Sound like a typical day?

If I were to fill in the details of where I am, I could tell you how olive trees grow beneath the hillside village of Ein Mahel, which from the outside appears to be quiet, and though the pace of existence is slower here, the people inside the Israeli village are full of life.

I could tell you that some of the poets discussed were Hafiz, Rumi, and Khalil Gilbran, but also Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost.

I could tell you that the fifth-grade class sighed collectively in disappointment when I said that I’ve only seen Justin Bieber on television; but I could also tell you that, in order to lighten the mood, I told the class that my friend Victoria loves his music – which is true.

I could tell you how palpable the sadness was that I felt for the death of my host’s family member when I went to pay my respects to the family.

I could tell you how much I laughed as I tried to explain, and mime, that my favorite animal is a sea-turtle, since the fourth-grade class didn’t know the word for sea-turtle in English (a sea turtle is a difficult thing to gesture).

I could tell you that my new favorite time to write is at 9 p.m., during the local mosque’s call to prayer where a man sings verses from the Koran, likely because it reminds me of trips to the St. Benedict’s Monastery in Old Snowmass, Colorado where I would watch poppies sway through arched windows as I listened to Trappist monks chant.

Having worked, studied, volunteered or traveled in now 23 countries, I am struck by how alike people are around the world, and during my first 24 hours here, my experience is the same. I have felt so totally welcomed here in the Arab community of Ein Mahel and in the Arab, Jewish, and Christian city of Nazareth.

One of the goals of Friends Forever is to break down stereotypes and to build trust among people from various backgrounds all over the world. As a future ESL volunteer teacher, or member of the Friends Forever cultural exchange program, this is only a sliver of what you might experience.

Stay tuned as I post more about my experiences in Israel and about the developing Friends Forever programs in the Middle East.