4 posts tagged “field visits”

today was an interesting day. i spent the morning being lazy, sleeping in, and making this place feel more like home - ie. my stuff is strewn all over the place. somehow when it is too clean it doesn't feel like home. anyway. this afternoon was less lovely. i went out with one of our operations support officers. we visited a family who's land is in the middle of the former settlement area. listening to their stories about what it was like to live there when the settlement was still operational was awful. i can't imagine trying to work when that was the situation.

i know now things are grim, but at least we have free access to the entire strip, which is kind of an operational requirement in order for us to actually fulfill our duties.

and then we met another family with 9 children, three of whom suffer from severe mental retardation. it was difficult, but made more so by the way that their family treated them. i know its a difficult time, but if you don't have family, who do you have?

i don't know how our oso's do it every day. one afternoon and i feel drained and disturbed. i mean, i suppose thats how its suppose to be, this kind of thing shouldn't be normal or acceptable. but nonetheless, it doesn't make it any easier to process of deal with.

and then there was the lovely small arms fire that i came home to. i figured it wasn't too much to worry about since the esf guys outside my balcony were sitting about having tea. but i felt a lot better once i finally found the guy who was shooting (just looking out the window).

and then there was yesterday when we were crossing erez and the guy checking our passports told us not to worry there would be some shooting in a minute. i think he was genuinely trying to be nice and warn us - he's one of the nicer ones who doesn't jerk you around. but we did point out to him that there were some people salvaging what was in the rubble of the buildings that had been destroyed during the week - which was what  who they were firing at. of course, we then pointed out that we had to walk back to get the car, so could they hold off for a minute. he did radio that in, but somehow they still found it a good idea (read: entertaining) to fire into the air as we walked back to the car. the nice ones don't make up for the assholes.

anyway, another dime another day. i feel antsy, and for once its not the travel bug, i'm happy where i am. i'm just not happy with the situation. but, one person can only do so much, and i am definitely currently doing that much. so, we'll just have to keep trying.

i managed to go out today. rule of thumb: if your security officer places you under house-arrest then pisses off back to jerusalem you can generally do what you had already planned on doing.

we went to three schools in the middle areas (deir al balah and bureij) is was good to go back out in the field. to meet with people, to chat. so much gets done over a cup of coffee, its one of my favourite things about here. it can be frustrating at first, but its just a different way of operating, you just have to adjust and then its amazing. you sit and have coffee with someone and they appreciate it so much, then you are friends, then you can speak frankly, then you don't have to keep up these facades of 'everything is okay' cause everything is not okay.

its a sad, sad day when one of the standard questions on a school evaluation form is: 'how many days/hours have been lost to military activity in the area?' even worse is when you can't find a single installation that hasn't been affected.

i also got to visit a health centre, that was very interesting since i have never really toured one before, and the doctor at the facility that we visited was fantastic! and he was so happy about the follow up from a previous visit and that things had actually been done. but its horrible to sit there listening to this man who is so educated who received his medical degree in the states, who has worked all over america and saudi arabia and is now trapped in gaza. this man who has spent far more years in higher education than myself, someone who has helped so many more people. and he is asking us if he can have a budget, just a small one of USD 1000 or so, so that he can buy things like a cordless phone so that he doesn't have to run back to his office everytime the phone rings - because it is the only phone in the entire health facility that serves 65,000 refugees. this amazing man who is asking if he can have a petty cash allowance so that he can get a map of the health centres operational area framed so that all staff know what areas are and are not covered.

it is absolutely humbling.

it is also the best incentive that i have ever had to do something and to make even more of an effort to make a difference.

i also took care of some administrative stuff today. the world revolves around admin, it really is the sad sad truth. and they gym, thank god for a gym! its the only exercise that i get and the only thing that separates me from a blob. it is also one of the few things that keeps me from going stark raving mad!

and abu hani surprised us with fresh falafel and fresh bread. it was sooo yummy! that is one of the few things about the region that i will never tire of: falafel, hummous, and khobz (pita bread) - it is so divinely delicious, and they really know how to make it here. i have been spoiled, i will never be able to eat any other hummous ever again.

