Deir al Hatab, Week One

My three classes of about 50 students got off to a great start this week. The highest class is already reading and acting out dramas, learning new grammar skills (such as when to use a or an), and expanding their vocabularies. Most impressively of all though, they have mastered the first part to Queen's "We Will Rock You" complete with the rhythmic hand clapping and table slapping.

The two lower classes enjoyed singing "Head and Shoulders," learning what their body parts were called in English. We worked on reviewing numbers, the alphabet, colors, and shapes, playing games such as Alphabet Go-Fish and a special Numbers Ball Toss. We started to do a bit of writing, and everybody can already answer simple questions like, "Do you have a brother?" I am certainly impressed with how good the students are, how quickly they are learning, and how eager they are to know more English.

The word has spread in the village and we have had to close off registration as not a single student more could fit in the room. Although I am sad that not every student who wanted to come to the classes can, it is good to know that there is so much interest that the program can grow in following years if we can find the resources. I can tell already that this is going to be an amazing semester in Deir al Hatab!

Learning the rules on the first day of class.

Two of my munchkins who consistently show up thirty minutes early for class. Now that's dedication!

Playing Toss the Tiger (from the TFP website).

Check out the Teach For Palestine website to learn more about the other programs of TFP: http://teach-for-palestine.org/

Fridays

Most people in America love Fridays. I know I always did. It means whatever you suffered/plowed/whizzed through during that week is finished, one way or another, for better or worse. Even if your weekends are full of work (as mine always were), Friday's arrival at least represents a change from the normal weekday hubbub. As with many things, Fridays in Palestine are different.

The work week generally ends on Thursday. Public schools get out a little early and most people head home to spend time with their families. By Friday morning a hush settles over the city. The call to prayer echos through the empty streets of Nablus, seeming more omnipresent and powerful. All the little shops that line the street of my apartment building are closed; the heavy metal doors shutter the usual glossy and colorful storefronts, giving the street a somber hue. The bustle of traffic, horns blaring, is absent. The usual row of double parked cars lining my street is diminished to a lonely few. The flow of people spilling off the sidewalk into the street is also gone, replaced by an occasional pedestrian, ostensibly hurrying home.

Through the thin walls of my apartment, I can glean that for most Nubulsies, Fridays are generally a pleasant time spent with family, praying, eating, and relaxing. To say I am envious of this communal experience is an understatement. Nablus is extremely family-centered. There is not much to do on Friday as a foreigner in Nablus except to wait for it to pass, huddled in the only warm spot in my house: my bed. I might be one of the few Americans not saying TGIF but instead alhumdullilah (thanks God) Saturday is finally here. Okay, enough whining for now.

In actuality, I really appreciate the nature of Fridays in Nablus, although I am still learning how to enjoy them myself. Not many places in the world (that I know of) take the time to step back from the business of everything and simply revere life: family, Allah, and all. That's what Fridays seem to be about here.

To bring this post to a close I would like to say, I hope my readers can appreciate the fact that I made it through this entire blog post without a Rebecca Black reference. Well, almost. So don't blame me if she was on your mind from the start.

Vignettes

Nablus is cold; nobody has heating. I can see my breath while sitting on the couch. 

The first ever English class in the village of Deir al-Hatab: twenty-five smiling faces, bright eyes following every step I make.

Stifled laughter. Singing "Head and Shoulders" has never been so fun.

Spikes and flares in the road. Guns. Israeli soldiers. A temporary checkpoint. Panic: my passport is at home. I make it to my first day of teaching in the village despite the obstacles. I am starting to understand how existence is resistance in Palestine. 

Lopsided letters. "Cat is spelled C-A-T. Not C-A-K."

Successful tutoring session: conflict resolution between the lone Real Madrid fan and the rest of the class rooting for Barcelona. Lesson planning for tomorrow= researching Barcelona and Real Madrid.

My first class of the day in the village has 10 more kids than usual. Who snuck in and why?

During a tutoring session of six 10-year-old  Palestinians:
Leen manages to break the doorknob off the door. Ahmad says, "Leen, you are a disgrace." Cons: students are breaking things and being mean to each other. Pros: student uses new vocabulary word correctly.

Day two of taking the servees from the station:
"Here, this one." A servees driver I have never seen before gestures to the open door of the orange van. "Deir al-Hatab?" I ask, surprised. "Yes, yes, you want this one," he replies in Arabic. I don't even have to tell him where to drop me off in the village. Word travels fast here.

When you teach English in Palestine, happiness is having seven 12-year-old Palestinians pounding on their desks singing "We Will Rock You" by Queen, rendering it quite well.

A Long-Awaited Beginning

I arrived in Nablus exactly one month and one day ago. Still, things are just getting started.

My first teaching assignment was for two weeks in a refugee camp called Askar. The students were so eager to learn and were in the second year of doing the Teach for Palestine (TFP) program. It was a great first introduction to teaching English to EFL students. I certainly learned as much from them as they learned from me.

After the Christmas holiday, I started tutoring and co-teaching English at the Pioneer Baccalaureate School. This filled up my time until now.

I finally got to meet my students in the village last Sunday. Due to the exam schedule in school, I won't start teaching until this coming Sunday. To say I can't wait, is an understatement.

Once the school holidays are over I will teach general music at the school in the morning, tutor the principal's son around lunchtime, and then head to the village in the afternoon to teach three classes of about 50 students. I will be very busy, once everything finally starts.

In the spirit of keeping this blog short, readable, and writable, I am signing off now.