Tile Barn Outdoor Centre, The New Forest.
by Emily Danby ( Saida's buddy)
I arrived at the hostel to hear the fire alarm going off and I met
the whole group of excited and very friendly young women walking up the drive
way. After settling in quickly, I went to help in the kitchen but everything
seemed to be very calmly taken care of. The smell of sage filled the kitchen
and I followed my nose to the large trays of fresh herbs brought all the way
from Palestine to make authentic Palestinian tea.
There was immediately a wonderfully cheerful and calm atmosphere amongst
the women - helped by the fact that nearly everyone was wearing pyjamas - and
as we shared dinner introductions came easily. I learnt about the girls'
families and their studies. The Palestinians seemed to eat very modest portions
of food and weren't too impressed by tesco's slieced bread, although extra
sandwiches were still going down quickly.
After dinner, two of the British group made a campfire and we sat around
taking it in turns to share songs. There seemed to be a lot of Palestinian
songs that all the women knew - and some of them were very funny when they
explained the meaning. Meanwhile, us Brits resorted quickly to Disney numbers
to find something we all knew. Singing was followed by a hilarious bi-lingual
game of Chinese Whispers, where one person chose a word in English or Arabic
and we passed it around until it turned into nonsense or sometimes a whole
other word in a whole other language. After a bit of dancing to Beyonce, we all
made our way inside.
As the evening went on, it seemed like the British and Palestinian
groups had become slightly divided, which they weren't at the beginning. I
think this was natural, because the British "buddies" hadn't really
had much chance to get to know each other and the Palestinians were all tired
from travelling and probably not feeling much like speaking their second
language. I don't think divisions will be a big problem for the rest of the
week though because we have discussed the danger and I think everyone taking
part in the week is so keen to get to know others from the other culture that
they won't let it happen.
Anyway, a good game of snakes and ladders ("sallam wa hay")
brought us together again before bed time.
All in all, day one was a wonderful beginning to the week, which made
me realise that this project is as much about making good friends
with women we have a lot in common with as it is about finding out about
Palestine, its problems and how we can provide support.
Emily Danby (Saida's buddy)
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