and i took some pictures. just a few. its difficult to not feel like you are intruding as you try to get that perfect shot. i think its a skill far greater than the technicalities of the camera, its a skill to be unobtrusive and encouraging of trust so that people continue to do whatever you're trying to get a picture of.

i'll try to post them - at least one - once i figure out all of the cords that connect between the camera and the computer  - there is a particularly great one of a dirty little boy with the biggest grin on his face.

and now i am off to scrounge up dinner - i managed to go through tonnes of tomatoes yesterday - not really, but it felt like it! i made a creamy tomato soup, which was an adventure since i sort of took three different recipes, took the bits and pieces that i liked and combined them. it turned out well, i'm still walking and talking! and i made some red pasta sauce, which might be interesting cause i tipped in a bit more red wine than intended, but it tastes okay, we'll just have to see what the after affects are!

another day, another adventure. as steph was saying this morning 'i knew something was wrong because my vhf radio was quite. that just doesn't happen in gaza. then i realised that it was on the wrong channel. as soon as i turned it to the right channel there was all this noise. i knew i was back in gaza'.

and its true. there are somethings that just make it home. perhaps weirdly so.

i had a good day filled with field visits. got some good pictures, so hopefully we can finally put this schools of excellence factsheet to bed, that would be nice.

and i conquered my stove!! well, i suppose technically its the oven that i conquered. i then made a tuna melt. it was lovely. i just wish that i had some ketchup to eat with it. but hey, i can now use my oven!!! admittedly, its a bit terrifying cause you have to stick your whole hand in to light it, but you know, i can light it! everything else is something minor that i can work through.

and when i got home i threw on another load of laundry - not washing the red sports bra at super hot, so hopefully no more newly pink articles of clothing. and watched several episodes of tv. it was rather normal. which is nice. everyone always pooh-poohs normal, i am coming to embrace it. normal does not equal bad, normal can equal stable and comforting.

and now back to writing about the use of anthropologists in the military. you can take the girl out of academia, but you can't take the academia out of the girl. everyone is always desperate to leave school, but there are things that you miss. like being able to just write papers on topics that interest you. i suppose thats sort of what this forum is for....although i think if i wrote the stuff that i write for the Global Buzz here i would lose half of you. not everyone cares about military psychiatry, the role of anthropologists in a military, or the need for brains not brawn in a western army.

le sigh. i suppose i should get off my high horse and all. i wouldn't really want to read about the latest advances in accounting or new pavement technology, so why i should i expect different of anyone else?

a cup of tea and hommous and pita for breakfast (traditionally the time of day to eat it). oh well, as long as it doesn't manifest in other ways i suppose its okay.

the weather is definitely turning cold here. i woke up this morning huddled under my blanket. although i can't complain too much. i haven't broken out my coat that i brought, nor have i had to shut all of my windows. ah, living on the med :)

apparently winter in gaza i super rainy, not that i have seen that yet, but there is supposed to be huge problems with flooding, so i think that we can hold off on the rain for now. no more flooding or sewage fiascos, certainly not with the borders shut down as tightly as they are - it took our head of cp two days to get in because they kept closing erez, and then just because they could take the time. its a bit frustrating, i think there will be fewer and fewer weekends out, at least until this stalemate is broken.

anyway, time to get ready for the day! off on field visits, i need to get some pictures for our schools factsheet. so we're going to the middle areas to get pictures of one of our schools which had to be constructed out of shipping containers (yes, as in those things that you ship goods in on cargo ships - that should be enough to disgust the educators among you). due to our initiatives to better our education system we have decreased the number of boys in prep level classes to 30/class. however, even with double shifting that schools (running 0700-1130 and then 1200-1630 we don't have enough classrooms to teach all of them in at those class sizes. and, with the complete shut down of borders there are no building supplies, and we don't necessarily have the money. so, we got inventive and built an entire school out of these shipping containers. not great, but when you have lemons you have to make lemonade, even if it is without sugar. but it certainly will make a compelling picture for donors during all of my bosses trips over the next few months.