Calm before the Storm

Things have been quiet this week. I finished my classes and I've moved to Ramallah, which is so much better than living in Birzeit. Right now I'm waiting for some friends who are studying in Beirut to arrive in the West Bank, then tomorrow we will all head to Bethlehem for Christmas. Unfortunately, I did not realize that you have to arrange for tickets to the midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity in advance, but we will spend Christmas Eve in Manger Square if we can't actually get into the church . . . I do, however, hope that it stops raining before then.

I'm a little concerned about traveling to Bethlehem tomorrow because they have opened the new checkpoint at Kalandia, and Bethlehem, which will probably add an hour each to the travel time. Also, I will be traveling with a big bag because I will be staying in Bethlehem for the conference, which means I'll probably have to unpack it twice -- hopefully not in the rain.

Things are going to get pretty hectic in the next couple days, so I am trying to enjoy my down time while I can. I'm not sure if I will be able to post from Bethlehem, so if not, happy holidays to everyone.

Peace,
Sahar