possibility of life in Ramallah

So I haven't posted in this blog in quite awhile - in fact I've only posted 4 times in the past year. Which is a bit sad, but I've decided blogging is a difficult task for me. I'm a talker. I have a hard time putting my daily thoughts and feelings into words, especially while staring at a computer screen. I hate that computer screens seem to rule my life much of the time.

Anyway, I have had an interesting time in Washington, DC in the past few months. Lots of ups and downs, many trying times and some spells of insanity. But, overall it has been very nice to be in the U.S. again and learn to fit back into my own culture. However, it's looking like it may not last long. I somehow managed to find myself some Arabs again ;) even in DC, and my boss may be sending me to the West Bank to work next year. As I contemplate the thought of moving to Ramallah to live and work, I am both nervous, slightly worried and excited.

I'm nervous and worried because I know it will be hard. Egypt was hard enough - the loneliness and rage you sometimes feel living in a frustrating culture is difficult to deal with. But in Cairo I had great friends around, and a strong network of people to support me when I went through my 'fits of rage' as I like to call them. But in Ramallah, I will be much more alone than I ever had to experience in Cairo.

Ramallah will hold its challenges and its rewards. It will be much less polluted (praise the lord), a bit cooler (maybe even a bit of snow in the winter!) , and I should get harassed far less than in Cairo. However, the tensions and sensitivity of being a foreigner and an American in the West Bank will be far more apparent than in Cairo, and the strong lack of tourists and a smaller number of expats will make living there more difficult. Not to mention the political situation of a people living under occupation - with all the flare-ups, occasional violence and uncertainty that goes with it.

That being said, living in the West Bank would be the experience of a lifetime - far more intense and a more real experience of living among an oppressed people. The lack of expats and a lesser amount of Western restaurants and hangouts will force me to engage with the culture more than in Egypt, and I know that I would learn - as one only can - from living within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict situation rather than just reading about it in the news and in books.

I just need to be prepared. And as I think about it, far in advance, I know I want to go. I just need to be ready.