The Best Cure for Boredom

is to get out and talk to people. So that’s what I did.

O. who lived in Australia for three years, told me that although she enjoyed the freedom of movement there – no checkpoints or laws against where you could/couldn’t go - she also found that personally she was less mobile in Sydney because she had two young children and no one to help her look after them. Moving back to the West Bank allowed her to get out of the house more, and get a job, because she could rely on her family here. However, she also pointed out that the problems with mobility (and access to land) here mean there is nothing to do with children. No parks. No trips to the beach.

W. & L. two brothers, told me about the house their father was building, which can still be seen today. However, the land the house was being built on was confiscated and a checkpoint was built on it. Only one of the two stories was built, and this was occupied and used for unknown purposes. In the process, the house was ruined beyond repair. So even if they are able to reclaim their land and property, they’ll have to demolish the shell and start building from scratch. Why is house buidling important: for marriage. As L. put it, what girl is going to want to live with her mother-in-law? And renting a house here is apparently like not having a house.

Mirroring my upturn in mood, the sun has also begun to shine brightly, and the temperatures have risen (allowing among other things a much needed laundry blitz).