Saturday, May 30, 2009
May 30, 2009
Quick update. Another long, grueling day in Gaza. Our hosts have done an excellent job showing us the many aspects of Gazan life, from politics, religion, school, bombings, fishing, being a woman, traditions and culture, you name it. Today was no exception. One of our activities was to take the bus up to the northeastern corner where they look into Israel and is frequently the target for Israeli retaliation. There is a hill that is usually planted with olive trees, but when they get of size, the Israelis send over tanks to plow them down. Today our activity was to help a farmer weed the newly planted orchard and help set up his irrigation system. It was quite profound to think that our efforts could soon be trampled upon by Israeli tanks!
While we were doing this activity, I was called upon to look at one of our guides who was not feeling well. She said that her right arm and hand was twitching out of control and she was crying. I tried to ask her several questions to help figure out what was going on, but she did not want to answer. Later I learned that she has had leukemia for 2 years. She was one of the girls who danced last night at the girls' party. She particularly caught my eye as she was incredibly striking and danced beautifully. I would be so interested to know what kind of medical treatment she has received.
Tomorrow we are going to 2 hospitals. Looking forward to it.
Some of the students are planning a side trip to Dahab on the Sinai penninsula to go scuba diving. Madeline and I are considering joining. Can't have too many adventures. Got to keep the blog alive!!!
later. hope to have more pictures.................cheers!!
While we were doing this activity, I was called upon to look at one of our guides who was not feeling well. She said that her right arm and hand was twitching out of control and she was crying. I tried to ask her several questions to help figure out what was going on, but she did not want to answer. Later I learned that she has had leukemia for 2 years. She was one of the girls who danced last night at the girls' party. She particularly caught my eye as she was incredibly striking and danced beautifully. I would be so interested to know what kind of medical treatment she has received.
Tomorrow we are going to 2 hospitals. Looking forward to it.
Some of the students are planning a side trip to Dahab on the Sinai penninsula to go scuba diving. Madeline and I are considering joining. Can't have too many adventures. Got to keep the blog alive!!!
later. hope to have more pictures.................cheers!!
ok, i may have a few minutes for a decent email. we are at one of the host family's homes for a bbq, just the girls, as this allows for them to put on shorts and take off their hijabs. what beautiful girls. we are presently at a palatial home, and they told me that many original gazans have homes such as this, large swimming pool, very elegant. so the girls are preparing a bbq, music playing, quite festive.
so exhausted i can hardly stand it. they have us so regimented it is draining. i get the impression they do not want us out of their sight. we get back to ibrahim's home very late, and he has a whole house full of family wanting to talk to us, relatives keep showing up. all very smiley, wanting to know our opinions, optimistic but nervous about obama having an affect on their situation.
this morning at 6am we went to the fishing marina to hear about the distress of the fishing industry. they can only go out 3 miles, need to go out 6 to get the fish, get shot at frequently. they are down to 5% of the boats going out. an american is here doing a documentary on this situation. we took the boat out in the water and were able to look back on gaza. and if one did not know any better, they would think it was a calm, quiet coastal town.
then they took us to a tunel where goods are brought in from egypt, only yards from it. because israel ontrols the goods that come into gaza based on a list that they control, many, many things are missing, and therefore, there are tunnels to bring them in. we were told that being a tunnel owner was very lucrative, as the goods are taxed. while we were looking at it, either we said the wrong thing, or there were actually israelis flying overhead, but they hurried us out of there with the later excuse!
so, after being in these harrowing locations, 5 us decided to take a taxi to a market. we were retrieved by a hamas bearing a rifle. the market was not scary, but the scene that the hamas caused was.
ibrahim and his family are very hospital and charming. ibrahim seems incredibly infatuated with tara, and it seems mutual from her angle. he is very attentive to her and me, wanting to be accommodating to any of our needs. as i's parents went to egypt for medical care, his brother and family went into the parents' room, and we went into their apartment upstairs. the accommoations are very comfortable. i just wish we had more time to be in them, as our schedules are so tight.
that is the story!!!!
