Adventure is out there!

Ethan and I decided many months ago to take the last free summer we would have and make an adventure out of it. We started in September looking for organizations to host us in Palestine. Ethan's brother, Drew, has lived here for a bit under two years and has come to make this place home. He was unsure how much longer he would be in Ramallah, so we made the decision to come while we had the opportunity. Ethan is super interested in working with refugee populations with limited access to care. I am interested in pediatrics, and the affects politics have on medicine. This was a perfect fit for both of our interests. After a long tedious process, we officially got approval to work with the organization PCRF (Palestine's Children Relief Fund). The organization is determined to give Palestinian children access to care no matter their circumstances, religious, or political beliefs. They recently opened a pediatric cancer wing in the largest public hospital in the country. This is the only location to treat such patients. We will be shadowing and volunteering with the organization in whatever capacity they will take us. 

Sunset off Drew's Porch

After completing our first year of medical school, we met up in Newark Airport and started our journey. We haven't seen each other for two months leading up to this, so it was a crazy first visit. Ethan gave me a small pin for my backpack inspired from the movie Up. Ellie gives it to Carl when they form their adventure club. Its a pretty fitting symbol for our adventure. From Newark, we traveled to Tel-Aviv. It is a bit scary passing through border control. Since our final destination was Palestine, we worried we might get questioned more heavily than the usual tourist. It was, however, smooth sailing. We found our sherut (shared taxi), traveled to Jerusalem, transferred to a bus, then walk through a checkpoint (the bus just can't go further), get in another taxi to Ramallah and make it back to Drew's place. To put it in perspective some of the difficulties faced by Palestinians, Ramallah is about 16 km (9 miles) took us about 1.5hr to travel. We got our first falafel, and went to bed.

Our next day, we explored Ramallah while Drew was at work. We met with PCRF for the first time in their central office, walked through the market, ate shawarma.  All my major food items that I wanted to try have been checked off the list. Everyone can tell Ethan and I are foreign. They attempt to practice their english, but always make sure we having a good time. They are always willing to help us speak Arabic should we need it. We haven't had any trouble yet with the language, just a bit overwhelming. I have never been so unaware of what is going on around me. 

Drew's Grape Tree/Reading nook
(PC: Ethan Craig)

Our first day of "work" consisted of traveling to Bethlehem, then to another suburb Beit Jala. Everything is a few kilometers away, but to avoid checkpoints, you often have to take the "Palestinian" way which makes things remarkably longer. We met the hospital staff, saw the pediatric cancer ward. The pediatric cancer ward is so incredibly nicer than the rest of the hospital it was interesting to compare. It reminded me of when I volunteered in Children's Hospital of Atlanta. Happy, bright, and lots of joy.  We don't have our official letter of approval so we can't work in the ward yet. Instead, we took 30 patients, most only speaking arabic, to their version of chucky cheeses. They loved that we couldn't speak Arabic so they attempted to teach us super simple phrases, and proceeded to belly laughed when we missed pronounced anything (which was all the time).

Ethan has a cold today so we had to stay back from the zoo. We can't be getting 30 kids on chemo sicker than they need to be. Friday is the start of our weekend. Drew is throwing us a welcome BBQ to meet all his friends and other international young adults in the area. The rest of the weekend is up to us. Since the hospital is in Bethlehem (50% Muslim, 50% Christian), they take Friday (Muslim's holy day) and Sunday (Christian's holy day) as their weekend. The rest of the State takes Friday and Saturday off. This might lead to us taking three weekends, which fits in perfectly with their laid back attitude.

One disclaimer I would like to make. I do not claim to understand the political conflict in the area. I can only make observations and insights based on my very limited knowledge. Living in Palestine will give me one perspective, while hopefully traveling around Israel will give me the other. I cannot empathize with either side, for I truly don't understand the situation. I have never been uprooted from my home, nor have I never had a place to call home. My religious upbringing, while devote, is no where close to the devotion that these people feel and defend on a daily basis. I am hoping to leave with a much better appreciation for the history, perspectives, and different cultures I will be experiencing. If I ever sound biased or mislead, please forgive me. This is a highly charged topic, and I am in no way qualified to have an opinion. 

We look forward to the rest of the adventure!

Banagrams in the reading nook. (PC: Ethan Craig)