Palestinian Generosity

I have not been very good about updating my blog recently. Probably for about 4 or 5 months. Once the newness of this place wore off, it was hard for me to write about things, because they were not as new and exciting. I am going to try, however, to start up my blog again. From now on, I will write once a week about an experience or event. This way, all of my friends will be able to here from me more often, since we are such a long distance away.

Anytime you come into the company of Palestinians, you will be told about the extreme generosity of Palestinians. This generosity is something with which I have recently been blessed.

Living in Bethlehem, I have been able to become friends with quite a few local people. I would like to tell you about a few in particular now.

Rania worked as a secretary for Bethlehem Bible College a couple months this fall. During that time, I had the privilege to be invited to her house to spend time with her family. Since that time, I have been invited several times to their home. It is unusual for a Palestinian family, to have a 23 year old girl living on her own (without family) in a foreign country, as most young Palestinian people do not leave home until they are married. Therefore, they think that this young person must not know how to take care of themselves or feed themselves. Whenever I go then, they always feed me so much that I am bursting at the seams.I like to spend time with this family, as they do not speak much English, so I am forced to improve my Arabic skills.

This week, I was invited by Rania and her family to attend part of the wedding celebrations of a relative. The first part was for women only. The women in the family of the groom welcomed the new bride by painting her with henna and offering her gifts of gold jewelry as is traditional. This was followed by a large meal and plenty of dancing, in which the new couple were presented. Dancing is extremely fun in the culture, as everybody joins in to dance to traditional and pop Arabic music.

The grooms mother joins the bride and groom in the dancing.

Majdi has also become a friend of mine. Majdi is the owner of a souvenir shop in Bethlehem. At anytime he will welcome people to come sit in his shop, hear his stories, and drink traditional bedouin tea (black tea, with mint, and sugar). He always offers a good price for his gifts to any foreigners living in Bethlehem and is always willing to offer and extra hand. Many times he has driven me to the checkpoint as I am on my way to Jerusalem.

Khalil and his family are other friends of mine. Khalil and his family live in Al-Azza refugee camp, one of the three refugee camps in Bethlehem. All the families in this camp were driven here during the war in 1948 from a village near the Gaza strip. I met Khalil one morning when I was walking to work at Bethlehem Bible College in the rain. I ducked under the awning of his car repair shop to wait out the rain. He proceeded to offer me coffee and invited me to spend time with his family whenever I was available. The following Saturday, my roommate Sara and I ventured to their house for a traditional meal of Mensaf (rice and chicken). We were fed until we couldn't eat any more, then offered fruit and multiple cups of strong Arabic coffee. Ihave since been treated to Kenafe (a traditional Arabic sweet) and many cups of coffee in the morning as I pass by his shop.

Although it may not be true of every Palestinian across the board, but I have been treated to some incredible Palestinian generosity living in Bethlehem.