Getting Ready for Nablus

I bought my 2-pack of moleskin notebooks today. It's the first preparation I make for every trip I make. I buy a pair of notebooks, the same color, one light and one dark. The light one is for field observations and notes and the second one is for thoughts and reflections about daily experiences. I have almost half a shelf of them at home now; the green ones are from Kenya, the purple ones for Costa Rica. And now I have a set of blank, red notebooks to fill with my observations and reflections from Nablus. Only now does the trip feel real.

Before this I was still recovering from three months living in rural Costa Rica. And although I'm still wrestling with re-entry and reverse culture shock, I'm getting ready to move on to an entirely new experience with SOW and Tomorrow's Youth Organization in the West Bank. I was going through the motions of getting ready: making lists, thanking donors, setting aside things to pack. But I didn't really feel like I was leaving until I left Barnes and Noble today with those notebooks in hand.

But now I'm ready. I'm ready to start observing and learning, playing and having fun, filmming and editing, experiencing and reflecting. This trip is just around the corner. And I can't wait.