State of My Life Address

I am using my Handspring Visor and keyboard (thank you, janette!!) to write while traveling alone from Jerusalem to Ramallah to Zatura to Jamial.

That's the phonetically spelled list of (what I imagine are progressively smaller and smaller) cities to where I can help with Olive Harvest 2005, as originally planned about two months ago.

This is my most complicated excursion alone in West Bank, but not my most frightening. I was most nervous when I first arrived and had to get from Tel Aviv to the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem but that was only one shuttle. Well, okay two, but the guy told me, "okay get on this shuttle" which took me about 1/2 kilometer only.
This time, after about 9 days in the country, I am not worried for my personal safety, but I've never had to negotiate so many taxis in a row.

I'll soon be at Qalandia (checkpoint) through which vehicles cannot pass where we will have to exit, walk through one way gates, lissten for a guy shouting Ramallah! to attract people to his (buddy's) taxi bound for Ramallah.

That I have been led through before. But past that, I dunno.
10:39

Through Qalandia now.
I *love* the integrity of the people here. And the taxi system is cool.

I can get a private taxi or pile into a group taxi van, where people pass forward their fare to other passengers and (if it's enough fare for more than one person) tells how many people it's for, the cash gets passed forward to the driver who makes change and the change is passed back.

There's no theft. No trickery. No short changing. Totally money.
I am planning to be out of the Faisal for tonight and tomorrow night. Speaking of money, I owe 225 NIS to various people, cause I didn't get any out before holidays and weekends happened and it was too late.

100 to Sarah, 75 to Hisham (Faisal manager) (for three nights' stay), 50 to Jason.

Thank you guys.
11:52s

I am definitely on an adventure!
Now I am on a bus waiting for it to leave Ramallah for Nablus. I have been in touch with Andy who said I should not go to Jamail, but to Ballata (sp), another place I had never heard of.

Andy was quite specific that I should take a bus that did not go through Owara checkpoint (which would take a super long time; I've walked through it before with Anna and Max), but there seem to be no other options for buses to Nalus, and I've gotten varying answers on the specifics of this bus' intended route. Maybe it's photon and will go both through and around the checkpoint.
This bus is about a 45 seater and a bit less than 1/2 full. We may not be leaving for a while. But it sure is cheap.
I have no pets, no girlfriends, no love interests, no house, no idea how my stuff is doing in Japan , and no ETA for Nablus.
but...

The bus has just started (12:05pm) so we should be under way soon.
I'm here in West Bank because Niveen captured my imagination / desire to travel and *do things* while we sailed on P/B together.
I haven't spoken with my parents in a while, but I have emailed my mom a bit. I've definitely been in touch with Fred, but not with any of our step-sisters.
I have just cleared 9 gigs of space on my computer (Mac Powerbook G4 / 667MHz / 512 meg RAM / 30 gig HD) by archiving images from P/B to 4CDs last night.

Interesting how that math doesn't work out (4CDs * 640meg / CD != 9 gigs.)
I'm on an adventure of a lifetime, on a charter bus squeezing slowly through a crowded market in Ramallah on the West Bank of Palestine and just remarking in my brain that this is how I want my life to be all the time. Continuous trips of lifetimes.
Having recently read _if_the_Buddha_dated_, I have a bit of Buddhist commentary bemusedly sifting through my mind. It suggests I don't have to go to far away places with ever-more-difficult languages and cultures to have a trip of a lifetime.

But, it's possible to have trips of lifetimes in those places as well.
12:28pm

The bus just stopped at a rather tall filling station. A 40 seater bus. With nearly 40 butts in the seats. At a gas station. Wow!
I think it's noteworthy to mention I have had no trouble whatsoer finding things to do here in the West Bank. It may be because I'm a native English speaker that Rami called to see if I would be available today, but he definitely called me.

I got a call rom Ayesh (ISM) to see if I could do stuff in Qawawais (sp) tomorrow.

I told both of them no; I was too busy.. I'm on this adventure to Ballatah today and plan to chill in Nablus tomorrow.
I also want to spend some time with the monk I met yesterday in Bil'in. He invited me to his monkplace near the Mount of Olives.

I don't know the name of it; but (ironically) I'd like to study Japanese there.
13:15pm

We are at the Ohwara (sp) checkpoint now. That's my observation of this photon-bus, at least.
I've been reading _evasion_ recently. I think it would only really work in Westernized throw-away cultures.
13:25

We are through the checkpoint and have just gotten through the crowd of taxis on the other side.
Sarah just called me to check my progress to help with her decision. She has been asked to come to Ballatha as well.
14:15pm

Wow; I've just gotten an email from Forest here in this internet cafe where Ayesh brought me after meeting me. I was intrigued at the offer of internet, but no drink, but now that I remember we are in Ramadan, it's not so surprising.

While replying to Forest, a guy put a little piece of paper next to me like "2:00" that I took to be a sort of receipt so I'd have to pay. They didn't say anything about paying, so I jumped off ASAP

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