sara_sander's blog

When I sat down to write a summary of the PSE program I realized what
a daunting task it was. How could I possibly write about all the
things we have taken from this experience? It was all immensely
different for each of us. We all came from different places in our
lives, different countries, and for different reasons. I suppose the
best I can do is speak of my experiences and hope that my writing does
some justice to our common experiences.
When I first came to the West Bank I was impatient. I wanted to save
the world. I’ve learned patience here. I’ve learned about despair and

Three weeks in and I realized that a month-long journey to Palestine is inadequate. After spending time in the cities and talking to people on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian issue, I see that three weeks is barely enough time to scratch the surface of things here. And with every sideways glance as I walk alone down the street, with every awkward attempt at communication, with every wrong turn I make, with every cultural faux pas and political misstep, I find myself asking What was I thinking?

So a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step...but when that journey is to Palestine, that first step better be accompanied by one hell of an alibi and a smile that could charm the pants off a pedophile, or your journey could find itself ending in the arrivals hall at Ben-Gurion Airport. And although I had pretensions to cruise through customs like James Bond, with seemingly effortless and immaculate English charm, it seemed my inner Daniel Craig deserted me.