No Nutella Left
Over the past 5 weeks, I’ve gone through 1 jar of peanut butter, half a jar of strawberry jam and 2 Jumbo bottles of Nutella. I wouldn’t call it stress eating, but I wouldn’t call it a healthy habit either.…
Category Stories
Once Upon a Moroccan Wedding
One of my favorite parts about my job at Feminin Pluriel was the wide variety of students that I got to work with and invest in… Everything from 6 year old beginners to astrophysicists seeking to improve their writing abilities…
The Separation Barrier
In my last entry, I mentioned crossing the checkpoints into Bethlehem. I’m going to talk more about that in this post. In June of 2002, Israel began construction on what is referred to as a separation barrier (which I will…
Confessions of a Volunteer English Teacher
Last week, I mentioned the difficulties presented in my project by the frequent changes in classes due to shifting needs at the Empowerment Center. Over the course of my time here, I have taught just under 10 different classes. As…
Dirty Hands
The only time my hands really get dirty at home is when I willingly garden on the 4’x6’ foot patio of my fourth floor apartment in Nashville. Once the weeds are gone and all the succulents and catci are comfortable…
Welcome to Bethlehem!: Five (and a Half) Days
Where to begin? I arrived in Bethlehem nearly six days ago, and yet it feels like I’ve been here for much, much longer. But I mean that in a positive way. I feel so different already from the girl who landed in Tel…
Stargazing in the Sahara
Last weekend, I joined the group of West Point cadets for a weekend camping in the Sahara desert. The cadets are led by a professor of comparative politics and anthropology, who has become an incredible resource to me as I…
Letting Go
A week ago, I came back from the US feeling strange. After 6 weeks in Honduras, returning to US living was startling, a contrast I had somewhat expected. I loved being with my family and enjoying the comforts of life,…
Misericordia
Misericordia. It’s one of those false cognates in Spanish. It sounds like it would mean misery, what you experience in the valleys. In a way, it is what you experience in the valleys, but it’s not negative. It’s the gift…
Lessons Learned
Eid Mubarek/Happy end of Ramadan! Today I concluded my month-long fast alongside the rest of the Moroccan community. I cannot emphasize enough how profound of an experience it was to participate in Ramadan in an Islamist country, but I would…