the speakers, exposures, and everything is so impressive. went to unrwa today and a man john ging spoke to us and it was very informative, along with all of the speakers.
this situation is grim, to say the least.
but the gazans are truly impressive with their tenacity.
so exhausted i can hardly stand it. they have us so regimented it is draining. i get the impression they do not want us out of their sight. we get back to ibrahim's home very late, and he has a whole house full of family wanting to talk to us, relatives keep showing up. all very smiley, wanting to know our opinions, optimistic but nervous about obama having an affect on their situation.
this morning at 6am we went to the fishing marina to hear about the distress of the fishing industry. they can only go out 3 miles, need to go out 6 to get the fish, get shot at frequently. they are down to 5% of the boats going out. an american is here doing a documentary on this situation. we took the boat out in the water and were able to look back on gaza. and if one did not know any better, they would think it was a calm, quiet coastal town.
then they took us to a tunel where goods are brought in from egypt, only yards from it. because israel ontrols the goods that come into gaza based on a list that they control, many, many things are missing, and therefore, there are tunnels to bring them in. we were told that being a tunnel owner was very lucrative, as the goods are taxed. while we were looking at it, either we said the wrong thing, or there were actually israelis flying overhead, but they hurried us out of there with the later excuse!
so, after being in these harrowing locations, 5 us decided to take a taxi to a market. we were retrieved by a hamas bearing a rifle. the market was not scary, but the scene that the hamas caused was.
ibrahim and his family are very hospital and charming. ibrahim seems incredibly infatuated with tara, and it seems mutual from her angle. he is very attentive to her and me, wanting to be accommodating to any of our needs. as i's parents went to egypt for medical care, his brother and family went into the parents' room, and we went into their apartment upstairs. the accommoations are very comfortable. i just wish we had more time to be in them, as our schedules are so tight.
that is the story!!!!
the speakers, exposures, and everything is so impressive. went to unrwa today and a man john ging spoke to us and it was very informative, along with all of the speakers.
this situation is grim, to say the least.
but the gazans are truly impressive with their tenacity.
Friday, May 29, 2009
May 27, 2009
Update from my last blog, which I believe left us at the Rafah border crossing. As the border guards rarely pass people through and their knowledge of the process is limited, it took us a couple of hours to be processed. We first bought a stamp, an actual postage sized stamp that we thought we would see in our passport, but didn’t. Then we waited for the processing, waiting for our names to be called to receive our passports. Then bought a bus ticket to complete the journey to the border, while our bags were handled like airline luggage. We finally completed the processing and handling to realize we were in flipping Gaza!!!!
We were taken to a very nice hotel where our local group organizers met us and gave us information on our stay. Madeline had decided to stay with a host family other than with Ibrahim’s family, as she was ready for a break from me and also wanted the student experience. Let me interject. Tara finally was with Ibrahim! I have to say, they seemed enchanted with each other. Ibrahim gave a big round of hugs, and you could feel him shaking with excitement.
Today we met back up at 8am and listened to some presenters speak about Gazan life, culture, traditions….. It was all very interesting. Then we went to a school for the deaf that focused on skills developing in woodwork, pottery, and embroidery. From here, our next stops became quite intense.
We next went to the American School that had been bombed in the winter. It is my understanding, the Israelis occupied it, when they were done using it, they bombed it. It was completely destroyed. I was very surprised they took us down to it, as members of our group, myself included, had on sandals, and the area was piles and piles of shattered glass and debris.
Then we drove up to a neighborhood that had a lot of bombing and destruction, and it was arranged that we talk to some people and hear their stories. Mind you, this is not a tourist destination, and the people we talked to were the real thing, Gazans living in homes of rubble. But compared to the next group who we visited, they were living large. The next group was a tent city. People who had lived for months in a tent, a family to a tent regardless of size, and families tend to be large. One woman, cried while she told us that at night they would joke about the tent being a form of weight loss as they all sweated so much from the intense heat. The land was dirt and there was a hot, dry wind. The women wore the black clothing with hijabs. Can’t imagine.
