The Little Differences

It’s a good measure of how familiar you are with a place when you can appreciate the little differences upon returning. A friend has sold his shop to another villager who lives in the US. This fact is made tangible by the bright new colours of paint (yellow and blue) that have brightened up a previously inconspicuous black façade. The interior floor plan has undergone a complete 180-degree reversal, and there is no longer an upstairs, or at least the stairs have been blocked off. This friend is also engaged to a woman from Nablus, who works in Ramallah.

There is a new stone plinth in the centre of town, with Saddam Hussein's image and an Iraqi flag on, although I haven’t had time to stop and read it yet. Another friend has opened a new restaurant in a building that was originally a house seventy or eighty years ago. The price of a service ride to Ramallah is now ½ shekel more expensive. I forgot how sweet and crisp the apples are here.