Couldn't sleep last night. Could have been jet lag, nerves, or excitement. Don't know, don't care. All I know is that I was dragging this morning. Prayed at the Wall in Jerusalem and then, with a jolt of strong Arabic coffee to get me going, I secured my rental car at the American Colony Hotel and headed out to Bethlehem. The checkpoint into the city was surprisingly easy. All of that anxiety and worry wasted on what turned out to be a non-event.

I immediately met Cloudette, Iyad’s wife, on the Palestinian side of the wall and she hosted me throughout the entire day. Here is what I did:

Iyad and Cloudette Shreydeh with their kids:
Joyce, Johanna, and Salloom

• Got keys to my apartment. Why can't there ever be enough plugs? Just sayin!
• Shopped for towels, was overwhelmed in the grocery story, exchanged money.  
• Played with Iyad and Cloudette’s kids which included showing them photos like this one that I took 18 months ago. These kids are crazy about American cartoons. Felt odd to be watching Tweety Bird and the Smurfs with Arabic sub-titles. Even more so to be playing with a stuffed version of Barney the purple dinosaur!
• Ate lunch at Cloudette’s parent’s home with her sister and her kids. Food was traditional Arabic fare and it was fantastic. I hope to have my first Palestinian cooking lesson on Saturday. Rumor has it that Cloudette is an even better cook than her mother!
• Watched the Arabic cooking channel (who knew that when making a cake, you combine the butter and milk together before putting it in mixing bowl)
• Unpacked and settled into the apartment which is only one flight down from Iyad and Cloudette’s. I moved all the furniture around and now the place is starting to feel like home – well, kinda. No Carol Aust paintings on the walls. No Misha. 
• Napped
• Had a pleasant dinner with the family after Iyad arrived home from a long day of tour guding. It was good to finally see him and thank him for all he has done for me.

On one hand, this was a rather ordinary day of errands and family for Cloudette but it was no ordinary day for me. Everything was overwhelmingly new. I enjoyed it all - the people, the crazy drivers, the energy of this little town. It goes without saying that navigating the zigs and zags of Bethlehem with all its small alleyways and markets will be a challenge for someone like me who is acclimating to this culture. I intimately feel the estrangement of being a non-Arabic speaker. I cannot read the signs, talk to the shopkeepers, or, for that matter, converse with many in the family. All the same, everyone has been so helpful and patient. Iyad was gone at work all day and yet he still managed to call me at least a dozen times to check in and make sure I was feeling well cared for. When I arrived in Jerusalem, his first words on the phone to me were, "Welcome home!” While that surprised me yesterday, it feels more true today. I am being generously enfolded into this warm Palestinian family. Love has its own fluency and I'm discovering that language is no barrier. What a gift!

From our gathering today, here is a snap shot of three generations – grandma, daughters and some of the grandkids. Who knew this was going to be so much fun!