Update from my last blog, which I believe left us at the Rafah border crossing. As the border guards rarely pass people through and their knowledge of the process is limited, it took us a couple of hours to be processed. We first bought a stamp, an actual postage sized stamp that we thought we would see in our passport, but didn’t. Then we waited for the processing, waiting for our names to be called to receive our passports. Then bought a bus ticket to complete the journey to the border, while our bags were handled like airline luggage. We finally completed the processing and handling to realize we were in flipping Gaza!!!!
We were taken to a very nice hotel where our local group organizers met us and gave us information on our stay. Madeline had decided to stay with a host family other than with Ibrahim’s family, as she was ready for a break from me and also wanted the student experience. Let me interject. Tara finally was with Ibrahim! I have to say, they seemed enchanted with each other. Ibrahim gave a big round of hugs, and you could feel him shaking with excitement.
Today we met back up at 8am and listened to some presenters speak about Gazan life, culture, traditions….. It was all very interesting. Then we went to a school for the deaf that focused on skills developing in woodwork, pottery, and embroidery. From here, our next stops became quite intense.
We next went to the American School that had been bombed in the winter. It is my understanding, the Israelis occupied it, when they were done using it, they bombed it. It was completely destroyed. I was very surprised they took us down to it, as members of our group, myself included, had on sandals, and the area was piles and piles of shattered glass and debris.
Then we drove up to a neighborhood that had a lot of bombing and destruction, and it was arranged that we talk to some people and hear their stories. Mind you, this is not a tourist destination, and the people we talked to were the real thing, Gazans living in homes of rubble. But compared to the next group who we visited, they were living large. The next group was a tent city. People who had lived for months in a tent, a family to a tent regardless of size, and families tend to be large. One woman, cried while she told us that at night they would joke about the tent being a form of weight loss as they all sweated so much from the intense heat. The land was dirt and there was a hot, dry wind. The women wore the black clothing with hijabs. Can’t imagine.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Update!!
May 26, 2009
Update on the journey to Gaza. I am not sure where I left of on my blogging. But a quick update. We left Cairo with the student delegation May 25, at 3 a.m. We had a many hour drive across the Sinai Peninsula, taking a bridge that crossed the Suez Canal. Unfortunately, due to darkness and significant fatigue, I was not able to appreciate the scenery the way I would have liked. One of the peoples of this area is the Bedouins, who we would see out across the dessert on their camels. Many of them live in dwellings made out of palm tree fronds. It is my understanding that this area is more conservative than Cairo, and more of the women were wearing the complete black clothing with the veils.
We drove all the way to the Rafah border to try to cross into Gaza. Along the way, we picked up a police escort, and went through 6 checkpoints. We sere successful getting to the border, but were unable to pass through. We met up with a Canadian group that had been there for 3 days. We stayed at the border for many hours before returning to Al Arish to spend the night.
The following morning we left again, this time in tow with the Canadian group, and another American group who had gotten to Al Arish the previous day. Side note, the two American groups have done such an impressive working with American organizations to help facilitate our entry, and due to their coordination, it looks like we will be entering Gaza eventually, but not without obstacles, as that morning we were turned away at the first check point. We went back to the hotel, leaders made more phone calls, and we were assured we were on our way!!
Again, off we went. Things were going very smoothly until it was realized we had a Palestinian in our group whose passport was not in order. Sadly, unfortunately, she was left at the border, and may try to reenter later this week with the Codepink group.
Now, at this moment in time, we are waiting for paperwork/passport control to be finalized to actually allow us into Gaza!!! Amazing!!
Update on the journey to Gaza. I am not sure where I left of on my blogging. But a quick update. We left Cairo with the student delegation May 25, at 3 a.m. We had a many hour drive across the Sinai Peninsula, taking a bridge that crossed the Suez Canal. Unfortunately, due to darkness and significant fatigue, I was not able to appreciate the scenery the way I would have liked. One of the peoples of this area is the Bedouins, who we would see out across the dessert on their camels. Many of them live in dwellings made out of palm tree fronds. It is my understanding that this area is more conservative than Cairo, and more of the women were wearing the complete black clothing with the veils.
