From Bethlehem to Ramallah

Saturday July 17th, 2010

Early morning at 8.00 am I reached Notre Dame hotel, the meeting point for the tour to the West Bank that I signed up for. I met 6 American women on the same tour with me. I tried to recruit them for my research. Cold calling technique. I briefly (and maybe not comprehensively enough) told them about my research and asked them to be part of it. They seemed enthusiastic and willing. Later, on the tour I realised they were a bit reticent to talk to me, one was obviously avoiding me. So, I minded my own business and did not try to make conversation with them, so as not to come across too intrusive.

From Bethlehem to Ramallah traffic was jammed at about 15.30 hours as there was a demonstration of Liberation/Freedom Party. There were a lot of checkpoints both Israeli and Palestinians and this slowed down the traffic significantly.

* I wrote this entry in my diary on July 18th.