Ramadan festivities

Last night Marta and I ventured into Jerusalem to meet up with two other internationals for dinner. We walked to the checkpoint in Bethlehem, and it was an interesting experience. The line was pretty short; there were only about 10 people total. But, the soldiers were taking their time in letting people through. There was a Muslim woman in front of us who looked like she was about ready to pass out, probably because she had been fasting all day. Although people were knocking and letting the soldiers know they were there, the soldiers were in no rush to accommodate any of us. Finally, they unlocked the gate at their convenience and herded us to the metal detector. I felt guilty, because, while the Palestinians have to take of their belts and their shoes, we, as Americans, were basically passed right on through without question. I set off the metal detector because of my belt, but they did not even care. The privileges I have here as an American have made me very uncomfortable. I would prefer to be treated as the Palestinians are, but even the fact that I can say this denotes privilege. While we were in line, Marta and I struck up a conversation with 2 Palestinians. We started talking in Arabic, but when their question became more than we understood, the men talked to us in fluent English. They work for the UN in Palestine and we happy to hear that we are living in the West Bank. Since it was almost Iftar (time to break the fast), the buses were not running, so they helped us hail a cab and negotiated a fair price with the driver. Once again, the hospitality here overwhelmed us.
We met up with our friends and went out to an Ethiopian restaurant, which was incredible. Then we explored the Old City at night and walked through the market, which was packed with people. The market was decorated for Ramadan with strings of colorful lights hanging from the ceilings and strung throughout the area. Smells of falafels and sweets permeated the air, and everyone was so joyful and energized by their recent feast. At times, I felt overwhelmed, because there was no more than half a foot between me and the next person in all directions. Usually I could feel the breath of the person behind me on my neck. So you definitely have to be in the right mood to be in a crowd, but it was a really neat experience.