Well well well.
Hello.
It's beeen a second.
Sana Saeeda (Happy new year)
So whaaaaat the heck have I been up to.
First of all, Palestine acknowledges 3 different Christmases, which is bananas in the best way possible. You're doin all your normal things then BOOM. It's Christmas, December 25th. Then BAM, New years. Then you've put your Christmas sweater away and all the sudden WHAT it's Christmas again, january 7th; the Orthodox Christmas, and you get your third long weekend in a row (lol I'm still preparing for January 18th which is the Armenian Christmas). Lotta tinsel.
What else - the weather is really nice. I'm sorry to all of you who experienced the snow storm cuz i heard that was wiild. Around here it's like a pretty consistent Fall kinda weather (except at night when it gets suuper cold inside).
Currently I'm doing really well; I'm doing my best to spend January without a phone to just give myself some time for reflection and mental/emotional processing. I've also started living almost completely independently, as it's easier on my host parents; I've started cooking and cleaning myself and coming and going through my own door, and honestly, so far, I'm all about it. Living independently is a first for me and I'm starting to realize why so many people love having their own space lol.
All this new time I've spent reflecting and sitting with my thoughts (phoneless) has felt insaanely healthy; it's like I'm giving my brain space and time and a field to run around in. With this time I've been reflecting on something that I saw a little while ago and my reaction to it; I was visiting the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where many people say Jesus was buried. Obviously, a very important place for maaany people, and obviously it's flooded with tourists.
I remember feeling a contrast between the evident sanctity of the space, and the manner in which many tourists seemed to occupy that space; distracted, tired, and slightly indifferent. Now, god knows I've had my ups and downs with religion over the past few years, but I still felt frustrated that this place that was preserved for centuries that's supposedly of indescribable importance had become a stop along the way for people in sweatpants and T-shirts. And I remember seeing a guy with a backwards hat and a Monster Energy shirt walk into a room where Mary had apparently wept over Jesus, to look at a picture that had been carefully placed there. I felt like he was an example of the frustration I was feeling. But then he put his hand on the picture of Mary and I saw his eyes start to well up, and I realized how important an experience this was for him. Then I remembered what people thought of Jesus and John the Baptist because of what they wore, and was like, duh jeremiah, you silly goof.
I thought of this today as I went for a run and went past Shepherds Fields, a place where they say the Shepherds saw the star that led them to Jesus. This time, I was the one in sweatpants, but I decided to step in and take a look, and saw a bunch of tourists that looked just like me, admiring the place they were, in silence. It was really meaningful, and man, I just feel like we put too much importance on meaningless things. I think nice clothes are nice, but I think they can also serve as a reminder to people who can't afford them that they don't belong here. I essentially started to feel like, who cares what people are wearing; what's important is that they're there.
Lol anyway. Maybe I'm the only one who needed that reminder. But sharing it feels relevant. Otherwise, work is great, 5/5, so many cool people there, and they got me this nice new jacket for Christmas. I was going to take a position helping children in a refugee camp but recently it's been far too dangerous for me to join, but I might go part time at a different job soon.
Anyway. Stay chilly. Chip chip cheerio.