We drove all the way to the Rafah border to try to cross into Gaza. Along the way, we picked up a police escort, and went through 6 checkpoints. We sere successful getting to the border, but were unable to pass through. We met up with a Canadian group that had been there for 3 days. We stayed at the border for many hours before returning to Al Arish to spend the night.
The following morning we left again, this time in tow with the Canadian group, and another American group who had gotten to Al Arish the previous day. Side note, the two American groups have done such an impressive working with American organizations to help facilitate our entry, and due to their coordination, it looks like we will be entering Gaza eventually, but not without obstacles, as that morning we were turned away at the first check point. We went back to the hotel, leaders made more phone calls, and we were assured we were on our way!!
Again, off we went. Things were going very smoothly until it was realized we had a Palestinian in our group whose passport was not in order. Sadly, unfortunately, she was left at the border, and may try to reenter later this week with the Codepink group.
Now, at this moment in time, we are waiting for paperwork/passport control to be finalized to actually allow us into Gaza!!! Amazing!!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Update: Yesterday we went to the pyramids. We felt pretty smug because we had prearranged an air conditioned taxi. He showed up at 730am with a freshly bashed passenger door that he had just done that morning. I was thankful that it happened when we were not in it! The pyramids were everything I expected and more. I believe the highlight for me, though, was the ride in and out of Cairo. It always amazes me how differently people live around the world, and this was no exception.
One surprise for me, however, were the carpet schools. On our drive we kept seeing buildings stating that they were carpet schools, and a couple of them had tour buses in front of them. We had our driver stop at one. Instantly we were escorted by a guide who took us to the back of the building where children were tying carpets. He told us about the high level of skill that was required to make the beautiful carpets. They were made from different materials, silk, cotton, camel hair, wool. The most intricate were the silk. The workers used a sheet of paper for the pattern, in centimeter squares for their gauge, and depending on the material, 36-81 knots per square. The students at this school were between the ages of 6-16, and they had to be bright children in order to learn how to make the carpets. We were told they went to school for 4 hours, and carpet school for 4. When they turned 16 they were let go, because their hands were too large for the intricate work.
Then we were taken into a show room where carpets were laid out for us to examine. They were beautiful. The smallest one, about 2 ft square was $400.00. We were served coffee, tea, and cola while we were to be shopping for a carpet. At this point we were a little uncomfortable, as we had no intention on buying a carpet, but were assured that it was fine to just enjoy the beverages and leave!! We were out of there!!!
Joel, our delightful traveling companion, is feeling somewhat under the weather today with mild stomach issues. Hopefully he will rally!!!!
The plan is to leave early in the morning at 3am on the bus for the students' delegation!! We are optimistic we will get in, as we are hearing other groups have!! Stay tuned!!
One surprise for me, however, were the carpet schools. On our drive we kept seeing buildings stating that they were carpet schools, and a couple of them had tour buses in front of them. We had our driver stop at one. Instantly we were escorted by a guide who took us to the back of the building where children were tying carpets. He told us about the high level of skill that was required to make the beautiful carpets. They were made from different materials, silk, cotton, camel hair, wool. The most intricate were the silk. The workers used a sheet of paper for the pattern, in centimeter squares for their gauge, and depending on the material, 36-81 knots per square. The students at this school were between the ages of 6-16, and they had to be bright children in order to learn how to make the carpets. We were told they went to school for 4 hours, and carpet school for 4. When they turned 16 they were let go, because their hands were too large for the intricate work.
Then we were taken into a show room where carpets were laid out for us to examine. They were beautiful. The smallest one, about 2 ft square was $400.00. We were served coffee, tea, and cola while we were to be shopping for a carpet. At this point we were a little uncomfortable, as we had no intention on buying a carpet, but were assured that it was fine to just enjoy the beverages and leave!! We were out of there!!!
Joel, our delightful traveling companion, is feeling somewhat under the weather today with mild stomach issues. Hopefully he will rally!!!!
The plan is to leave early in the morning at 3am on the bus for the students' delegation!! We are optimistic we will get in, as we are hearing other groups have!! Stay tuned!!
