4 posts tagged “schools”
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!
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.
you know what i miss? a lot? milk. there's no fresh dairy products here. well, thats sort of a lie. you can get goats and sheeps milk and cheese. but i like cows milk. and since there are no cows in the strip, there is no milk. and that long life stuff is just not the same. steph brought me back some cereal from the px (which is a whole other story in and of itself) and i was all happy to sit down and have a bowl for dinner, when i suddenly realised that i had no milk. well, no, i had that horrid long life stuff. i tried. i really tried. but part of the job of having a bowl of cereal for dinner is drinking the milk afterwards.
so, that is being added to the list of things i miss. and that i am so going to over indulge on when i am back in the uk. yup, i just bought my ticket, i am coming back to visit over independence day weekend. nope, that would be palestine's indepedence day weekend. its a long story. just read here, it'll make a bit more sense: http://www.counterpunch.org/boyle1108.html thank you to my mother for doing the leg work on that one.
so yes, i have some time off coming my way. which will be nice. its not that gaza is bad, its that not being able to move freely is lame. and as much as i whine and complain about it, its not anything like what the palestinians in gaza have to deal with. i was talking to one of my co-workers. she grew up in saudi arabia, and her family moved to gaza in 1998. she hasn't left the strip since. not because she doesn't want to. she's educated (with a university degree in business administration) and has no intention of getting married until she's done something with her life. its so fantastic to talk with her, she's an average palestinian, and she's just like most other girls my age in the rest of the world. its important to remember that. just because someone lives here does not make them the enemy or some kind of a pity case. these are tough people who have taken care of themselves for so long because no one else could be bothered to help them. they are entitled to be a bit bitter after all that they have gone through. it still amazes me how much hope there is here.
anyway, my flight is with el al, which should prove interesting. they have amazing security. i cannot wait to check it out. but at the same time i am a bit nervous to see how they treat me with my erez stamps in one passport and my lebanese and syrian visas in the other. nothing quite like being an enemy of the state to see how the other half live.
sorry this is being a bit sporadic and all over the place, but as previously mentioned its been a long week. a long and productive week, but long none-the-less. i ended up going into work today for a few hours. it was not my intention, but when something happens things have to get done. there was an incident yesterday where the idf blew a great big hole (there are really no technical terms for that) in the wall of one of our classrooms. luckily the school had been evacuated. so we're of course filing a complaint and the press want to know whats going on. my colleague is taking the weekend off - deservedly so. but could not access the pictures which are only available on our internal system. so i had to make a quick trip into the office to take care of that. and then once i was there there was all sorts of other stuff to do.
but, its kind of good because now our spokesperson owes me dinner and drink and things i am a complete angel. and i helped make a good story even more compelling with the addition of pictures. so alls well that ends well. i also made another trip to the gym, so while i am exhausted i also feel a bit contented, even if i did slightly over do it. who knows? i might well leave gaza in better shape than i came. at least physically.
i am trying to remember when i last wrote....it was a while ago. well, since then there has been substantial change on these factsheets that we're doing. they're really coming along. i cannot wait to see the final product!! oh, and i got to ride along to a tv interview that my boss did at the karni industrial zone. that was cool, i hadn't been there before, so it was interesting to see. depressing, but interesting. for those of you in the UK that should air on ITN in the near future. i got to ride in my bosses car of the convoy which was a nice step up, and we got to chat on the way there and back. hes an amazing guy, and yet he still manages to undertake idle chit-chat with his personal assistant. that is what makes amazing people great, when they can relate to everyone and are happy to do so.
he will also be doing an interview with CBS for the evening news with katie couric to air two weeks from now, so look out for that. its amazing to hear him speak, hes so passionate on the issues and committed, it really makes you understand the issues.
oh, and in the fun news, i got to flirt with the cute swiss journo who came to interview him this week. ah, the small things in a life filled with about 25 other people (we only really socialise with the other internationals, for obvious reasons, which makes it a very small community....)
um, and thats sort of it. there is just so much going on. but a lot of it is day-to-day stuff, and a lot of it i can't really go into much detail about....
but i can expand on the list of things i miss and plan to indulge on when in the UK:
1 - the Economist: its like my bible! and i still haven't quite figured out how to get it here, maybe get it sent to Ashqelon and then bribe one of the international drivers to go and pick it up...
2 - pret's chocolate mousse
3 - dumplings in china town
4 - shopping!!!
