Two Germans, two Americans, and 5 Palestinians go to the beach

Yesterday, Marta and I were invited to go to Tel Aviv with our principal, his family, and 2 German volunteers. It was such an honor, especially considering what a big deal this trip was to our principal and his family. Palestinians have to get special permission to pass through the wall and travel to Tel Aviv, and this permission is not easy to get. Our principal said it had been 10 years since he had been to the sea. Considering that Tel Aviv is only an hour from Bethlehem, this is especially sad. That would be the equivalent of me not being able to get to Northfield from my house. That really put things into perspective for me.
At first I felt really guilty coming along, because we had gone to the beach just two weeks before and I didn't feel right about that when they haven't been allowed to go in so long. But, as one of the other volunteers told us, our presence made it easier for them to pass through the Wall. Even though they had the permission ,that was no guarantee that the soliders would actually let them get through. But, because we had three blonde people in the front seat, we were not even stopped and were allowed to pass through without a problem.
The whole day was full of sun and playing in the waves with the children. It was so wonderful to see the excitement in their faces. The youngest is about 7, and for the first 15 minutes of the car ride, he had his face right up to the window and "ooooed" and "ahhhed" about everything we passed by. He was SO excited to see the scenery of someplace other than the West Bank. When we got to the beach, he was the first one in the water. Everyone had fun together...as our principal said, "It's not the location, it's the people you are with." It was funny, because the parking attendant was really confused by our diverse group of people. I am sure it would be curious to see a mix of Germans, Americans, and Palestinians all file out of a 9-passenger van.
The whole experience was very rewarding and humbling. I feel so lucky to have taken part in this.