Big Strange Family

I don't think of it as
working for world peace,
she said.
I think of it as just trying to get along in a
really big strange family.
(StoryPeople)

We have been here for a week and a half now, and it has been quite the experience. As we have started to orientate ourselves to this place, I have come to love the people, the places, and the food. Yet, in the midst of all of this orientation, I have spent a lot of time trying to understand what it happening around me. I struggle to grasp the language, the politics and the geography.

It is a challenge to find the words to share all of these experiences, and should the words be found it would have to be a really long blog. So, for now I will leave you with a story that has provided me with inspiration, hope and joy.

Today was my first day at Beit Sahour School, where I will be working for the next year. We spent a fair amount of time just hanging out in the library and doing a few random odd tasks, as we get more familiar with the school our jobs will become more clear. However, at one point I was asked to join an interview of a younag woman, 15 years old. The interview was for a chance to go to Poland for a conference about conflict resolution and I was asked to join because I was a native English speaker.

This young woman was asked to introduce herself and a few other questions but her answers to two of the questions stood out to me. The first was when one of the interviewers asked if she would have any problems working with Israelis or Jews, and her response was pretty simple, but also profound: “No, because they are humans too. It doesn’t matter what Israel’s policies are…They {the people she would be meeting} are just human beings.” She continued on to talk about wanting to share her story, and try to understand how they felt and why they felt the way they felt.

A bit later, she was asked how she would feel working with Muslims. Again, she responded similarly, and talked about “that if we believe that we are all from God” that we should “get to know each other and understand for ourselves.”

This young woman was only 15 years old, but in her words I found a light that I had forgotten as I struggle with the enormity of the challenges and struggles around me. My year here is not about solving the conflict, rather, it is about learning about and creating a new family.