5 - walking, everywhere, all the time
6 - borough market
7 - seeing people i miss
its not a complete list, but its a good start. oh, and theres a good story i have for the week. they came to install my special door. the one with the steel frame and multi-locks so no one can break it down, not unless they come super prepared or with explosives. anyway, i had to do some serious negotiating to get that bag of cement, its like on of the last in gaza. but, i now have my special door. the kicker? i managed to get it done before they came and did my bosses. it pays to be young, female, and speak enough of the language to get by.
and i think thats it. i am half a bottle of riesling and half a slab of dark chocolate down, while reading bits and pieces of the 'Brains not bullets" Economist. what more could a girl want on a friday evening?
you know what i miss? a lot? milk. there's no fresh dairy products here. well, thats sort of a lie. you can get goats and sheeps milk and cheese. but i like cows milk. and since there are no cows in the strip, there is no milk. and that long life stuff is just not the same. steph brought me back some cereal from the px (which is a whole other story in and of itself) and i was all happy to sit down and have a bowl for dinner, when i suddenly realised that i had no milk. well, no, i had that horrid long life stuff. i tried. i really tried. but part of the job of having a bowl of cereal for dinner is drinking the milk afterwards.
so, that is being added to the list of things i miss. and that i am so going to over indulge on when i am back in the uk. yup, i just bought my ticket, i am coming back to visit over independence day weekend. nope, that would be palestine's indepedence day weekend. its a long story. just read here, it'll make a bit more sense: http://www.counterpunch.org/boyle1108.html thank you to my mother for doing the leg work on that one.
so yes, i have some time off coming my way. which will be nice. its not that gaza is bad, its that not being able to move freely is lame. and as much as i whine and complain about it, its not anything like what the palestinians in gaza have to deal with. i was talking to one of my co-workers. she grew up in saudi arabia, and her family moved to gaza in 1998. she hasn't left the strip since. not because she doesn't want to. she's educated (with a university degree in business administration) and has no intention of getting married until she's done something with her life. its so fantastic to talk with her, she's an average palestinian, and she's just like most other girls my age in the rest of the world. its important to remember that. just because someone lives here does not make them the enemy or some kind of a pity case. these are tough people who have taken care of themselves for so long because no one else could be bothered to help them. they are entitled to be a bit bitter after all that they have gone through. it still amazes me how much hope there is here.
anyway, my flight is with el al, which should prove interesting. they have amazing security. i cannot wait to check it out. but at the same time i am a bit nervous to see how they treat me with my erez stamps in one passport and my lebanese and syrian visas in the other. nothing quite like being an enemy of the state to see how the other half live.
sorry this is being a bit sporadic and all over the place, but as previously mentioned its been a long week. a long and productive week, but long none-the-less. i ended up going into work today for a few hours. it was not my intention, but when something happens things have to get done. there was an incident yesterday where the idf blew a great big hole (there are really no technical terms for that) in the wall of one of our classrooms. luckily the school had been evacuated. so we're of course filing a complaint and the press want to know whats going on. my colleague is taking the weekend off - deservedly so. but could not access the pictures which are only available on our internal system. so i had to make a quick trip into the office to take care of that. and then once i was there there was all sorts of other stuff to do.
but, its kind of good because now our spokesperson owes me dinner and drink and things i am a complete angel. and i helped make a good story even more compelling with the addition of pictures. so alls well that ends well. i also made another trip to the gym, so while i am exhausted i also feel a bit contented, even if i did slightly over do it. who knows? i might well leave gaza in better shape than i came. at least physically.
i am trying to remember when i last wrote....it was a while ago. well, since then there has been substantial change on these factsheets that we're doing. they're really coming along. i cannot wait to see the final product!! oh, and i got to ride along to a tv interview that my boss did at the karni industrial zone. that was cool, i hadn't been there before, so it was interesting to see. depressing, but interesting. for those of you in the UK that should air on ITN in the near future. i got to ride in my bosses car of the convoy which was a nice step up, and we got to chat on the way there and back. hes an amazing guy, and yet he still manages to undertake idle chit-chat with his personal assistant. that is what makes amazing people great, when they can relate to everyone and are happy to do so.
he will also be doing an interview with CBS for the evening news with katie couric to air two weeks from now, so look out for that. its amazing to hear him speak, hes so passionate on the issues and committed, it really makes you understand the issues.
oh, and in the fun news, i got to flirt with the cute swiss journo who came to interview him this week. ah, the small things in a life filled with about 25 other people (we only really socialise with the other internationals, for obvious reasons, which makes it a very small community....)
um, and thats sort of it. there is just so much going on. but a lot of it is day-to-day stuff, and a lot of it i can't really go into much detail about....
but i can expand on the list of things i miss and plan to indulge on when in the UK:
1 - the Economist: its like my bible! and i still haven't quite figured out how to get it here, maybe get it sent to Ashqelon and then bribe one of the international drivers to go and pick it up...
2 - pret's chocolate mousse
3 - dumplings in china town
4 - shopping!!!
5 - walking, everywhere, all the time
6 - borough market
7 - seeing people i miss
its not a complete list, but its a good start. oh, and theres a good story i have for the week. they came to install my special door. the one with the steel frame and multi-locks so no one can break it down, not unless they come super prepared or with explosives. anyway, i had to do some serious negotiating to get that bag of cement, its like on of the last in gaza. but, i now have my special door. the kicker? i managed to get it done before they came and did my bosses. it pays to be young, female, and speak enough of the language to get by.
and i think thats it. i am half a bottle of riesling and half a slab of dark chocolate down, while reading bits and pieces of the 'Brains not bullets" Economist. what more could a girl want on a friday evening?
