A better part of traveling consists not only of seeing wondrous sites and scenes, but also crossing paths with a variety of interesting people whether they be fellow travelers or locals. These are some interesting people I met while traveling Israel and Palestine:
the bawab of a madrassa in Nablus, Palestine
While walking from the location of Jacob’s Well (when some Arabs harassed Jacob’s daughter when she was going to fetch water, he and his sons built the well out of anger so that his wives and daughter would not have to be harassed again – it took 2 years to build and it’s the site of where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman who offers him a drink of water (John 4:6-26)), we passed a madrassa where we asked the bawab (a person who guards the door) for directions only to be invited inside for a cup of coffee. The school was empty because of the Muslim holiday, Eid, but we were able to share a cup of coffee with the bawab who told us about his many children and showed us computers that were donated by KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency).
There are Palestinians who always offer you a cup of coffee (albeit Turkish coffee).
Nablus, West Bank, Palestine
October 27, 2012
Copright: Mary Hayoung Kim
shopkeepers in the Old City, Jerusalem
We came across some beautiful skirts while walking through the bazar of the Old City. The colors and the scent of the bazar are mesmerizing and will stall your walk. However, keep in mind rule #1: Never buy at the first stall, because you’ll find the same thing at better quality and better price further on. Such was our case, as the shopkeeper in the shop further down the cobbled alley was more sympathetic to our situation as poor, ‘money-less’ students. Not to mention that his skirts were made in ‘Jerusalem’ while the skirts we had seen earlier were not authentic material and made in ‘India’ (we went back to check). In the game of haggling speaking in Arabic (or native language) always helps but you need to learn to enjoy the fierce game as much as the shopkeepers do. Always use a little bit of hesitation and friendliness.
In the Middle East, there are shopkeepers who love the game of haggling.
a Palestinian soldier guarding Arafat’s tomb
In Ramallah, West Bank lies the presidential compound of Arafat, the Palestinian leader and president of the Palestinian National Authority, whose popularity amongst Arabs can be attested by the paintings and pictures which are prevalent in Palestine. The presidential compound is where the Israel army put him in 2002 and where he passed away in 2004. We made it at night and although we were not allowed to walk around the presidential compound, we were accompanied to Arafat’s tomb by a Palestinian soldier who although refused to take a picture with us, kindly took a picture of us. He stopped to shake hands and show signs of respect to (seemingly important) individuals coming to pay their respects to Arafat (presumably on occasion of the Muslim holiday Eid). “너무 잘생겼어요,” I told him in Korean which Dal-lim translated on the spot into Arabic. He appeared a bit taken aback and I wondered if we had crossed the line but after a second or so, he replied very courteously in Arabic, “I’m happy that you think so.”
There are extremely handsome Palestinian soldiers with a firm handshake.
hip Israel soldiers
While waiting for the bus to Hebron at the central bus station in Jerusalem, we were amongst the swarm of murky khaki uniformed Israeli soldiers, a majority of them carrying long black guns and smoking while waiting for their buses. There are the fair share of soldier couples too. Considering that all men and women must serve a mandatory 3 years in the military and then commit to a month of training every year, you will see Israeli soliders in uniform everywhere. On this particular bus we sat behind a young Israeli female soldier with a big earphones, the music seeping out for everyone to hear. To our delight, Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ was on her playlist and when it started playing she handed her huge earphones to her friend sitting next to her, both of them bouncing to the beat. Dal-lim started excitedly singing along in the back.
There are Israeli soldiers who listen to ‘Gangnam Style.’
*In general, Israeli (and Palestinian) soldiers were friendly when giving directions and never said no to a photo.
with a friendly Israeli soldier at Hebron – I didn’t particularly want his picture, but after each of my 2 friends had taken pictures with him, he asked me if I wanted one as well and I of course obliged :)
October 29, 2012
the Jewish mayor of Hebron
After seeing the tombs of the patriarchs (Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Leah) at Hebron, we were waiting for a bus that would put us on the road to Bethlehem. After an extended period of waiting, we tried our first hitch-hiking and were invited to jump into a car with a very friendly Jew. It was interesting that he had dual citizenship as a citizen of the U.S. and a citizen of the state of Israel. He had studied the Torah as an undergraduate in Israel and also worked briefly as a paramedic. He spoke English like an American and told us that he lived in the Jewish part of Hebron (Note: Hebron has a majority Muslim population but with around 500-800 Jewish settlers) and worked as its representative, something to the degree of a mayor was what I understood his position to be. What was interesting was that he said he was working for equal rights for Palestinians in Hebron yet his attitude towards Arab Muslims was very set in stone: they don’t belong in Hebron. When talking about the upcoming U.S. elections, he also made it very clear that as a U.S. citizen living in Israel, although the likes of the U.S. economy were not of immediate interest to him, foreign policy (or the presidential candidates’ level of sympathy for Israel is what I should say) would be the decisive factor in his vote. And although he has never taken much of an interest to U.S. politics, he was planning to vote for Romney in this coming elections because he didn’t approve of Obama’s Middle East foreign policy or his lack of (seeming) warmth towards Jews (most likely in comparison with that of Mitt Romney).
