By Vivien Sole

Coming to Nablus was exciting even though I became nervous about going to Palestine. But when we were questioned at entry it was not as terrible as I had imagined before. We took the taxi from the airport to Nablus and saw the difference between Israel and Palestine during this trip, it was shocking. After the checkpoint the houses became smaller, the streets were poor, and everything looked quite devastated. But the students from the University were so warm and welcoming that we felt almost at home just a few hours after our arrival. We had a lovely dinner and long chat at the first day and it was really nice meeting all these new people.

The next few days we had a tight schedule. We were on the bus a lot going from location to another. The Palestinians showed us a lot of different things. Things they were proud of and things that caused them problems and things they enjoyed. We saw the wall that is being built around a lot of cities. We saw demolished homes and settlements. We heard about the water and energy problems. And we also heard the stories of the prisoners who were tortured by Israeli soldiers and prison guards. But the students also showed us the cheerful sides of their lives. We danced Dabke (a traditional very popular dance), we visited several restaurants, one of which was located in a small fountain, and we visited their families who were also very warm and welcoming. Also we participated in a wedding party. We also got to see a few things the Palestinians were proud of, like the planned city of Rawabi and the science house of Nayzak.

On the weekend we had some free time to do whatever we wanted, so many of the internationals decided to go to the dead sea and Jerusalem. It was an amazing but very tiring weekend. The weather at the dead sea is much hotter than the weather in Nablus. When we were swimming it was over 40°C.

I heard from the students that it is a lot of trouble going through the checkpoints. But during our stay we were very lucky and we were never stopped at any checkpoint. Being in Nablus and participating in Zajel was an amazing experience. The countryside is beautiful and the cities are very different from each other so everyday there is something new to see. I am glad I took this opportunity to go to Palestine. I made a lot of new friends and I am glad I could share the life and some of the experiences with them.