The Comedians

Before coming back to Nablus I had just finished reading The Comedians by Graham Greene having stumbled across references to it whenever I tried to do a bit of research into Haiti (my next teaching trip abroad). The theme of that book being that it is better to see life as a comedy rather than a tragedy seems to apply equally to Nablus as it does Port-au-Prince. Todays humour came from the sheep tied up... and being interrupted as I typed this (to talk to a guy about being interviewed for a radio show next week, more of this later). Anyway... the sheep being tied up outside the butchers shop next to the meat hanging up on display bleating away as if aware of its predicament, the UN being stopped by a small group of very small Palestinian children (the huge jeep had its horn blarring but the children ignored it as if it wasn't there!) and the fact that my advanced English class get their ideas about Manchester from watching Shameless. With such a good mode of education already there is little point in my being here!

My only class of the day was the advanced English class that I will be teaching intensively over the next week so I had time to go about my other business at a very leisurely pace. A little too leisurely as I had forgotten that the cleaners clean on a Thursday morning. I managed to get myself fully clothed just prior to one of the Arab ladies entering my room though she was still a little shocked to find me in there. I wandered around the old city bumping into various people I had met before. Sometimes having a brief conversation but mainly just exchanging knowing glances. I had to go see the guy selling sweet pumpkin and it was impressive to see him at work. He was pleased to see me and we had quite a good conversation (due to my lack of language skills not his) though I couldn't quite work out who the important person visiting Nablus on Saturday was. No doubt I will find out on Saturday.

Having most of the day free, with the class starting at 4.30pm, I had plenty of time to read and think about the essays I still need to write. It is interesting being here and needing to write an essay on cultural relativism and human rights whislt at the same time doing the required reading about the effects of globalisation. The two things at micro and macro level fit together nicely and I can think about this properly without the usual distractions at home.

Thinking about this today made me realise that what I wrote yesterday about the UN and other international NGO's was probably misleading. They do have local staff, most of the UNRWA staff here are Palestinians, but they also do what Rory Stewart asserts in many instances and parachute into places with their own ideas of how things should be done then leave without finishing the job. This has made me consider whether or not I would actually like to work for a large INGO or carry on doing the short term work I am doing. I don't think I fit the mould of international volunteer very well as I am not particularly good at the being with other international volunteers bit! Working and living with local people interests me being expected to entertain other internationals doesn't. Perhaps this would be different if the individuals I was working with were all professionals. I treat being here as an extension of my job but not everyone does. The other way to work (not as an international volunteer or professional INGO worker) would be to do something on my own. This would require much more in terms of time commitment and effort on my behalf. Perhaps time in Haiti and my work next Easter and summer will clarify this.

The class itself went very well and it was nice to teach a class without requiring a translator. I also feel that these students are the ones who can benefit most from the input of Project Hope. If someone doesn't have the fundamentals of English mastered it is difficult to teach them anything meaningful in a short amount of time. We talked about many things over the two hours and most importantly it wasn't just me doing the talking. When I remarked that it is impressive that students go to class for two hours after work at the end of the working week I was subtley reminded that there isn't really anything else to do. A bit naive of me really. Many of the students study every night of the week and give up weekends as well. As one student pointed out this education is in many ways wasted. People rarely do the jobs they want or dream of doing. They do what they have to though in many cases they hate it. This is the same the world over though I doubt to the same extent in terms of being over qualifed as a whole population.

After the class whilst in the midst of blog writing I was asked if I would go back to the office and talk to someone about being interviewed for a radio show. I am always happy to talk about Project Hope so left what I was writing about sheep and went across the road. The gentleman from the radio show I had met before... at the University where we attended a conference on poverty... after which he read my blog article about the conference... after which I met him again were we talked about my blog... and today he remembered conversations about the blog and our previous meetings...

Maybe life is a comedy rather than a tragedy after all.