-tooth party, and now she has 4!





Tomorrow afternoon Jiries and I are going to Amman, Jordan, for a few days because we both need to get our visas renewed. I will bring my computer and write from there as long as I have internet.