Love letter to Palestine

I am in denial about the fact that I am leaving Ramallah. (Although the fact that I am aware of my denial kind of negates the denial altogether, right?) It’s like a tender wound that I circle but never directly prod—I just don’t let my mind go there. For a little while I tortured myself by counting the weeks and days until I leave, but that made for a bad mental state. I’ve found it’s best to keep my focus off of it, and if my thoughts tend to wander that way, I quickly redirect them.

I’ll allow myself this though: in honor of my deep love for Palestine and the life I have here, I’m going to post one thing each day, a snapshot of my lovely life here. It will be my long goodbye, my how-do-I-love-you-let-me-count-the-ways to Palestine. I began with the one below (“Blackberries”) and I’ll continue until I leave.