im having to kind of backlog these since it was so hard to get internet over there, so im going to just copy some ideas and things out of my journal from my travels.Everything is starting to feel right to me here in palestine, again it is that feeling that i have finally found my cause. the past 3 years of trying to keep my head above water in arabic class and everything finally seems like it was all just leading p to this point. Leif was telling us about his experiences in gaza 3 years ago, and he said that he still has dreams about it. he summed up his experiences there by saying that everything around was just complete destruction, but at the same time it seemed like there was no grey area at all, he had this great sense of clarity and everything was just completely black and white. I suppose that is something like what i have been feeling here, though the situation in the west bank is nowhere near as extreme as gaza. It seems like being here, and listening to the peoples stories, and seeing all the things that i can that i am gaining a taste for that clarity. We watched a movie that talked about the use of the term conflict, and how it implies two equal parties opposing each other which is obviously very innacurate for the situation here. it is just systematic violence and oppression, and this i think is what i mean by that clarity. When youre in america talkng about the situation it is very easy to just say "well there are two sides to every story"(which would probably be a very open minded viewpoint in america) but if youve actually been here, living among these people, and standing in solidarity with them, you would find out just how ridiculous a statement like that is. This is not a conflict of lofty biblical ideals, it is a struggle for basic human rights, the same ones that we take for granted so often in america. The lengths at which the israeli soldiers go to just humiliate people, to take away their hope and pride astonish me daily. For example it is frequent that a woman wearing hijab (head cover for modest muslims) will be forced to take it off and her shirt at checkpoints (not for security reasons, but just because they can), or for a woman to give birth there because she is refused passage to a neighboring hospital. I have also heard stories from my friends here of times that israeli soldiers made them strip down and paraded them around the town. This is not security, this actually seems to be funny to them.Earlier tonight the power went out and the skies lit up like there were fireworks outside. I guess the israeli planes like to shoot off 'heat balls' to distract possible missle attacks. There were no missiles or anything, so i have to assume it was just to remind us that they are there. I am reminded again that this is normal to everyone here but me, and i should probably get over the shock sometime soon.