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May 31st 2008
We are now on the hour count down before we leave. Last night we didn't sleep at all. Adri became an uncle for the 19th time. At 2:30 am we had to drive to the hospital as the new baby had arrived. Driving into the city at night is a little crazy as you not only have to go through the checkpoint (very suspiciously at this tie of night), but then there are several Palestinian 'checkpoints' within the city as they too are suspicious. The car we drive has a yellow licence plate (Israeli) because the car was rented in Jerusalem. Palestinian plates are white. Either way, we made it to the hospital to greet the new arrival to the clan. The hospital experience is surreal, especially the maternity ward. Adri calls it a 'production line". ... read more
May 28th 2008
So we headed off to Haifa and Tel Aviv for our final interviews. We had 2 sessons in Haifa and one interview in Tel Aviv. Haifa is beautiful. It's built on a hill overlooking the Mediterranian. The interviews went well, and again, just adding more to the hard decisions we need to make. After the interviews, we checked into our hotel and went for dinner in the German quater. Absolutely gorgeous area at the foot of the Bahai gardens. We ened up at a wine tasting party at one of the restaurants. It felt extremely strange as the crowd was a mix of Israeli's and Israeli Arabs. We couldn't tell who was who and who spoke hebrew or arabic. After being in such segregated areas that are striking different, it was amazing to be in a ... read more
May 26th 2008
Ok, so the rumour is true. Nablus DOES have the best Kanafeh in the world and it's totally worth the effort of getting into this fortified city. To get to our next interviews, we had to leave our car and the checkpoint and walk across. No cars are allowed to drive in. We found a great cab driver to take us to the meeting and pick up up after. On our way to the interview meeting place, he pointed out a local resuarant that , the previous day, had just been burned down by the IDF. We stopped to take pictures and and some video footage. (by the way, we have been shooting a behind the scenes documentary of this years program). A group of neighbors had come out to support the owner by cleaning and ... read more
May 25th 2008
This morning we started our day off on a bad note. On our way to Ramallah to pick up Amber, the IDF was stopping various cars at the checkpoint. We had Fakher with us as we were dropping him off at work. I have to explain first - this is a checkpoint that is in the middle of a Palestinian controlled area, and this is the only route for people who live many of the villages to get to work in Ramallah. This is not a checkpoint between Israel and Palestinian areas. Usually, they will ask for ID, ask some questions and we are on our way. Today, we happened on a soldier who was being very aggressive. He asked where I was from, I told him Adri and I were from "Canada" and Fakher said ... read more
Starting the interviews
Published: May 24th 2008Middle East » Israel » Jerusalem District » Jerusalem
May 24th 2008
This is going to be so hard. 70 interviews to do... and only picking 8-10 to come to Canada. We had 2 rounds of interviews yesteday and there were so many great kids to choose from. AND we've only just started! We did the first 2 round in the Jerusalem Intercultural Centre near the Zion gate of the Old City. What a perfect location over looking the hills of Jerusalem. Later that night, exhausted and inviforated at the same time, we went to the Jeruslaem hotel for Taybeh beer, mezze, and some loacl music. Taybeh is a Palestinian beer from a village called, you guessed it, Taybeh. The village is one village over from Khirbit Abu Fallah where Adri's family live. Next stop - Ramallah for some more interviews. ... read more
Jerusalem - Yerusalem - Al Quds
Published: May 23rd 2008Middle East » Israel » Jerusalem District » Jerusalem
May 23rd 2008
Ahhhh... Jerusalem. One of our favorite places on the planet. The sites, the sounds, the smells.... Last night we met with Prof. Sami Adwan and Prof. Dan Bar On from PRIME whom we are planning on partnering with for the educational dissemination of this years program. We start our interviews today here in Jerusalem. We have about 70 applicants to interview over the coming weeks. Woke up early this morning to walk through the Old City before the crowds start coming. Today is Friday - the muslim holy day - so it will be fairly busy with everyone going to the mosque to pray. ... read more
May 20th 2008
Today we woke up early and drove to Ramallah, one of the largest Palestinian cities. Our breakfast was amazing. The pictures do not do it justice. You can not get this food anywhere. Later we met with Amber and went over all of the applicants and mapped out our interview strategy at her home. Adri intentionally did not bring his razor so that he could get his special shave with a straight knife. Later we met with Jawad, a French Palestinian who lives in Paris, who is a filmmaker. Where do you meet when you come to Ramallah? Stars and Bucks of course! After, Jawad invited us to his sister's home in Ramallah for dinner. Her husband is the president of the Palestinian Journalist Association. Later, back to the village to sleep! That stupid donkey woke ... read more
May 19th 2008
We made it safe and sound. It wasn't too long getting through the Israeli security relatively speaking. We were pulled aside and questioned for 45 minutes - that could be a record for Adri and I. Amber picked us up in the car that we are renting - it was great to see her. After dropping her off at her place in Ramallah, we made the 45 minute trip to the village. One of the checkpoints, that usually open with maybe a couple of IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) soldiers, was being blocked by several soldiers, so our trip took longer than usual. Hey, this is the Israel/Palestine/West Bank/Occupied territories! We spent a wonderful day with Adri's family, with no visitors. Some some reason everyone thought we were arriving today. Tonight the thousands of family members will ... read more
Red desert
Published: April 23rd 2008North America » United States » Nevada » Valley of the Fire State Park
December 20th 2007
We rode our convertible car through the desert with the top down and froze our butts off. But it was worth it - the red desert was amazing. I loved the petroglyphs the best!... read more
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