Friday, May 22, 2009
The end of an exhausting day!!! We shopped a fair while this afternoon. I bought a table and Madeline bought a hooka, so we have some things of significant size to deal with. Oh well!!!
Tara met with Ibrahim's parents this evening. They seemed very pleasant and pleased to meet her. The father had some paperwork regarding his health that I looked at. He will be in the hospital tomorrow evening and we may go see him. I would be interested to visit another hospital. We walked over to a park to visit, and it was dark by that time. A man was closing down his roasted corn stand, so brought all of us an ear. After the visit, the four of us went out for dinner.
We head out for the pyramids tomorrow, with the cab picking us up at 730am. We are looking forward to the day; I am looking forward to the air-conditioned taxi!!!
Cheers!!!!
Tara met with Ibrahim's parents this evening. They seemed very pleasant and pleased to meet her. The father had some paperwork regarding his health that I looked at. He will be in the hospital tomorrow evening and we may go see him. I would be interested to visit another hospital. We walked over to a park to visit, and it was dark by that time. A man was closing down his roasted corn stand, so brought all of us an ear. After the visit, the four of us went out for dinner.
We head out for the pyramids tomorrow, with the cab picking us up at 730am. We are looking forward to the day; I am looking forward to the air-conditioned taxi!!!
Cheers!!!!
Madeline and I are sitting on a deck of our hotel having a cup of hot tea. We are already quite hot, but it is the thing to do. We just had a full day of going to the Citadel which was very impressive, then on to the oldest market. Both were completely interesting. While at the Citadel, we could see two sets of pyramids. It was also time for prayer, and we could hear from the city below the sounds of the prayers being called. It was quite surreal for me. At the market trinkets were bought by all. I may be kicking myself, but I bought a brass table with a wooden stand. We had lunch at an adventurous cafe, of which I will eventually include a picture.
I am going up to the room in a moment to prepare for a very special evening in Tara's life, as she is going to be meeting Ibrahim's parents for the first time. It is such a privilege for me to participate in this time. I am very thankful to be here with her. She is such a beautiful young woman, so thoughtful and intelligent Until later..........
Greetings!! Today we are going to do more sights of Cairo, Old Cairo, an old Mosque, the University among other things I am sure it will be an interesting day. Tomorrow we are planning on going to the pyramids. We will be making that trip with many warnings that we have received around the breakfast tables. One coupe felt so hassled by the tricks of the taxi drivers, tourist handlers, games and tricks, that they felt their day was quite negatively impacted. Nothing better than some good tips!!
We talked to a woman who went into Gaza in March with the Codepink group. She has arranged a group of her own that is connected with Codepink that is leaving a day after us. Her description of Gaza is quite bleak.
Yesterday I spent the morning with my niece, Tara, while she shopped for a cell phone. In the pursuit of doing so, we found ourselves in a market and on various side streets. The atmosphere was chaotic and an assault to the senses. Tara was impressively successful purchasing a phone, and later, finding a card to add minutes. After the phone, we hooked back up with Madeline and Joel, and went back to the market with shopping interests. Madeline and I each bought a pair of shoes from a skilled 10 year old shop tender who drove a hard bargain. Joel bought a pair of men capris. Then we ate some Egyptian sandwiches from a street vendor and finished it up going to a tea shop. It was all quite fun.
Then we were off to the British Museum. We decided to be self reliant and chose to take the Metro. After crossing streets (which can be incredibly harrowing, best technique is to find another person crossing, and then tail gate them, but a better tip that we learned at breakfast is to tail a woman carrying a child, or someone with a cane!!!) taking staircases that did not lead to the Metro, and spinning our wheels, we asked some girls where it was, and they took us to the station and bought our tickets for us!!! Well, at least our self sufficiency will be improved for our next journey! We were off to the Egyptian Museum.
Then we walked to the Nile river which was another completely different environment. There are a lot of very decorated boats that take tourists out for an hour boat trip. It looked like they all had very loud music and some people were dancing. We had a nice dinner based on a recommendation, then called it a day!!!