There are Jews who will turn in their absentee votes in this coming U.S. presidential elections (2012) just to prevent Obama getting re-elected.
getting a ride in Hebron to Bethlehem
photo courtesy of Nina Yejin Cho
October 28, 2012
Palestinian youth who live in Jerusalem
After our dinner at Ramallah, we managed to find a mini-bus going to the Ramallah checkpoint after the big buses to Jerusalem stopped running. In the mini-bus my friends and I made friends with 2 Palestinian youth. After we got off close to the checkpoint, we walked together to the checkpoint where they were joined by other friends. While waiting endlessly for the Israeli soldiers to open the iron gates to let each individuals through and check each identification, we had a great laugh. They were high school graduates. One of them was planning to study business at a university in Bethlehem. They lived in Jerusalem but frequently would visit the West Bank to go shopping or hang out with friends.
There are youth for whom checkpoints are a daily routine.
on the bus to Jerusalem from the Ramallah checkpoint
October 29, 2012
an Arab Christian living in Bethlehem
Leaving Bethlehem, we were walking towards the checkpoint only to be told by a driver of a mini-van that we were walking towards the wrong checkpoint. The one we were heading towards was only for vehicles, not pedestrians. The tiredness from walking perhaps showed because when we asked for a ride in his van to get through the checkpoint, he told us to jump in. “Are you Christians?” he asked, to which we replied in the affirmative. In Israel and Palestine, asking about religion appears to be the most common question before asking about name, age, or occupation. “So am I,” he said and proceeded to tell us he wanted peace but that it was being obstructed by Muslims. It was interesting that he used to live in the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem, but now had moved to Bethlehem – it has one of the largest Arab Christian populations from both states. He was a very liberal Christian though, telling us about the perks of Bethlehem, its (ironically) liberal atmosphere and parties. He made small talk with the Israeli soliders at the checkpoint in Arabic but when he saw a Muslim woman and her children on the road asking for a ride, drove past them muttering, “I hate Muslims.” As friendly as he was, religious identity was the only lens he had for seeing others. What happened to love for one’s neighbor, Jesus’ second greatest commandment?
There are Arab Christians full of as much hatred as Arab Muslims have towards Jews – at least those with only one compartmentalization for people: religious identity.
an Australian kid traveling the world
Our last night in Jerusalem, my friends and I were placed in a mixed dorm room hostel with two bunk beds. When we checked in and entered our room, we found the bottom bunk bed already taken and claimed with the likes of a piled mess of a black laptop, converse shoes, clothes, and purple boxers. The owner of the purple boxers and a blonde disheveled hair was an Australian kid just fresh out of high school, taking a gap year and already 2 months into traveling around the world. When I told him we were from South Korea, he got very excited (I think the effects of alcohol doubled the giddiness – I remembered seeing him in the hostel bar) and told my friends and I to wait because he had something very cool to show us, something we would love. He dashed into the bathroom and TA-DA came out wearing a pair of boxers imprinted on both sides with a Korean flag. He told us of how he visited Seoul and Busan at the beginning of his trip and his impressions of the cosmpolitan city.
There are travelers who’ve visited South Korea who buy and wear Korean flag boxers.
a South Korean who grew up in Kyrgystan, went to high school in Germany, college in the U.S., is studying in med school in Israel and has yet to complete his South Korean military service
Nothing made me more happy than getting to see the one and only Tim Lee! Tim is one of my closest friends from high school and I love getting to catch up with him in different parts of the world. We met up at Jaffa Gate, one of the entrances to the Old City (Jerusalem) and he kindly showed us around and explained to me the concept of shabbat as the day was Friday, the Jewish Sabbath, and everything was winding down to an early close in the city. After a year of med school in Israel, he’s conversational in modern Hebrew and his insights into and experience with the culture made for fascinating conversation. He’s had people on the streets come up to him and pet his sleek black hair out of curiosity or people who based on his Asian appearance condescendingly offer him jobs; I was jealous that he got to experience authentic shabbat dinner with his Jewish friends. After Tim graduates, he hopes to get a job as a doctor who can help people while traveling the world.
There are global citizens in every part of the world.
with Tim in Jerusalem – behind us is the Golden Dome
October 26, 2012
my blush unseen 