Monday, Aug 15, 2011

Today was an interesting day, to say the least. I stayed up until 9 am due to food poisoning and screaming neighbors. I took a nap and then woke up to go to the West Bank (Tulkarem). My intention was just to do some last minute shopping to pick up some abayas and maybe some little trinkets. I ended up stumbling upon a slightly hidden store with Gulf style abayas. I nearly died when I walked in..no joke. Everything was soooo beautiful. However, I kept on my p-p-poker face. These types of abayas do not come cheap, and if I looked to interested I knew the prices would soar. I pretended that they were nothing extraordinary even though my heart was beating a mile a minute. Afterwards, my visit to Tulkarem became more serious. My dad wanted to hand out money to refugees in order for them to be able to buy food. We stopped in a run down neighborhood. My dad and cousin went door to door to hand out money to the families living in this refugee camp. I was told to stay inside the car because it is a kind of rough neighborhood. I was told that the "homes" these people lived in were the size of a small bedroom with 7 or more people living in them. Their eyes lit when they received envelopes with about only ten dollars. Can you imagine?! Ten dollars! I spend over half that just to get a cup of coffee at Starbucks. My heart broke when I saw the little kids running around with shoes that didn't even fit them. I pray for these people, that their lives become easier and that they can at least be able to afford the small necessities in life.

Just one of the abayas I got

Refugee camps

Yes, people live here.

Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011

I thought I would create this blog because.... because.. because I felt like it! Yes, I felt like it! I'm currently in the middle east. It is 5 am and I and unable to sleep. I've been looking mostly at Pinterest and fashion sites. I've realized that my mother is right and that I do have an addiction to shopping. I'm currently trying to control it, however the shopping I did yesterday in the West Bank did not help at all. I've been so bored with the clothing I find at stores these days..even at Zara (gasp)! Thrifting has been my drug of choice...it allows me to really get creative and that is SO fun! Even the markets here have certain things that I think know I can pull off back home i.e. handmade leather bags. I'm off to Ramallah tomorrow and I'm hoping the markets there will have some goodies. The last bag I liked was in the souk in Jerusalem and a bit pricey. Supposedly, the prices in Ramallah should be much cheaper. Who knows, right? The majority of people I have met say I look 100% Arab, yet the people here clearly think otherwise! (I'm half Palestinian and half Mexican) When my dad goes alone to ask for a price, it's a quarter of the price they give when I'm around. So sad :( On a brighter note, my Arabic is improving, yaaaay!

Part of the market in Jerusalem aka my favorite place in the whole wide world <3