PSE '09: Getting us started...
Issalaam alaykum min Bayt Lahem!
Ismi John, and I am one of the two representatives of Middle East Fellowship who will be on the ground in Bethlehem this summer, helping coordinate the Palestine Summer Encounter program. Sara will join me for the second session, but I have been here since May 9, working in the Holy Land Trust office putting things together for our first session to start here at the end of the week. As I work with our program calendar and our office staff finalizes volunteer opportunities and homestay placements, I am growing increasingly more excited for the participants to arrive and soon begin their amazing summer experience with the PSE program.
I remember last summer at this time: I was a worried, excited, and hopeful incoming participant, unsure of what I was getting myself into for the summer. I had planned on being here for three months without having had any previous experience in the region and knowing no one, so it was a leap of faith, but by the end of the summer, it was very obvious I landed in the right place. This past week has been wonderful for me to get to reconnect with friends here at Holy Land Trust and at PAIDIA International Development—the NGO where I volunteered last summer. I just wish some of my friends from the program last summer were still here as well—it will be different without them accompanying me this time—but I have already made some great new connections, which I know are going to make this summer special in its own ways. My own experience with PSE was challenging but thrilling and incredibly educational and rewarding, so I am excited to welcome the 13 new participants who will soon be starting their own summer journeys with us.
This summer, the participants will have new opportunities that have just been added to the program. In addition to our colloquial Arabic classes, we are going to be offering three other courses during the first session: Christian Zionism, Theology of the Land, and Nonviolence—all of which are being taught by Palestinians who hold impressive credentials of numerous degrees and personal experience in their fields. In addition to classes, as in past years, the other components of the program include living with host families, doing volunteer work, having cultural nights, listening to guest speakers, and going on trips around the region. Programming for this first session looks exciting, and I know the participants are going to learn a lot and really enjoy themselves.
Hopefully soon you will begin to hear from the participants themselves; as they begin and work through the program, all will have the opportunity through this blog to share with the rest of the world how their summer experiences are informing, challenging, inspiring, and changing them as they encounter Palestine. Stay tuned!
