On Pilgrimage, Day 5 Ramallah

Another day full of interesting interaction with the Christians of the Holy Land.
Our usual breakfast: sliced tomato, cucumber, hummus, a cream cheese-like spread, sliced meat and cheese, and feta cheese all finding their way into a pita pocket, toast and honey or jam spread, fresh fruit such as oranges and bananas, and of course scrambled eggs with cream cheese. Cereal for those who diligently explore away from the main table.
Every day away from St. George’s starts with a short service and reflection. The 23rd Psalm is recited with each pilgrim taking a verse... by this morning all had memorized their part, but for one (well, the reason I haven’t is because mine’s the longest part!).
As I write, another one of our daily rituals is about to start, the Holden Evening Prayer. After a relatively-late supper and a brief break, those who are so moved gather. This is a service I first heard at St. Mary Magdelene’s and cherish it every chance I get to be part of it. It’s a fitting thanksgiving for the day God has given us and puts us in the right mood to retire to our rooms for slumber and to reflect privately on the day.
Ah... but now, back to our day... Our main event: the Arab Evangelical Episcopal School in Ramallah. Just ten miles north of Jerusalem, our drive went smoothly... it’s easier to get out of Jerusalem than back in!
This Christian school is open to Muslim’s and Christians (preferential admittance) and is today 60% Christian which is down since the latest disruptions in Gaza over the last two years as many Muslim families escape from the hard life there.
We learned life is much better economically in Ramallah, but that still means many cannot find jobs or afford full tuition for their children. However, this is one of the best schools available academically. Not only that, it provides financial aide to approximately 40% of the students and does not expel or dismiss students for academic shortcomings. Last year as fewer students were able to pay tuition, the teachers took a salary cut in order to keep the school in the black.
The school started in 1954 when an American women and two women from Wales saw the desperate need of the Arab families (Christian and Muslim) for education and the reality that the government of the West Bank (Jordan) was not going to provide adequate resources. Today, most of the kids (80%) graduate on to university (Palestinians historically have the highest per capita education in the world I have heard). Although started as a girls school, today 40% of the students are girls. It’s less than 50% girls in large part because of several other girl-only schools in town.
We toured the classrooms and the kids were darling. The younger grades had prepared songs and dances, but the highlight was getting to speak for a few minutes with a class of eighth graders without the principal or the teachers present. It was a science class and they were studying the liver. They seemed to know their stuff(ings). We learned they date, most want to be professionals, and they seemed both shy and full of energy as American kids.
The main school is nursery school through 12th grade with afternoon ballet and other special classes. It just opened a special school that provides technical introduction (electronics, mechanics, etc) to students throughout the city on a once-a-week basis and a full-time vocational school. The vocational school includes Hospitality management and we were treated to one of their class projects... lunch for 20! They served us Musakhan which is a pizza-like dough covered with cooked onions and half a chicken. This was preceded by a chopped salad and was accompanied by yoghurt. I thought it was better than what we had in Taybeh in part because of the pine nuts they added and the atmosphere of learning. They also had made the table decorations.
The school was beautiful. Several of the buildings had just been refurbished by some or the early founding organizations... the first time any renovations had been done in 40 years.
We then travelled a short distance to St. Andrews where the rector, Nael, showed off his beautiful stone church and told us of the youth programs they run. There are five other Christian churches in town. Ramallah is 16% Christian, down from 100% before the violent birth of the state of Israel (Most Christians had the means to flee the poor economic and social conditions and Ramallah was one town to which refugees walked when they were told to leave their homes in Israel. Of course at the time, they thought refuge in Ramallah would be temporary... but it has been 60 years and counting. The Lemon Tree is a book most of us read that provides some first-hand accounts of the evacuation to Ramallah.
Before clamoring back on the bus, we got to go to an ice cream shop. It was difficult, but I eschewed my typical chocolate/coffee varieties to try the more typical ensemble of pineapple, vanilla, mango, ???, and chocolate conglomeration.
Our trip back home was very scenic in contrast to the Urban sprawl/crawl to Ramallah. Although as tourists, we had relatively no travel restrictions (in contrast to Israeli citizens --Jew, Christian, or Muslim - who cannot travel to Bethleham, East Jerusalem, or Arab controlled areas without special written permission or the more dramatic restrictions on Palestinians - both Christians and Muslims - who cannot go to Jerusalem or drive on the modern roads without special permissions), we were still subject to the same vagaries of the border crossings. We were told that the security checkpoint (separating Palestinian-controlled Ramallah from Israeli-controlled East Jerusalem - both in the West Bank) was backed up several hours and it would be more efficient to take a 40 minute loop rather than drive the ten miles back directly. It certainly was much more scenic.
For dinner, we had a guest, Ali Qleibo - an anthropologist, artist, and author, who brought his book "Jerusalem in the Heart". Luck would have it, we were served one of Ali’s favorite dishes, Ma’lube, which is made with various meats and vegetables depending on what is available, but is characterized by cooking the rice on top of the other ingredients and then serving with a flourish by tipping the deep-dished pan upside down and to (hopefully) form a tower of rice, crowned with the other foods. Tonight’s structural integrity was exposed after just ten seconds. It reminded me of the presentation of a soufflé.
The Holden service and then bed... .tomorrow to Galiliee. Bummer: Daylight savings just starts here, so now we lose ANOTHER hour. Not fair! David
Helpful web links: Today’s photo album Pilgrimage website