We talked to a woman who went into Gaza in March with the Codepink group. She has arranged a group of her own that is connected with Codepink that is leaving a day after us. Her description of Gaza is quite bleak.
Yesterday I spent the morning with my niece, Tara, while she shopped for a cell phone. In the pursuit of doing so, we found ourselves in a market and on various side streets. The atmosphere was chaotic and an assault to the senses. Tara was impressively successful purchasing a phone, and later, finding a card to add minutes. After the phone, we hooked back up with Madeline and Joel, and went back to the market with shopping interests. Madeline and I each bought a pair of shoes from a skilled 10 year old shop tender who drove a hard bargain. Joel bought a pair of men capris. Then we ate some Egyptian sandwiches from a street vendor and finished it up going to a tea shop. It was all quite fun.
Then we were off to the British Museum. We decided to be self reliant and chose to take the Metro. After crossing streets (which can be incredibly harrowing, best technique is to find another person crossing, and then tail gate them, but a better tip that we learned at breakfast is to tail a woman carrying a child, or someone with a cane!!!) taking staircases that did not lead to the Metro, and spinning our wheels, we asked some girls where it was, and they took us to the station and bought our tickets for us!!! Well, at least our self sufficiency will be improved for our next journey! We were off to the Egyptian Museum.
Then we walked to the Nile river which was another completely different environment. There are a lot of very decorated boats that take tourists out for an hour boat trip. It looked like they all had very loud music and some people were dancing. We had a nice dinner based on a recommendation, then called it a day!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
May 20, 2009, We are here in Cairo!!!!
Madeline and I went to Heathrow and met up with my niece, Tara DeLancey. She was sitting with another student from Colorado University, Joel. Joel had heard one of the Codepink speakers do a presentation on campus, and it inspired him to join the student delegation that is attempting to go into Gaza this week.
When we got into Egypt, before we cleared immigration all of the passengers had their temperature taken. I do not know if this is routinely done, or if it is in response to the swine flu concerns. I would be interested to know, and will blog it if I find out. I have posted a picture of Madeline having hers done.
We then went out for either a taxi ride or a bus to our hotel. According to the travel books, it is hard to trust the vendors at the airport. They supposedly do a bait and switch type deal where they will tell you there is no bus service, or tell you that your hotel is closed.....all of this sort of thing. We ended up getting a good price into Cairo for 12 dollars, and that was for 4 with our bags, as Joel came with us. I am not sure how far the ride was, but I do know that the driving was a little scary for me. I did not see a lot of the scenery on the way in, as I had to close my eyes a lot of the time to keep my nerves calm. When we got to our hotel, there was an interesting looking man sitting outside of the elevator, and I will be attaching a picture of him. Joel had been planning on staying at a hostel, but as it was so late, he ended up staying with us. Our room accommodates 4 very well, as it has two rooms with two beds each. It will be fine with me if he stays with us the whole time. I told him that I liked a tidy room, and he said the same. So after he Febreezed his pants and sanitized his hands, we settled into bed. I like this roommate a lot!!
As I a blogging, I hear a minarette calling out. I am also starting to do a lot of scratching, and I am afraid it is some type of bug eating me. I had read about mosquitoes, but I do not hear their buzzing. hmmmm.................anyway.
The room comes with breakfast that is served until 11am, yeah for a sleep in!!
Stay posted. Tomorrow is a new day, new adventures~~~~~~
When we got into Egypt, before we cleared immigration all of the passengers had their temperature taken. I do not know if this is routinely done, or if it is in response to the swine flu concerns. I would be interested to know, and will blog it if I find out. I have posted a picture of Madeline having hers done.
