if there was a ever a day to be lazy, this is it. it's cold and raining like crazy. here's a couple of fun stories from my adventure to the market. i wish i had pictures. they can tell the story so much better than i. my friend, Todd Hedgepeth, always says 'the best pictures are never taken'. so true. so just activate your imagination as you read.
yesterday afternoon, i went to the market to buy some veggies. now let me paint a little picture for you of what the market is like. imagine, if you can, about 75 or 80 guys crammed into a small area, all yelling, in Arabic, to let you know what they have for sale. there's vendors and carts all over the place. the fruit of the land beautifully displayed for your viewing pleasure. it's pretty chaotic, to say the least, but i love it.
as i made my way past little kids and veiled women, one guy stopped me and said "Katrina???"
he must've seen the confused look on my face, because he then said, "what is your name? who are you?" uh, i stammered for a few seconds wondering if i should answer him because in this culture it's not exactly appropriate for women to talk to the men. totally opposite from the states. anyway, i decided to tell him my name and then he wanted to know where i was from. after a brief conversation, all he wanted to tell me it seemed, was that his mother lives in new jersey :) then he welcomed me to palestine and asked if i liked bush or obama. i just smiled and walked away. still not sure who Katrina is?
on my way back out of the market, i came to a halt as two little boys tried pushing carts thru a small path at the same time. they were standing their arguing, i assume, about who was gonna move first. it was pretty funny. so i just stood their waiting patiently, not bothered at all, but more so enjoying the entertainment when all of a sudden a man says to me "just wait a minute." ok, i'm waiting. then he says, "i am very sorry about this!" sorry about what? he thought he had inconvenienced me, but i was standing there totally enjoying the moment?
one more story. last week i sat in on an English class taught by 2 Americans. i met a palestinian lady who already spoke really good English, so i still haven't figured out why she was in the level 1 class unless she just wanted practice. anyway, by the end of class, i had been invited to her home. we hurried out the door, down the street, past the mosque, dodging men hurrying to and fro (it's a man's world out here!), down the hill, and to her door. ok, it was a little more exciting than that but you get the idea. we sat in her living room drinking tea and eating strawberries for a good hour. when it was time for me to walk home, she took me downstairs to her daughters apartment (she's in Spain right now) and gave me one of her winter coats to wear while i'm here! i was totally blown away. she had only met me a few hours earlier and now she was letting me borrow her daughter's coat.
see what i mean? these people are so hospitable and so beautiful. i think the world is missing out.
No comments:
Post a Comment