Today was a day full of several diversified emotions.
Our first step today was the lutheran school of hope in ramallah where pastor Imad shared
with us the problems faced by this school being built in an industrial area where a lot of loud noises and bad smells are present. We also had to remember how important education is for new generations. Because it needs a lot of strength to not reply to the conflict of their reality with anger. Around noon we went to visit the graveyard of the former president of palestine which had several symbols all around to resemble the palestinian reality,such as the 3 palestinian flags raised to its side as a reminder of the 3 official funerals he had held in each of France, Egypt and Palestine as well as the moving water in the shape of the letter U used to resemble his movable cascket to explain that one day his wish of being buried in jerusalem will be fullfilled. After that 
we were taken to visit the great arabic poet Mahmoud Darwiesh in which we also got to see his graveyard and his precious belongings and creative accomplishments.It was impressive how incisive and intensive the words of this man seem. Of course after we saw all these interesting facts we were taken to he city center in Ramallah to see how life inside the so called economical capital of palestine is. After such a long,loud, crowded day in a city like ramallah we had to get through the checkpoint again. A large portion of our group decided to join the palestinians for support and to gain the experience of how the reality of their lives actually is. And in comparison to travelling outside of the country to any other different country we go through security checks but as for the palestinains they are forced to move from one city to another in their own homeland through checlpoints full of obstacles. As sad as this may seem I was very surprised by the mix of emotions that the people were going through and by that I mean fear, anxiety, patience, hope, anger, sadness and recklessness. Three hours of constant humiliation because of the low method of behavior used by the Israelis towards the Palestinians and in this case also us Germans delayed our way back to Talitha. For some it took more time to realise what happened than for others. Just because of the kindness of the Talitha Kumi Team we were having our delayed dinner. Instead of having to spend almost 30 mins to cross a usual checkpoint, we spent 3 long hours waiting for anyone to let us through. Finally after everything we’ve experienced during only 1 day. The best way for us to face what we saw was to end our day with a simple prayer just outisde between the calming trees of Talitha Kumi. Finishing this with a hug and starting something new with another one as well.
Miria and Jude
The day began very early and we headed directly through a checkpoint to Jericho. It was very hot and we reached the Sea Level, we saw the desert and the Israeli settlement too. In Jericho we went for a 15 minute walk to buy some fruits, and the bananas it´s known for. After that we walked to the tree of Zacharias, and we discussed his story. Then we went to the mountain of temptation, where a church was built. We had a very beautiful view, because the church was built very high, so we were able to see Jordan. After that we got hungry, and went to a restaurant, where we ate delicious food, which was maqluba (upside down). Finally we went to the dead sea, where it was too hot. We swam in the sea, but also in the pool. After this long day we came back to the hotel with a sunburn on most of the group. In the evening we ate dinner, and played games and ended it with a prayer.
We started the day visiting the Dheisheh Refugee Camp, located south of Bethlehem, where we talked with a man, who grew up in the camp. He told us the stories of the refugees, their eviction from their orignal homes and their struggle for the right to return. After a small walk through we took the Bus to the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, where we saw the place where Jesus was born. We also visited the Milk Grotto. 
Then we had a rest to eat the wonderful falafel in the shadows of the trees of the manger square.
After the germans finally got some sleep, we started the day with some good breakfast. Then we had a look around Talitha Kumi and went on a very long hike to the winery Cremisan. On our way to Cremisan we took a break from the sun and the heat, as we enjoyed our Falafel in the shadows. When we finally arrived at the winery, we got to take a look behind the curtains. We basically melted on our way from Cremisan to the lutheran church of Beit Jala. There we were provided with cold drinks and Ashraf told us more about the palestinian situation. From there on we had free time until dinner. Most of us spent this time in a restaurant with our first palestinian shisha 🙂 or coffee, while others used the time to get some rest from our long hike. The dinner was really good, and we ended the day with some co-operation games and a short song and prayer. We are looking forward to the next days here in palestine.
Our day started really early when we left home at 3 am, to get to the airpot in Munich.
Monday, 2017/08/07