randomness...

I love how random life in Palestine is.

Where else can you be walking in the middle of a bustling city where cars are zipping and horns are honking, while at the same time a horse-drawn cart is moving past the Palestinian Legislative Council and a herd of sheep is being sheparded from pasture to pasture at a stop light?

Where else can grafitti artists be treated to free water, pastries, meals, and kind words while they are working?

Where else can you find an ice cream truck that plays Christmas songs in a Muslim neighborhood in order to announce its arrival to the children?

Where else can you spend hours on end in a nut roastery only to meet a man who is Palestinian, but speaks English in a Spanish accent because he was born in Puerto Rico, but lived in the US and is now back in Palestine running his own shoe shop called "Chicago Shoes?"

Where else can you learn about a family name (Al-Muslimani) that is named so because they converted from Judaism (Samarian sect) to Islam only 70 years ago?

Where else can you ask where the best cocktail in Nablus is only to be told that they all use additives and instead be invited into someone's office to enjoy a fresh, all-natural date drink called "tamirhindi?"

Where else can you walk around an old city to discover an ancient butcher's whose current owner puts pictures of American visitors and friends on the walls of his business in order to attract more customers?

Perhaps I will try to have a "randomness" blog every week to keep track of everything that happens here that makes me laugh and say, "this is why I love Palestine!"