We then went out for either a taxi ride or a bus to our hotel. According to the travel books, it is hard to trust the vendors at the airport. They supposedly do a bait and switch type deal where they will tell you there is no bus service, or tell you that your hotel is closed.....all of this sort of thing. We ended up getting a good price into Cairo for 12 dollars, and that was for 4 with our bags, as Joel came with us. I am not sure how far the ride was, but I do know that the driving was a little scary for me. I did not see a lot of the scenery on the way in, as I had to close my eyes a lot of the time to keep my nerves calm. When we got to our hotel, there was an interesting looking man sitting outside of the elevator, and I will be attaching a picture of him. Joel had been planning on staying at a hostel, but as it was so late, he ended up staying with us. Our room accommodates 4 very well, as it has two rooms with two beds each. It will be fine with me if he stays with us the whole time. I told him that I liked a tidy room, and he said the same. So after he Febreezed his pants and sanitized his hands, we settled into bed. I like this roommate a lot!!
As I a blogging, I hear a minarette calling out. I am also starting to do a lot of scratching, and I am afraid it is some type of bug eating me. I had read about mosquitoes, but I do not hear their buzzing. hmmmm.................anyway.
The room comes with breakfast that is served until 11am, yeah for a sleep in!!
Stay posted. Tomorrow is a new day, new adventures~~~~~~
May 20, 2009
Greetings!!!! Madeline flew into Heathrow yesterday, and today we head back out together to meet my niece, Tara, there to fly to Cairo. Our goal is to enter Gaza, as Tara has been online dating a man there for two years. Wish us luck!!!
Friday, May 15, 2009
May 15, 2009.
Greetings to all!!!! I cannot believe it is May 15. I have been so busy with work and getting out and around. All has been going fine. I still marvel at how different everything is in the hospital world, in regards to my particular ward. We had a Band 5 nursing day yesterday, and I was able to learn more about the nursing band system. We were given many sheet handout that addresses how nurses progress up the layers of bands. I am going to take time to look at it and see if I can make sense out of it.
While my nursing experience is winding down, next week I am going to try to get into Gaza with my daughter, Madeline, and niece, Tara. My niece has just graduated from the Colorado University with a degree in linguistics. She speaks Arabic and is now Muslim. She has been communicating with a man in Gaza for 2 years, and is now ready to go meet him. It is not easy to get into Gaza, you have to apply for permission to enter, and it is my understanding that most people are denied. Therefore, we are signed up with two delegations for the attempt to enter, one a students' delegation, and the other, Codepink. It is my understanding that Codepink may have a better chance of getting in, as they are more recognized worldwide as a peace keeping activists group, formed by women. It is not totally clear to me exactly how this will unfold. I am hearing snippets about a tent at the border? not sure about that, hmm.....
Stay tuned.
Thank you to those who have been following, as I know I have have quite a dry spell. I will be honest, my experiences at the hospital have been hard to blog about. In the meanwhile, I have been communicating to my Portland coworkers via email, and that has been a more comfortable way to share my experiences. Basically, I have found that the differences between working in a London neurology hospital and a Portland, Oregon, hospital to be vastly different.
So my next adventure that my blog will be covering will be my trip to Gaza, or at least the attempt. My plan is to chronicle it well. Please stay tuned. Donna
While my nursing experience is winding down, next week I am going to try to get into Gaza with my daughter, Madeline, and niece, Tara. My niece has just graduated from the Colorado University with a degree in linguistics. She speaks Arabic and is now Muslim. She has been communicating with a man in Gaza for 2 years, and is now ready to go meet him. It is not easy to get into Gaza, you have to apply for permission to enter, and it is my understanding that most people are denied. Therefore, we are signed up with two delegations for the attempt to enter, one a students' delegation, and the other, Codepink. It is my understanding that Codepink may have a better chance of getting in, as they are more recognized worldwide as a peace keeping activists group, formed by women. It is not totally clear to me exactly how this will unfold. I am hearing snippets about a tent at the border? not sure about that, hmm.....
Stay tuned.
Thank you to those who have been following, as I know I have have quite a dry spell. I will be honest, my experiences at the hospital have been hard to blog about. In the meanwhile, I have been communicating to my Portland coworkers via email, and that has been a more comfortable way to share my experiences. Basically, I have found that the differences between working in a London neurology hospital and a Portland, Oregon, hospital to be vastly different.
So my next adventure that my blog will be covering will be my trip to Gaza, or at least the attempt. My plan is to chronicle it well. Please stay tuned. Donna
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